The more time I spend behind the wheel the more I love how easy the Nissan Frontier is to daily drive. Although this month has been less eventful with just a few trips to the Home Depot, I got to watch the odometer roll over 5000 miles in its two months in our fleet. With steady driving, I've been averaging 18.8-19.2 mpg.
Since the pickup's introduction into the Truck Trend fleet, some staffers have expressed their interest in taking it on camping and off-roading trips. We found a camping tent that fits into the bed of the truck on the official Nissan's consumer website for $232 plus shipping. Needless to say, we have one on the way and will be putting the off-road package to the test soon.
The Nissan Frontier is a solid pickup, and I don't have any real complaints about it. But one pet peeve that seems to irk just about every passenger happens to be the door locks. Most newer vehicles let you unlock the door from the inside by pulling on the door handle twice -- once to unlock, once to open. The Frontier will only let this happen if the key is in the off position. So if you need to drop a passenger somewhere, you have to physically push the unlock button; then the passenger can open the door to get out.
| 2012 Nissan Frontier 4X4 PRO4X |
| Service life: | 2 mo/5868 mi |
| Avg CO2: | 1.08 lb/mi |
| Energy cons: | 187 kW-hr/100mi |
| Unresolved problems: | None |
| Maintenance cost: | $0 |
| Normal-wear cost: | $0 |
| EPA City/Hwy/Comb Fuel Econ: | 15/20/17 mpg |
| Average Fuel Econ:: | 18.0 mpg |