Newbold Toyota

Toyota Tacoma vs. Nissan Frontier

Why Tacoma Will Continue Its Winning Streak

The Toyota Tacoma at Newbold Toyota in O'Fallon has been the best-selling mid-size pickup in America for 16 years in a row. Tacoma consistently leads its category in important strengths like reliability, resale and off-road performance. As if that weren't enough, Kelley Blue Book recently gave Tacoma its highly-regarded 2021 "Best Buy" Award. All of that must be hard to take when you're a perennial underdog like the Nissan Frontier.

So after spending so many years watching the back sides of Toyota Tacoma trucks, Nissan finally decided to upgrade their Frontier model. As car experts are saying, it looks like too little, too late. Let's take a look at the new Tacoma vs. the new Frontier and see just how much ground the Nissan Frontier still has to make up.

Let's Take This Competition Off Road

The Toyota Tacoma, affectionately known as "the Taco" by its army of fans, is a practical mid-size pickup that can haul a massive variety of cargo all over the city or suburbs of St. Louis, while delivering outstanding comfort and fuel efficiency. But the real source of its undying owner loyalty is what happens when this truck is far from the suburbs, going off-road.

True to its name, the Tacoma's TRD Off-Road is particularly gifted at taking on trails. Tacoma's "plays well in the mud" prowess is made possible by features like unique suspension tuning and shock absorbers, an electronic locking rear differential, and rugged, hard-nosed skid plates. Power can come from the Tacoma TRD's available 3.5 Liter V6 engine that produces 278 horsepower.

The 2022 Nissan Frontier does its best with an adequate V6 engine that first made its appearance on the last-generation 2020 model. Car reviewers aren't seeing a noticeable improvement over the engine it replaced, but at least Nissan is making an attempt.

Infotainment, Bluetooth, and Navigation: Nissan Is Trying to Catch Up

With Nissan's coming upgrade, both trucks will offer standard Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto™, to make it easy to integrate your smartphone with the touch-screen system. You can then get access to your phone's apps without even touching your smartphone. Unfortunately for future Nissan Frontier drivers, the Nissan system doesn't include Amazon Alexa, while Tacoma does. Maybe next year, right, Nissan?

The Tacoma's standard infotainment system comes with a user-friendly touch screen. Tacoma beats the Frontier when it comes to simplicity and risk-free control. Instead of the trendy hodge-podge of confusing controls in a bewildering, excessively high-tech screen like the Frontier's, the Tacoma gives you highly intuitive, easy-to-use physical controls. That makes it easier and safer for you to control climate and audio as you drive around Highland or Edwardsville.

Stop by Newbold Toyota in O'Fallon and Test Drive the Winner: The Toyota Tacoma

Of course, if you're a truck buyer in Shiloh or Belleville, you could wait until late summer to also try driving the 2022 Nissan Frontier, assuming it arrives on time. But after hearing from the experts who have already reviewed the underwhelming Nissan Frontier, a better use of your time might be to browse our new Toyota models, pick out your favorite Toyota Tacoma pickup and schedule a test drive at Newbold Toyota in O'Fallon.