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2006 Nissan Frontier Mid-Size Pickup Truck
A truck you can live with
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New Car Review of the 2006 Nissan Frontier Mid-Size Pickup Truck
Base MSRP Range: $15,900 - $27,200
Base Invoice Range: $15,038 - $25,155
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MSRP As Tested: $26,455
Versions: XE, SE, LE, NISMO.
Vehicle Category: Compact Pickup Truck
Engine Location: Front Engine
Drive Wheels: Rear-Wheel Drive, Four-Wheel Drive.
Standard Engine: 2.5-liter, Dual Overhead Cam, 16-valves, I-4, 154 – horsepower at 5200 rpm and 173 lb-ft torque at 4400 rpm.
Transmission: Five-speed automatic, Five-speed manual.
Fuel Economy (city/hwy): 19/24 auto, 22/25 man.
Optional Engine As Tested: 4.0-liter, Dual Overhead Cam, 24-valves, V-6, 265 – horsepower at 5600 rpm and 284 lb-ft torque at 4000 rpm.
Transmission: Five-speed automatic, Six-speed manual.
Fuel Economy (city/hwy): 16/20 auto, 17/21 man.
Standard Safety Features: Dual front airbags, Front-seat active head restraints, Antilock 4-wheel disc brakes, Tire-pressure monitor.
Competition: Dodge Dakota, Ford Ranger, Honda Ridgeline, Toyota Tacoma.
I know what I'm about to write is pure blasphemy considering I was born and raised in Texas, but I simply don't like big pickup trucks. Never have.
They're hard to park, ugly, noisy, get pathetic gas mileage, are less comfortable than a car and are hard to climb in and out of. As if that weren't enough, all but the best trucks feel like they're bouncing around the road on a suspension made of pogo sticks and pulled by an engine that sounds like it belongs in a two-story-tall Weed Eater.
I don't see the point of driving one unless you're towing a 10-ton yacht or carrying a load of granite down a mountain like they show in the commercials. I don't do those things, so I'd rather borrow or rent a truck when I really need one instead of suffering with driving one day in, day out.
So there, I said it.
Now that I got that blasphemy off my chest, I can tall you about the new Nissan Frontier, a truck that -- oddly enough -- I don't hate.
The Frontier is one of those just-right-size trucks that's significantly bigger than a dinky Ranger but smaller than the oafish F-150, Silverado and Ram. It's not so small that it's stupid, nor is it so big that you think you're driving a piece of real estate around town.
That just-right feeling also extends to the Frontier's performance. It's powered by a 4.0-liter V6 that makes 265 horsepower and gets 20 miles per gallon on the highway, enough to do some serious work without having to drink gas like a Kennedy at happy hour. It's not quite a fuel miser, either, but compared to the alternative of driving a full-size truck with a big V8, it could provide some welcome relief at the pump.
For better efficiency, Nissan offers a 2.5-liter, 154-horsepower, four-cylinder engine.
While I think the engine noise is an improvement over the previous Frontier's V6 -- now, instead of sounding like a giant Weed Eater, it sounds like a bumblebee that ate too many beans -- it feels fantastic from the driver's seat. It's very responsive and smooth, adjectives I rarely use to describe truck engines.
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