With a starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, of $22,025, the Frontier Crew Cab carries the lowest starting price of all mid-size pickup trucks with two rows of seats and four doors. This starting price is for a two-wheel drive Crew Cab SE with manual transmission.
The lowest-priced 2008 Frontier Crew Cab with automatic transmission is $23,075, while a Frontier Crew Cab with four-wheel drive starts at $24,725.
These prices compare with the $23,225 starting retail price for a two-wheel drive, V-6 powered 2008 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab, offered only with automatic, and the $22,275 for a 2008 Chevrolet Colorado Crew Cab with automatic and two-wheel drive and four-cylinder
It's also worth noting the Frontier is a recommended vehicle of Consumer Reports magazine, where its predicted reliability is better than average.
I've always liked the Frontier for its utility. A driver can put bicycles into the truck bed and head to the park, or stock camping supplies back there and spend time at a campground and fishing spot with nary a problem.
This is especially true because the Frontier has good ground clearance underneath it - at least 8.6 inches - and so can navigate the dips and rocks on off-road trails well.
Note that a spray-on bedliner is standard in all Frontiers to help keep the steel bed from getting scratched. A track system with tie down locations also comes standard back there and helps secure items in the bed.
The Crew Cab's bench back seat offers 33.6 inches of legroom and a comfortable 38.7 inches of headroom. But the seat cushion back there is a bit short. If the back seat isn't being used, the rear bench can be folded against the rear cabin wall to provide a wide, carpeted storage spot.
Passengers notice quickly that they're riding in a truck, not a car, as the Frontier shudders a bit over big road bumps. The Frontier is a traditional, body-on-frame truck that uses the same platform of the larger, Nissan Titan pickup. So the ride doesn't have car-like refinement.
But then, a car wouldn't be able to provide the kind of good views out and over many other vehicles on the road, and it certainly can't match the Frontier's rugged demeanor off road, particularly in four-wheel drive trim. The Frontier includes low gearing for such adventure treks and seems right at home on both pavement and dirt.
The Frontier's power rack-and-pinion steering has good on-center feel. But as you'd expect in a tall-riding pickup, passengers notice some body lean in curves and turns. In the test truck with uplevel, 17-inch tires, there was road noise and, at highway speeds, some wind noise.
The interior is well-arranged, but the extensive use of hard plastics is less than impressive and couldn't be overlooked even in the test Frontier that had optional leather seat trim.
I also had a difficult time parking the test truck. Even though it only had a 5-foot-long bed, it was a lengthy vehicle and didn't fit in many curbside parking spots. It's also difficult to see what's directly behind the tailgate as a driver backs up.
Front seats were comfortable.
My passengers and I readily heard the 4-liter, double overhead cam V-6. It sounded strong and confident and it certainly propelled the pickup with gusto at startup. There's no wimpy power in this truck, even though it doesn't have a V-8.
This is due in part to a generous 261 horsepower and 281 foot-pounds of torque that the engine develops. It's more than the 210 horsepower and 235 foot-pound of torque in the V-6 powered Dodge Dakota Crew Cab and the 236 horses and 266 foot-pounds of torque that's in the V-6 powered Tacoma.
The engine in the Frontier Crew Cab never left me lacking for passing power on country roads or climbing power on mountain highways.
I just wish fuel economy was better. The federal government rating for the Frontier Crew Cab in four-wheel drive is just 14 miles per gallon in city driving, and in mostly city driving, I managed just 14.6 mpg in the tester. The 14-mpg city rating for the four-wheel drive model is just 2 mpg better than the rating for a V-8 powered, four-wheel drive, full-size Nissan Titan pickup truck.
On the highway, the Frontier is rated at 19 mpg, which is just 2 mpg better than the Titan. Both city and highway ratings are notably lower than the comparable Tacoma.
The maximum towing capacity for a Frontier Crew Cab is 6,300 pounds, just shy of the maximum 6,500 for the Tacoma.
I'd prefer that the Frontier's curtain air bags and side seat-mounted air bags be standard equipment. As it is, they are optional, which is unusual today. Nissan also charges extra for a Traction Package that adds vehicle stability control and some helpful traction features.
The 2008 Frontier earned four out of five stars in federal government front crash testing and five out of five stars in side crash testing.
There was a safety recall in January of 5,523 Nissan vehicles, including Frontiers, from the 2008 model year because a label on the truck incorrectly stated the vehicle capacity weight. New labels were being distributed.
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2008 Nissan Frontier 4X4 Crew Cab LE
BASE PRICE:
$21,280 for 4X2 Crew Cab SE with 5-foot bed and manual transmission;
$22,080 for 4X2 Crew Cab SE with 5-foot bed and manual transmission;
$22,330 for 4X2 Crew Cab SE with 5-foot bed and automatic;
$23,980 for 4X4 Crew Cab SE with 5-foot bed and manual transmission;
$25,130 for 4X2 Crew Cab Nismo;
$25,303 for 4X4 Crew Cab SE with 5-foot bed and automatic;
$25,430 for 4X2 Crew Cab LE with 5-foot bed;
$25,830 for 4X4 Crew Cab SE with 6-foot bed and automatic;
$27,830 for 4X4 Crew Cab Nismo;
$28,080 for 4X4 Crew Cab LE with 5-foot bed.
AS TESTED: $31,530.
TYPE: Front-engine, four-wheel drive, five-passenger, mid-size pickup truck.
ENGINE: 4-liter, double overhead cam V-6.
MILEAGE: 14 mpg (city), 19 mpg (highway).
TOP SPEED: NA.
LENGTH: 205.5 inches.
WHEELBASE: 125.9 inches.
CURB WEIGHT: 4,458 pounds.
BUILT AT: Smyrna, Tenn.
OPTIONS: Leather package (includes leather-trimmed seats, heated front seats and four-way, power front passenger seat) $1,350; moonroof and air bag package (includes front seat-mounted side air bags, curtain air bags) $1,250; floor mats $105.
DESTINATION CHARGE: $745.
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