Still pretty good looking small truck. Dated, sure....but damn near bullet proof.
Wish that you could go back in time and purchase a brand-new, 13-year-old Nissan Frontier? That time machine can be found at your local dealership.
The 2018 Frontier is practically a carryover model from 2005. Know what else happened that year? The first YouTube video was uploaded. George W. Bush began his second term as president. Katrina decimated the Gulf Coast. Johnny Carson died.
But back to the present. Like the 2005 model, the latest Frontier can be ordered with either a 2.5-liter inline-four or a 4.0-liter V6.
What is new? Well, for this year there’s the Midnight Edition–which is what we tested. We’ll cut to Nissan for the details: “The Midnight Edition package includes a gloss-black grille, 18-inch gloss black aluminum-alloy wheels, semi-gloss black step rails, body-color front and rear bumpers, black outside rearview mirrors and door handles and black badging. It is available in Crew Cab SV 4x2 and 4x4 automatic transmission models and in a choice of Magnetic Black, Gun Metallic and Glacier White exterior colors.”
We sampled a V6-powered, 4x4 Midnight Edition in black with an automatic.
What does the Frontier have going for it? It’s right there on the Nissan website: America’s most affordable pickup. A two-wheel-drive King Cab fitted with a manual box and the four-cylinder engine starts at $18,990.
The Frontier is a truck and doesn’t make any excuses about it. The back seat doesn’t coddle its passengers. Its upright seat back makes them wish they could sit up front with the grownups. With the V6 it can tow more than 6000 pounds.
The shifter feels like it’s shifting things. The switches switch. The ride could be called a tad jiggly. The seats feel a little flat yet still supportive. The neighbors might not be impressed.
But it’s a proven truck, too. Back in the day we had a Nissan Pathfinder in our fleet–same basic package. Know what? We treated that poor truck like a shovel, and it never let us down.
You know, I’m okay with the Frontier acting like a truck. It knows what it is, and it’s not ashamed about it.
Still pretty good looking small truck. Dated, sure....but damn near bullet proof.
Don't forget that GM, Ford and Dodge abandoned the compact, 4-door pickup truck platform in the U.S. but Nissan was there for the folks who preferred that configuration.
Waiting for the new one to maybe replace my titan.
Still waiting on the 2.8L Cummins Frontier they were teasing us back in 2014, but sadly due to the EPA and CARB it will probably never see a dealer lot.
I almost bought one of these. The steering wheel is bit far away though, and there's no telescoping wheel adjustment to bring it closer and I just couldn't get comfortable.
Weirdly enough, one of the things I liked about it was the automatic transmission. They nailed the throttle tip in/torque converter slip/take off calibration, something that is commonly messed up. It doesn't hesitate to downshift, and if you downshift with the console shifter it'll do a little throttle blip to rev-match the gear. Its the same trans as in the 2006ish G35s, I wonder if paddle shifters could be retrofitted...
I had a 2011 Frontier Pro-4X back in 2011 I purchased new. Nice truck, drove really well, etc. It was 6-7 years old then and the interior quality shows why you can get them so much cheaper than a Tacoma.
For the last 5-7 years, the only reason you bought a Frontier over a Tacoma was because of the price difference or just that you're a Nissan Fanboi.
Mine had the Off-Road package, interior leather/sunroof/Rockford stereo etc. I think I got it for like 6-7k off MSRP without too much trying.
Manual transmission and 4WD you can't get unless you was the v6 and a bunch of brotastic packages which make the turd $30k at the dealership.
"They don't make a 4 cyl 4wd manual transmission truck because nobody buys them"
I begged every manufacturer to give me one and TAKE MY MONEY. Even Toyota doesn't offer a manual transmission 4 cyl 4wd anymore here. I tried to get a leftover 2016 shipped to me and they wouldn't do it. A 4wd , 4cyl, manual trans Tacoma, Colorado, or Frontier (if it was way cheaper to offset Nissan's terrible resale) is what I really wanted. Nobody delivers that.
If I'm forced to spend $24k on an automatic gas mini truck with a 5 ft bed, I'll gladly spend $26k for a fullsize a 6'4" bed, quad cab with a turbo diesel that can also tow almost 10k lbs and that's what I did.
crankwalk said:Manual transmission and 4WD you can't get unless you was the v6 and a bunch of brotastic packages which make the turd $30k at the dealership.
"They don't make a 4 cyl 4wd manual transmission truck because nobody buys them"
I begged every manufacturer to give me one and TAKE MY MONEY. Even Toyota doesn't offer a manual transmission 4 cyl 4wd anymore here. I tried to get a leftover 2016 shipped to me and they wouldn't do it. A 4wd , 4cyl, manual trans Tacoma, Colorado, or Frontier (if it was way cheaper to offset Nissan's terrible resale) is what I really wanted. Nobody delivers that.
If I'm forced to spend $24k on an automatic gas mini truck with a 5 ft bed, I'll gladly spend $26k for a fullsize a 6'4" bed, quad cab with a turbo diesel that can also tow almost 10k lbs and that's what I did.
The 4 cyl Frontier is really really really slow. The one I test drove was a 2wd, I can't imagine how much worse it would be with an extra 3-400 lbs of 4WD components and driveline friction. My first car was a 1991 Saturn with 85 hp, and the Frontier 4 cyl is worse. It barely gets out of its own way, I can't imagine actually having to use it as a truck and tow something or carry something in the bed.
In reply to rothwem :
I test drove a V6 one and was surprised how slow it was, then I had one for a week-long rental and it was much quicker. I think it must have reduced power for a limited period when they’re new.
Pete Gossett said:In reply to rothwem :
I test drove a V6 one and was surprised how slow it was, then I had one for a week-long rental and it was much quicker. I think it must have reduced power for a limited period when they’re new.
Weird. The V6 I drove was fine, I thought it was more than adequate. The 4 cyl was the one I had an issue with, I test drove that one first, and after sitting at 4000 rpm for 30 seconds trying to get up a moderate hill, I decided that I'd had enough and headed back to the dealership.
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