Among compact pickups two vehicles really stand out: The Dodge Dakota and the Ford Ranger (and clone Mazda B-Series). Dakota is the only one to offer a V8 engine and near-full-size cargo and towing capacity. Ranger is the most refined and probably the best daily use vehicle.

This year we are limiting our Recommended choices to the Toyota Tacoma. It's every bit as good as the Ranger in daily use, just a tad more expensive.

Frontier came within striking distance of archrival Toyota Tacoma in calendar-2000 sales, posting a 12.9-percent increase to nearly 109,000 units vs Tacoma's decline to some 147,300. While Ford's top-selling Ranger outscored both Japanese-brand pickups by about 3 to 1, Frontier is doing quite considering that it's still in "recovery" mode after being launched without such class essentials as V6 power and a 4-dr cab. Nissan quickly corrected those deficits, then added Crew Cab models, which remain on almost sellout status, followed for 2001 by more macho styling and a more powerful supercharged V6 option.

Nissan continues Frontier's shoring-up for 2002 by adding long-bed versions of the Crew Cab and giving all models a restyled dashboard and available 400-watt audio system with Rockford Fosgate amplifiers. The long Crew Cab box measures 74.6 inches, 18.3 inches more than the regular bed; Nissan says it's the longest bed of any compact truck with four full doors. Wheelbase and overall length have been extended to match, to 116.1 and 131.1 inches respectively, which puts these Frontiers very close in overall size to a Dodge Dakota Quad Cab. The long-bed Crews are available with the same trim levels and option packages as the regular versions.

These changes apart, Frontier is largely untouched for 2002. The expanded lineup goes on sale in August 2001.

Industry sources say Frontier's vintage-1998 design is on a "short cycle" and will be replaced as early as model-year 2003. Unfortunately, that's all they have to say right now. However, it's logical to assume an all-new design that may share some components with Nissan's first-ever full-size pickup, which will be built at a new factory now going up in Mississippi. Frontiers will continue to be built at Nissan's Tennessee facility.

The new full-size truck, as yet unnamed, is likely to debut for 2004. Word is that it will be larger than Toyota's Tundra so as to compete directly with "true" full-size domestic-brand models. The only engine mooted so far is a derivative of the 4.5-liter V8 from Nissan's luxury-division Infiniti Q45 flagship sedan, possibly enlarged to be more comparable with American V8s. Nissan's recent full-size Alpha-T concept truck suggests showroom models will have very brawny styling, plus bed and cab dimensions that, again, should approach or even exceed those of full-size domestics. Keep checking back with us for more on Nissan's pickup plans as information becomes available.