Plans change when keys to a 2012 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor land on your desk. That's exactly what happened to associate online editor Christian Seabaugh, who got the off-roading itch when he was assigned to evaluate the big Ford. To join him on his trip, I grabbed the keys to a 2012 Nissan Frontier pickup truck equipped with the PRO-4X package (Bilstein shocks, electronic locking rear differential, skid plates, and BFGoodrich Trail tires).
As we ventured out to the El Mirage Dry Lake recreation area about 2 hours outside of L.A., I expected the Frontier wouldn't be nearly as fun as the Raptor. Also, I was thankful we had the Raptor and tow straps to bail out the Frontier in case it got stuck but, by the end of the day, I was proved mistaken on both of those thoughts.
Associate online editors Jacob Brown and Blake Rong from sister publication Automotive.com joined us on our trip. The four of us had seat time in both trucks and we walked away surprised and impressed with the Frontier. Rong declared the Frontier his favorite while Seabaugh said he would strongly consider the truck if he had $30,000 to spend for an off-roader (and the Jeep Wrangler didn't exist). I enjoyed both, but the Nissan was simply more fun on the trails we tackled that day. It was easier to navigate through narrower spots and its lighter curb weight and shorter wheelbase made it an absolute blast to cruise and get sideways on wide-open sandy areas. The Raptor might be more capable overall, but the Frontier had no issues keeping up. Also, our Frontier has a manual transmission, an option not available on the Raptor.
One truck did get stuck, but it wasn't the Frontier. During a photo-op gone wrong, the Raptor topped out on a hardened mound of dirt with the front tires suspended off the ground and the back wheels with nothing to grip but soft sand. We pulled out the tow straps and looked at the Frontier with trepidation - could it rescue the big Ford? After connecting the straps to our respective trucks, we hopped in the driver's seats and hoped for the best. After creeping forward a few feet, the Raptor was back on four wheels and the Frontier was immediately crowned as the day's hero. Would we call the Frontier a Raptor on the cheap? Almost. And some might say it's more fun, too.