Forget Me Not
North America loves its trucks. It’s such an integral vision of our culture – whether we actually have need of one, or just enjoy the ruggedness they suggest. Skyrocketing fuel prices, tighter city streets and parking lots be damned. There’s a reason the Ford F-150 is still a best seller – with the Ram, Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra biting at its heels. It feels like a very domestic game more often than not. No, we haven’t forgotten about Toyota’s excellent offerings. But as the market shifts to highlight more compact offerings, there is one often forgotten contender vying for a comeback.
Remember the Nissan Frontier? It’s okay, we barely did too. Often overshadowed not just by competition, but also its larger sibling, the Titan, Nissan’s ‘mid-size’ truck is a respectable enough effort, but it never seemed to keep up with the competition. In 2021, just over 1,700 Frontiers were sold in Canada. That same year, Toyota’s Tacoma enjoyed nearly 15,000 sales, while the 11,200 Ford Rangers found new owners. Nissan seems to have had a tendency over the years to stick to what works without innovation. I mean – look how long they’ve been using the VQ engine. I’m not even hating. My daily driver is a G37 and it's always a joy coming back to it. But resting on laurels isn’t always conducive to prosperity.
From a design standpoint – this new Frontier is an exploration of uncharted, yet familiar territory. The softer rounded face of the previous generation is now edgy and hardened. Straight, sharp edges, subtle use of curvature and blocky head and tail lights give it a look almost reminiscent of the D21 Hardbody truck of yore. I quite like the design of the headlamps in particular. The ‘serifs’ cutting into the fender illuminate, giving even more straight lines to accentuate the blocky, rugged look – further accentuated by the red-accented badges and logos, exclusive to the PRO-4X trim.
If this truck has you feeling nostalgic, that’s good, because it’ll feel nostalgic too – though not always in a pleasant way. First off – the key. My 2008 Infiniti uses the exact same key fob. Please Nissan. Change it. It’s old, outdated, and severely trumped by literally every other manufacturer selling cars in North America. The interior doesn’t exactly wow as much as the exterior may either. I don’t mean to sound unkind but this interior looks like it’d be right at home in a Frontier two generations ago. We even still have the same amber backlighting from Nissan and Infiniti vehicles of the early 2000’s. But it’s not without benefits either. I will always praise the presence of buttons for everyday functions – and there is tactility abound in this interior. You’ll also get a lovely slew of safety features, dubbed the Safety Shield 360. That includes automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection, lane departure warnings and more – plus compatibility with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. I experienced some issues with reliably reconnecting to Android Auto, and at one point, settled for a Bluetooth connection.
Now that we’re inside though, how does the new Frontier drive? Well, very similarly to the old one – for better and for worse. Remember what I mentioned about Nissan resting on its laurels? Well, the underpinnings of this truck are about as old as it feels on the road. Granted, that’s often the kind of drive buyers are seeking in trucks like these. That’s taken even further with the inclusion of an ‘old-school’ hydraulic steering rack. Sharp turns in tight streets or garages will demand some effort on your part. Our tester’s trim level also comes with some uprated Bilstein struts that help make rougher roads a little more manageable, but feel almost skittish on damaged surfaces. The drivetrain handled gravelly paths with relative ease and no shortage of confidence.
Under the Frontier’s hood is a 3.8L V6, once again, part of the VQ family, but so far, used exclusively in this truck. It’s good for 310 horsepower, managed by a 9-speed automatic. It’s not the slickest or smoothest – but nobody expects that out of a truck. This combo helps the Frontier net an estimated combined fuel economy of 12.3 L/100km, which, conveniently, is around what my elderly G37 returns. Looks like these numbers run in the VQ family after all. But the Frontier has so much more weight to carry – especially with the standard 4-wheel-drive and skid plate featured on the PRO-4X trim.
Tallying up the costs, our top of the range Frontier seems like quite good value. A top-end Tacoma will set a buyer back over $55,000. But our Frontier slides in at just under $48,000 before all those pesky fees and government cuts. I can’t prove it – but I strongly suspect many truck drivers across Canada don’t actually need a truck. It’s nice knowing something is still capable, but usable however. Even if it’s just for image – the Frontier does deliver on those criteria. It feels like a truck ought to, for better and for worse, and in its new skin, it may be the best-looking midsized truck on the market right now – from the outside anyway. Time will tell if it’ll be the hit Nissan hopes it may be – and if it will retain value as well as its competition.
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