Nissan's
recent designs dare to be different above all else. And critics be darned, because
such huevos have paid big dividends in the marketplace, with the company's popularity
skyrocketing and with sales numbers to match.
The Frontier pickup was one of
the early test beds of this dare-to-be-different philosophy. Available only as
a King Cab (ie: extended cab) or a full four-door Crew Cab, the Frontier looks
rugged and substantial; ignore the fact that most of that macho body cladding
is plastic. It looks good, right? One
disadvantage the King Cab gives up to the extended cab compact entries from GM
and Ford is the absence of access doors to assist with getting into the area just
behind the front seats. That may partly explain the popularity of the Crew Cab,
featuring as it does four real doors and a real back seat. Just don't put tall
people back there, else you will hear incessant whining about unpleasant thigh
compression. The good news is that those seats actually can be used for people,
even if you have a lot of stuff to bring with you, as the Crew Cab is available
with a long, 6.5-foot bed instead of just the abbreviated bed as found on its
competitors (although that bed makes the already long truck even longer).
Ergonomics
are good, and the dashboard shapes and textures are every bit as cool as the exterior
styling promises. The optional leather package is particularly cool in black with
red stitching. Base models get power from a 142-hp 4-cylinder engine, which
isn't a whole lot when it comes to truck duty, but it is competitive with the
base engines of its rivals. Still, we recommend upgrading at least to the 170-horse
3.3-liter V-6, if not the 210-hp supercharged version of that engine.
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