{"id":27753,"date":"2021-08-12T15:31:28","date_gmt":"2021-08-12T19:31:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=27753"},"modified":"2021-08-12T15:31:28","modified_gmt":"2021-08-12T19:31:28","slug":"new-frontier-nissan-remakes-its-midsize-pickup-for-off-road-and-on-road-duty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2021\/08\/new-frontier-nissan-remakes-its-midsize-pickup-for-off-road-and-on-road-duty","title":{"rendered":"New Frontier: Nissan remakes its midsize pickup for off-road and on-road duty"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Provo, Utah<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Housing construction here in the Wasatch Mountains is exploding. Everywhere you turn there is a new house, a new subdivision, a new townhouse development going up. Full-size pickups stream through these developments like worker ants. They bring contractors, managers,\u00a0and trailers full of building materials.<\/p>\n

But when the houses are completed, will any of these huge trucks fit in the garages?<\/p>\n

For the suburban residents that will fill these homes, midsize pickups have become a hot commodity. They are small enough to negotiate home garages and big-box retail parking lots while still offering enough room to cart trail bikes to the mountains and lakes.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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Pickups like sales-king Toyota Tacoma, handsome GMC Canyon, rockin\u2019 Chevy Colorado ZR2, smooth Honda Ridgeline, tough Jeep Gladiator, techy Ford Ranger Tremor, and fresh, versatile Nissan Frontier.<\/p>\n

Yes, the Nissan Frontier is all-new. And it is good. Very good.<\/p>\n

Southeast of the sprawling new developments next to the Jordanelle Reservoir is Wasatch Mountain State Park, with rocky trails that will make you cringe if you aren\u2019t in a gnarly pickup like Frontier\u2019s off-road, Pro-4X model churning along on Hankook All-Terrain tires.<\/p>\n

WAHHRRR\u00a0g<\/em>rowled the V-6 engine behind the Pro-4X\u2019s menacing black grille as I emerged through a wall of dust thrown up by the pickup in front of me.\u00a0WHOMP!\u00a0<\/em>The front skid plate found a divot in the road masked by the dust.\u00a0HUNH! HUNH! HUNH<\/em>\u00a0went the Hankooks as they clawed for traction up a steep,\u00a0stony grade \u2014 with an assist from the rear, locked differential.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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Commute to work Monday-Friday, tear up the Wasatch Saturday-Sunday. Or, if you live in Metro Detroit, Holly Oaks ORV Park might be the hill you conquer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to make the Frontier fun to drive,\u201d said Nissan chief development engineer Melaina Vasko, who aims to trailer her Polaris RZR side-by-side ATV to Holly Oaks behind a Frontier when the truck hits dealerships later this summer.<\/p>\n

The affordable Frontier is not just a robust off-roader;\u00a0it rivals the Multimatic shock-equipped Chevy Colorado ZR2 for class on-road prowess. A $40K\u00a0ladder frame midsize truck is fun to drive on-road? Payne, you\u2019ve lost your mind. Nope.<\/p>\n

Vasko and her minions stuffed the Frontier with goodies like hydraulic steering, urethane jounce bumpers, hydraulic cab mounts and a rear stabilizer bar to help the chassis respond coherently to motorheads like yours truly. As I bombed down the asphalt Alpine Loop Scenic Byway out of Sundance, the firm steering boosted my confidence with each curve.<\/p>\n

Cruising through small Utah burgs, I sometimes forgot I was in a pickup. With minimal bed flutter and a surprisingly quiet cabin, Frontier proved itself to be a reasonable facsimile\u00a0of the unibody Honda Ridgeline. The Frontier team benchmarked its new version to the Honda pickup, which is \u2014 hands down \u2014 the creamiest pickup in class.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a class that had almost forgotten the Frontier \u2014 sitting on ancient bones that hadn\u2019t been renovated since 2005, which is odd because Nissan had long been on the frontier \u2014 pun intended \u2014 of pickup development in this pickup-obsessed nation.<\/p>\n

Nissan (then Datsun) introduced the first mid-size pickup in 1959. Its 1987 hardbody was the first with a double-hull rear bed (so inner bed wall damage did not deform the outer wall). Its crew cab was first in segment in 2002.<\/p>\n

But 2005 was a long time ago. So long ago, in fact, that the Frontier\u2019s fifth-gen architecture predated the 2007 iPhone, which has transformed phones \u2014 and automobiles.<\/p>\n

