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Similar situation, had a 1978 K20, low miles with mansize rust holes
about the body. I didn't need the large capacity and size, so looked at
smaller trucks. Always had Chevy and looked at Colorado. Not thrilled at
no 6 cyl. engine available. When I saw the newer version of the
Frontier come out around Dec. '04, waited until the dealers had some in
stock. Compared features, looks, etc. of other models you mentioned, and
got a Frontier King Cab in Mar. '05. Great vehicle.

C. E. White wrote:[color=blue]
> After agonizing for over a year over which pick-up to buy, I finally picked
> one. I had a 14 year old F150 that I loved, but my 16 year old son managed
> to severely injure it (no reverse) which finally forced me into making a
> decision.
>
> The candidates were -
>
> Toyota Tacoma
> Toyota Tundra
> Ford F150
> Chevrolet Colorado
> Nissan Frontier
>
> The winner was the Nissan Frontier. The Frontier was selected more as the
> last one standing than because it was my initial favorite. Initially, I
> ranked them:
>
> Tacoma
> Colorado
> F150
> Tundra
> Frontier
>
> I wanted a smaller truck, with 4WD, an automatic, and air conditioning. I
> eliminated the Tacoma because it was not price competitive. Of the five
> Toyota dealers closest to me, the lowest quoted price (w/o taxes and tags)
> was over $26K for a truck that met my minimum requirements (it had options I
> did not need, but they all did). I really wanted to like the Colorado and
> was close to buying one, but after setting in the truck and looking at the
> construction, I just decided to pass. It didn't help that I just had a
> horrible experience with another GM product (2003 Saturn Vue) and that the
> Colorado was the second most expensive truck I priced. The F150 was a very
> very nice truck. For most "ride around" truck buyers, it would be the best.
> But I hate the fact that they jacked the truck up so high and then raised
> the bed sides. For my use on a farm, it is just not suitable. Equipped as I
> wanted it, the Ford had the lowest quoted price but in the end I just
> decided it was not suitable for me, despite my long term satisfaction with
> my old F150. I think Ford has decided to copy the Chevrolet Silverado and
> target the F150 to people who buy trucks as alternate cars that can
> intimidate the neighbors and occasionally carry light loads. I wanted to
> like the Tundra. Over the last two years, I have test driven several
> (regular cab, extended cab, double cab), but in the end it is just a third
> rate copy of the old style (pre-2004) F150. It is big on the outside, while
> being cramped on the inside (regular cab) and they don't make a short
> wheelbase regular cab model (I wanted a shorter truck than the long bed
> model). Plus, the few I have seen in farm use just don't hold up. The Tundra
> was the second cheapest vehicle (almost the same as the Ford). The Tacoma is
> a better truck than the Tundra for me. And from what I have seen, Toyota is
> about to lay a giant egg with the new even larger Tundra. This left the
> Frontier. Initially I wasn't even going to look at one, since my feeling was
> that it was about the same size as the Tacoma and would be priced the same.
> This turned out to be wrong. The 4WD extended cab Frontier with the V6 and
> automatic was significantly cheaper than the equivalent Tacoma. The rear
> seats are a joke, but then I don't plan to use them as seats. The bed height
> was perfect, and the bed size was good. The V-6 has lots of power (more than
> needed). The seats are comfortable. The Frontier was not as cheap as the
> F150 or Tundra, but then it had more options (both the F150 and Tundra were
> stripped down "work trucks"). The Frontier had more stuff than I needed
> (power mirrors, power windows, power locks, etc, towing package, bed liner,
> CD player), but it was so close to the F150 work truck in price, and a
> better size, that I decided to give it a shot. At over $4000 less than the
> Tacoma, how wrong could I go?
>
> Ed
>
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