Two midsize trucks battle it out.
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The Toyota Tacoma is the best-selling midsize truck by a wide margin. It's also not cheap, even when used. Enter the Nissan Frontier, one of the most affordable pickups you can buy. The Frontier becomes an even better value when it's used, often coming in nearly $10,000 cheaper than the Tacoma. But is this a case of "you get what you pay for"?
Independent reliability tracker RepairPal® says the Frontier is the more reliable of the two trucks thanks to a very small advantage when it comes to annual repair cost over the Tacoma. However, in reality, they're just about even.
Can the Frontier make a case for itself when facing the most popular midsize truck in the country? We're looking at a pair of 2024 models to find out.
Toyota Tacoma basics
Toyota introduced a brand-new Tacoma for the 2024 model year and hasn't made any significant changes in the years since. This Tacoma is a definite upgrade over the previous model, with a new chassis and suspension that makes it ride more smoothly over bumpy terrain and paved roads alike. The V6 is gone, replaced by a turbocharged four-cylinder engine. And there's even a hybrid option, though it's mostly configured to generate extra power—it's not much more fuel-efficient.
Its cabin is also thoroughly improved, with a big touchscreen to complement lots of physical knobs and buttons for audio and climate control purposes. The second row is very cramped, but that's the case for just about every midsize pickup.
Nissan Frontier basics
Nissan redesigned the Frontier for the 2022 model year, and it's a big improvement on what it replaced. This is a versatile pickup truck that comes standard with a powerful V6 engine, two bed lengths, and a pair of cab styles. It can also tow up to 6,600 pounds when properly equipped, which is more than enough for most drivers' needs.
But its affordability comes at a price. It's less comfortable than its rivals, and the interior isn't as nice. Some of the controls and on-screen menus are also confusing. It doesn't help that most of its competitors have been redesigned more recently, making the Frontier feel more dated in comparison.
Toyota Tacoma vs. Nissan Frontier
Now that the basics are covered, which of these two midsize trucks is right for you?
Passengers and cargo
The Tacoma is available with a bunch of different cab sizes, allowing it to carry between two and five passengers. The Frontier is a little less flexible, offering a four- or five-passenger configuration, but both are available with either two or four doors. Neither truck offers much in the way of rear passenger legroom, with both under 34 inches at their most generous.
You can get both trucks with either a 5-foot or 6.1-foot truck bed. Neither truck is anything fancy, nor does either offer any of the party tricks like multifunction tailgates you might find on a full-size pickup. But both get the job done and the space is easy to use. Interior storage is just OK, though it depends a lot on which cab configuration you go with. Both trucks offer some storage underneath the second row, but it's limited.
Jake's take
This is a wash, which is a win for the Frontier thanks to its significantly lower price.
Towing, payload and truck stuff
We already covered the size and utility of the two truck beds, but what about everything else? The Tacoma can tow a max of 6,500 pounds when properly equipped, which is very impressive for a truck of this size. But the Frontier beats the Tacoma in this comparison, with a maximum capacity of 7,040 pounds when properly equipped.
How about payload? The Tacoma's max payload of 1,710 pounds comfortably edges the Frontier's 1,480 pounds.
Four-wheel drive is available on both, and the Tacoma and Frontier come in dedicated off-road versions. While Toyota and Nissan fans would argue the finer points, both trucks are more than capable off-road.
Jake's take
This really depends on your needs. The Frontier is a slight favorite for towing, while the Tacoma can get more weight into the bed.
Tech
Both the Frontier and the Tacoma come standard with an eight-inch touchscreen. But the Tacoma's available upgraded touchscreen is a whopping 14 inches compared to the Frontier's 12.3-inch touchscreen. More important than the size of these screens is what's displayed on them, and here the Tacoma is a clear winner.
The Tacoma's interface is clear and easy to use, while the Frontier's feels hopelessly dated. And it's not just that the Toyota has more modern graphics; it's the scattershot way Nissan has laid out the screen. Both vehicles come standard with Apple CarPlay® — for the Toyota, that's absolutely an added convenience. But for the Frontier? It's the only thing that makes the touchscreen feel remotely functional.
Then there are advanced driver aids. The Tacoma comes with adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, lane centering, and forward collision warning as standard features. The Frontier, meanwhile, only offers forward collision warning as a standard feature. Obviously, the Tacoma is more expensive, but this is a definite case of getting what you pay for.
Jake's take
This is an easy win for the Tacoma.
Engines and driving
The Toyota Tacoma has, effectively, three versions of the same turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine. The base version makes 228 horsepower, and the second-tier (and most popular) version produces 278 horsepower, though that drops to 270 hp if you have the manual transmission. The top-of-the-line is the hybrid powertrain, making 326 horsepower.
Edmunds' editors dug both of the higher-performance powertrains, praising their acceleration and the smoothness of their transmissions. The hybrid powertrain doesn't improve fuel economy much at all, but it does seriously improve both its power and overall performance.
The Frontier offers a single engine: A 3.8-liter V6 that makes 310 horsepower. Rear-wheel drive is standard, and four-wheel drive is optional. This is a good engine, especially for regular daily driving. The steering is less impressive. Edmunds' editors found the steering wheel very heavy, meaning it needed a lot of input to make turns. Some people may find this charming, but many will find it off-putting.
Jake's take
Daily drivability is another area where the Tacoma has an advantage, although maybe not quite as clear-cut. Even if you like the old-school feel of the Frontier's V6, there's no question the Tacoma is otherwise just nicer to drive overall.
How Much Is the Tacoma's Tech Worth?
This is the one category where the Tacoma is obviously superior to the Frontier. The truck feels much more modern as soon as you get into the driver's seat. But it's hard to ignore the price difference of the Frontier if you just need a truck for towing, hauling, or tooling around town. I'd pick the Frontier unless I found a screaming deal on the Tacoma.
Jake Sundstrom has worked in the automotive industry since 2017 and written hundreds of car related articles over the course of his career. Jake is an editor at Edmunds, where he helps produce the best used car content on the web. He has also contributed to the National Hot Rod Association and other motorsport publications. When he's not writing about cars, he's probably driving them to his next vacation; he's still working out how to get a Wrangler from Los Angeles to Maui.