For all its exterior macho (Frontier looks butch with its blocky fascia, grille\u00a0and fenders) the pickup\u2019s biggest strides are inside, where customers bring a phone that demands connectivity. Frontier pays attention.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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Standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, two USB ports, two USB-C ports, seven-inch digital instrument display standard. A nine-inch center console display is optional, as is a wireless phone charger. The console screen is excellent with, for example, intuitive radio preset buttons and a menu that always keeps essentials \u2014 AUDIO, MENU, MAP \u2014 front and center.<\/p>\n

This attention to detail pervades the truck. Finally liberated from their old platform, engineers seem eager to please with a buffet of standard goodies. My favorite detail is a standard, soft-drop rear tailgate. How many times have you opened a pickup bed only to have it \u2014\u00a0WHAM!\u00a0<\/em>\u2014 drop like a rock? Frontier has got you.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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The rear bed bristles with options including a 120-volt outlet (matching the standard 120 in the cabin), Utili-Track rails for securing cargo\u00a0and LED lights.<\/p>\n

The rear seats (which accommodated your giraffe-legged reviewer\u2019s 6\u20195\u201d legs) have standard cargo storage below so you can store wet clothes after, say, a wild trip, down the Jordan River. Speaking of wild trips, Mrs. Payne will love the \u201cOh, crap\u201d handles on the center console for when her husband gets too aggressive. There’s also standard hill descent control.<\/p>\n

The standard V-6 engine is a moose. Its 310 horses are best in class. Like Tacoma, it\u2019s fun to stomp on the gas, with instant torque while towing 6,750 pounds of your favorite small watercraft or RZR side-by-side. But thanks to the cabin\u2019s insulation, the engine won\u2019t invade the cabin on long trips. That duality is noticeable next to noisier competitors like Tacoma and\u00a0Gladiator.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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For many truck owners, this laundry list of standard features will be enough. The midsize is a tool first and foremost. When I get an SUV in my driveway, my wife wants to know if it has Apple CarPlay and adaptive cruise control. When I get a pickup, she wants me to fetch mulch or a Christmas tree.<\/p>\n

Frontier offers the total package.<\/p>\n

For those who want it all, Nissan wraps extra features into three comprehensive packages:<\/p>\n

1) Convenience package<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 that 120-volt outlet, heated steering wheel, spray bedliner, and so on.<\/p>\n

2) Pro-4X premium package<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 leather seats, Fender audio and\u00a0those gnarly, 17-inch tires.<\/p>\n

3) Tech package\u00a0<\/strong>\u2014 my must-have, with blind-spot assist, adaptive cruise control, rear auto braking, high-beam assist and more \u2014 all wrapped into one $990 package. It\u2019s available on any trim.<\/p>\n

The Frontier is not without its hiccups. Literally. Sometimes the 9-speed tranny hiccups at low speeds. Also, the adaptive cruse control will come to a stop for a vehicle ahead \u2014 but then start creeping forward (wha-?).<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s hard to be mad given all the details they got right. Nice to have the Frontier back and on the front row of the midsize pickup race these many years after leading in 1959.<\/p>\n

After all, while trucks have gotten bigger, garages haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n

2022\u00a0Nissan Frontier<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Vehicle type: Front-engine, rear- and four-wheel-drive, five-passenger pickup<\/p>\n

Price: $29,015, including $1,175 destination fee\u00a0($38,415 Pro-4X as tested)<\/p>\n

Powerplant: 3.8-liter V-6<\/p>\n

Power:\u202f310 horsepower,\u00a0281 pound-feet of torque<\/p>\n

Transmission:\u00a09-speed automatic<\/p>\n

Performance: 0-60 mph\u00a0(7.0 sec., Car and Driver est.); towing,\u00a06,570; payload, 1,460 pounds<\/p>\n

Weight:\u00a04,708\u202fpounds\u202f\u00a0(Pro-4X as tested)<\/p>\n

Fuel economy: EPA, 17 mpg city\/22 highway\/19\u00a0combined\u00a0(Pro-4X as tested)<\/p>\n

Report card<\/p>\n

Highs:\u00a0Smooth on-road\/rugged off-road, modern tech<\/p>\n

Lows:\u00a0Uneven transmission, yesterday\u2019s cruise control<\/p>\n

Overall:\u00a04\u202fstars<\/p>\n

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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