2000 Nissan Frontier Crewcab – BIG thumbs up

I must preface this by saying at the time of this review that I’ve only
owned my 2000 Nissan Frontier Crewcab for about 6 months.

Somebody mentioned in another review how Nissan screwed over the 2000 buyers by doing a body redesign only a year after the Crew Cab’s launch. I say they did us a favor. I knew I was in the market for a compact crew cab pickup when I was shopping and was originally thinking about getting a brand new Tacoma Quad Cab since I hate the current Transformer-like body style on the 㤉-㤋 Frontiers. But when I saw this hard to find body style and realized I could get it for MUCH less than even a used Tacoma I was convinced. It took some doing to find the right one with the options and mileage I wanted (people don’t want to get rid of them or put a LOT of miles on them), but when I did find one it was a perfect fit. I get compliments on my truck’s looks all the time and notice Tacoma owners giving it a second glance quite a bit as well. It’s a fantastic looking body style on the Crew Cab. It just doesn’t look as good on the regular cabs or extended cabs IMO. I actually prefer the older hardbody style on those.

My favorite thing about crew cab pickups is their versatility. You can haul 4 people comfortably, but you can also toss in a load in the back without worrying about getting your SUV dirty or carry something like a big piece of furniture without worrying about having to fold down a bunch of seats and fit it within the dimensions of an SUV. I can haul 3 guys out to lunch at the office so it’s perfectly fine for 4 full-sized adults on short trips like that (wouldn’t want to have that many in there going for a long trip though.) We’ll also be having a baby next year and there’s more than enough room for a baby seat and all the baby stuff in the back seat. And it should be fine for when they’re young children too. Headroom is a little tight compared to the Tacoma and SportTrac. If you’re over 6ַ” your head might touch. And it’s not lavish when it comes to creature comforts on the inside. But then again, it IS a truck. However, it does have all the amenities I personally need like power windows, power door locks, several dome lights, two DC plugs for cell phones, dual airbags, etc.

The truck bed is obviously not very large which is one of the knocks people use against compact crew cabs, although it’s perfect for my needs 99% of the time and offers much more hauling room than an equivalent-sized SUV. And actually, if you have a full-size pickup with an extended cab and put a permanent toolbox in the bed you’re large bed suddenly becomes the same length as this truck. This bed’s a little deeper than a Tacoma’s and a little longer than an Exploer SportTrac’s. I don’t have the bed extender, but I’d rarely need it anyway. I just keep some rope in a lockbox that I keep lashed in the back of the bed (a $24 Walmart purchase that looks like a natural fit in the truck’s bed – plus I can take it out and put it in the back seat whenever I need the extra bed room.)

As for driving, it’s true to Nissan form. Mechanically it’s been very sound and I expect it to remain that way for many years to come. It handles a little better than the Tacomas I test drove and a LOT better than the comparatively bulky SportTrac’s. Even though I used to have a Sentra as my daily driver, it’s very easy to park with a nice tight turning radius. It handles like it’s much smaller than it actually is – not that it ’s very big; once all the full-size trucks and SUVs start parking around you quickly realize this things not that big afterall, which is a good thing since I personally don’t need THAT much room.

While it doesn’t have quite as much horsepower as the V6 Tacomas, it feels like it actually has a bit more torque and will really get up and go when you punch it at non-highway speeds. On the highway, it handles well and drives smoothly although it doesn’t have quite as much pickup at those speeds. I average a little over 17mpg in mixed driving bottoming out at 16mpg in city only conditions and getting up to 20-21mpg on the highway.

My favorite little day-to-day thing about it from a driving standpoint is the sliding rear window. I like having fresh air while I’m driving, but my wife hates having the wind beating in. The sliding rear window provides a gentle breeze even at highway speeds without being overbearing. It’s also great for cooling the inside off in a hurry on a hot day. Truck owners have obviously known about this for years, but every truck my family’s had has never had one so I see now why people actually prefer them.