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Wednesday, March 17, 1999 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER 1 live 08 IS YOUR GARAGE PROTECTING YOUR CAR BETTER THAN I YOUR BARGAIN-RATE CAR INSURANCE? Don't trust just anyone to insure your car, see me: An Oakville Beaver Advertising Feature To advertise in this section call 845-3824 Fax:337-5567 Hal Mayer 2861 Sherwood Hcidus Dr. 829-5200 N issan Frontier King-Cab packs m ore pow er 1999 Nissan Frontier King-Cab By Rob Beintema SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER The 1999 Nissan Frontier King-Cab was definitely turning heads as it traveled down the highway. Maybe it was the brilliant electric blue paint job that was catching the eye of other drivers. Or the smooth lines and stretched dimensions of this handsome and aggressively over­ grown compact pickup. Or per­ haps, it was the two lovely ladies, wife and daughter, regally ensconced in the high vantage front bucket seats. Could be, but at least a few of the smiles and kids' pointing fin­ gers seemed to be directed at me, a full-grown man crammed in obvious discomfort, sideways into the small space behind the front seats. "I like driving this truck," my wife piped up over the sound of the radio. Which was at least part of the reason why I was perched back there on a kiddy-sized jump seat, wedged between seat back and cabin wall, my legs and feet tangled in raincoats, umbrella, snowbrushes and the other junk pickup truck drivers usually throw behind the seats. But the main reason I had jammed myself, pen and note­ book in hand, into the small space usually reserved for tots and tool­ boxes, was, quite simply, to just try it out. How much room was there really back there? As anyone who's ever owned a regular cab truck can tell you, the trouble with pickups is there's just no place to put your good stuff, the stuff you don't want rolling around exposed to the ele­ ments in the box in back. And what about extra room for an occasional third or fourth passen­ ger? Hence the extended cab. In fact, Nissan was the first manu­ facturer to apply their King-Cab to a compact pickup truck, just one of the many timely adapta­ tions that have made them the value leader in economical com­ pact pickups for the past forty years. Last year, Nissan launched their seventh generation model, badging it as the Frontier. This is actually the Nissan truck's first official name. Previous models wore special edition monikers like "Hustler" and "Hardbody", names more reminiscent of porno than pickups. Nissan execs could­ n't believe their luck when they found out that "Frontier" had never been snapped up by any other car company. But along with the new name, the '98 Frontier debuted as a major redesign, an ambitiously larger model that dwarfs earlier Nissan pickups and features structural improvements, increased interior space and improved ergonomics all round. The only thing missing on the bigger and better truck was a bigger and better engine. For 1999, Nissan has respond­ ed to that challenge by adding a 3.3 liter V6 engine to their 4X4 King-Cab lineup. Key the igni­ tion and the V6 starts up with an almost diesel-like clatter that soon settles into a quiet, familiar thrum. Yes, Nissan aficionados will rightly recognize this motor pirat­ ed from the Pathfinder, a power- plant now slated for almost all Nissan trucks, including the new Xterra sport ute. The 3.3 liter V6 rates 170 horsepower and, like a good truck engine should, deliv­ ers 90 percent of its stump­ pulling torque at a low 1500 rpm, topping out at 200 lb.-ft.@ 2800 rpm. That extra grunt also boosts the Frontiers towing potential to a 5000 lb. rating. The V6 can be mated to a workhorse 5-speed manual or optional 4-speed auto­ matic. The automatic transmis­ sion could use a little refinement. Smaller Regular Cab Frontiers still come standard with the thrifty 2.4 liter, 143 hp, 4 cylinder stock engine but adding the V6 to their King-Cab 4X4 lineup has helped to even the odds a little as Nissan goes head to head against a competitive compact market where trucks just seem to keep getting bigger and stronger every year. Well, speaking of trucks get­ ting bigger, much as I appreciated the extra six inches of interior space in the new Frontier, I did finally decide that the rear of the extended cab of a compact pick­ up was no place for a grown man. In fact, it's no place for anybody. If you need transportation for more than just two people, do yourself and your passengers a favor. Buy a car. The back is for stuff and, only occasionally, for people. Even the kids will even­ tually opt in favor of front seat comfort once the novelty of the rear side seats wears off. And the front is comfortable. Nissan pickups have always been styled with car-like comfort in mind and the 1999 Frontier King- Cab 4X4 offers a simple but ergonomically designed interior. Dual airbags come standard with passenger side on/off switch. The Frontier King-Cab's cargo box measures 74.6 inches in length, just a little shorter than the Regular Cab box. Space between the wheelwells is 41.7 inches with a maximum box width of 59.8 inches. There are plenty of tie-down hooks and separator slots in the double walls of the box for a two-tier partition loading system. All Frontier King-Cab 4X4 V6 models come standard with ABS braking, autolocking hubs, centre console, variable wipers and not a whole lot else. Remember this is an entry-level truck. A variety of options are available, however, mostly through two distinct Value Packages (Sport and Comfort) depending on customer needs. Both option packages offer com­ mon goodies like air condition­ ing, alloy wheels, limited slip rear differential, M+S tires, chrome trim, tinted windows and a tachometer. The Sport Value Package adds a pop-up sunroof and CD stereo system with a subwoofer fifth speaker mounted in the rear wall. The Comfort Value Package kicks in with cruise control, cas­ sette stereo, 12V DC outlet, low fuel warning light and tilt steer­ ing. Or you can wrap up a lot of extras in the upscale Frontier King-Cab SE-V6 model that also includes fog lights, powered win­ dows, door locks and mirrors, sport seats and a keyless entry and alarm system. You might have noticed that a third door does not show up any­ where on the option list. With third doors almost standard in the industry, it's strange that Nissan seems content to wait for their four-door Club Cab version that will debut as a 2000 Frontier model. But in the meantime, if you're in the market for an extended cab pickup and think you can live without a third-door, you might do well to comparison shop and test drive the very civilized 1999 Frontier King-Cab V6 from Nissan. 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