Meet the new Frontier, same as the old Frontier
The 2019 Nissan Frontier soldiers on with little in the way of substantial changes. If you tick (or untick, we suppose) the right boxes, you can walk away from the dealership with a new truck for under $20,000. And when you compare that to other new vehicles in a similar price bracket, you’re not doing too badly. You get a truck with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder that puts out around 150 horsepower and a five-speed manual. And it’ll do everything you could want a truck to do—who could ask for more? Well, unless you’re a rental fleet, quite a few.
Our tester was a PRO-4X Crew Cab 4X4 Automatic V6. In Nissan speak, this is the top-of-the-line model, which starts at $34,190. With the $2100 Premium package and floor mats, our tester came in at $37,440.
So, what’s in the premium package? Leather seats for starters, with the driver getting eight-way power, and the passenger getting only four. The mirrors are also heated and powered, and the package finishes with a moonroof, roof rack and a rear center arm rest.
As for the PRO-4X package Nissan says:
The PRO-4X comes equipped with Bilstein off-road high-pressure shock absorbers, skid plates on the fuel tank, oil pan and transfer case, an electronic rear differential locker 4-wheel limited-slip (ABLS) and unique machine-finished 16-inch aluminum-alloy off-road wheels with 265/75R16 All-Terrain tires.
Not only that, but with the PRO-4X package, Nissan will paint the grille and bumpers body color. You’ll also get keyless entry, cruise control, and power doors and windows. Yes, this is a 2019.
Nissan's been selling the same Frontier for so long that I honestly thought our office's cleaning staff had come early when I saw this thing in the parking lot.
Then I noticed how shiny (and laden with off-road badging) it was, and realized it had to be a loaner. How's it drive? Exactly how it's driven for more than a decade, which is totally good enough for a small truck.
Nissan's small truck might be long in the tooth, but it still does the job fine, and at a starting price under $20k, it's a great deal, too.
Two-thousand and five. That’s the first year we got this rendition of the Nissan Frontier here in the U.S. And much like other vehicles that have been through more than one presidency during the same production cycle, updates have been kept to a minimum.
It feels easier to fault the Frontier for this than it does something like the Ford E-Series because so much has changed between 2005 and now, at least from an automotive perspective. And if the top-of-the-line PRO-4X were about $10,000 cheaper than it actually is, then it would be easier yet to quell my desire to lambast the Frontier. Toyota has done similar with the Tacoma, but they’ve at least refreshed the looks a bit.
Next time you’re out and about and you spot a Frontier, I challenge you to correctly guess the year. The only thing that gave me a clue that ours was newer was the flashy PRO-4X graphics and wheels.
How’d it drive? Well, like a truck. And that was nice. I can easily see the need for a truck like this. Just not at nearly $40k.
“Facts” say that the current-generation Nissan Frontier—known as the D23 chassis—has been around since the 2014 model year. But stepping in to our 2019 Frontier Pro 4X test truck, you could have been easily excused for thinking you were hopping into a restomodded 1997 model. The current Frontier is very similar to the original Frontier, and I say that with all affection for pickup trucks with an inherent utilitarian nature.
So, if I have any criticisms of the Frontier, it’s not inherently with the vehicle itself. I like trucks that are nice, but not “too” nice. No truck should be so nice that I even have to pause for even a moment to wonder if I should really fill the bed with mulch or hop into the cab after loading a dozen bags of Quikrete in the back. The whole modern trucks as “Cowboy Cadillacs” baffles me, and the Frontier makes for a nice balance between stark utility and modern features and comfort.
But—and this speaks to a much larger issue with pickup trucks in general today—any real love you develop for this old-school ride disappears when you see the $38,000+ price tag. That’s… insane. And the Frontier, as a “small” pickup, is still cheaper than modern half-ton pickups, which can easily set you back $50k or more before you even get into the fancier or more heavy-duty models. Sure, there tend to be a lot of incentives and deals available on trucks, but we still seem to be in the midst of an extended truck-pricing crisis with no end in sight.
So, yeah, the Frontier is fine. It’s a great $26,000 truck that just happens to cost $38,000.
Let us take a trip all the way back to January 18, 2006. It was a sunny winter day in beautiful Ormond Beach, Florida, and a transport truck rolled up to GRM HQ to deliver a blue Nissan Pathfinder.
At the time, the Pathfinder was fresh off a total redo for the 2005 model year. Ditto the Frontier, the pickup version.
That Pathfinder would server the magazine staff all the way through 2011–more than 100,000 miles along with countless adventures. It towed our cars and carried our gear. We called it Bruce. (Okay, I just made up that last bit.)
Even though the Pathfinder was treated with the same sympathy that you’d give to a shovel, the truck never let us down. It was anvil strong. Reliable. Touch. Unbreakable.
Today there’s a 2019 Frontier sitting in our parking lot. The historical tie-in to our Pathfinder? It’s basically the same truck. Call the current Frontier a throw-back machine to a day when cars (and trucks) came to life with the twist of a key vs. the punch of a fob. The steering wheel rim feels thin. Few people are going to congratulate you on getting a new truck.
Looking at the spec sheet for our PRO-4X model, though, and not everything is old-school. It comes with a five-speed automatic, eight-way power driver seat and a touchscreen display that includes navi. Bluetooth, USB connectivity and SiriusXM are included.
How’s it drive? Like a 15-year-old Nissan. It doesn’t offer overwhelming power, the steering feels slow, and the interior has a dated look to it. But on the other side, as our record shows, the truck will likely still be chugging along in a few decades. And while our loaded example topped $37,000, the Frontier line starts at $19,090.
Meet the new Frontier, same as the old Frontier
Did you check the VIN to be sure it was a 2019 and not an unsold 2005 sitting somewhere on a Nissan dealers' lot?
I had a 2011 Frontier Pro-4X with the Premium package years ago. It was a good truck, although I never towed with it.
I remember one time there was a huge mud pit by our work, so I would constantly drive through it in 2WD to see if I would get stuck. Finally did, just put it in 4WD, locked the rear diff, and pulled itself right out as if it was pulling away from a stop sign in a neighborhood.
We have the Xterra Pro-4X which is the same 4WD system and it's a really nice setup. I've had no concerns with taking it where we want to go.
Z31,
Funny thing is unless you dropped it to 4lo It didn't even lock the rear diff. IT only truely activates in 4lo
I drove a 2008 one of these with the v6 and a manual transmission from SC to Alabama for some rock climbing. It was novel, but for such a small truck it got terrible gas mileage.
In reply to morello159 :
That's not only Nissan, I've been looking at "mid size" pickups and for highway mileage:
Nissan Frontier - 20 mpg
Toyota Tacoma - 21 mpg
Colorado/Canyon - 24 mpg
Ford Ranger - 24 to 26 mpg (4wd and 2wd)
I'm liking the Ranger in 2wd at around $28k but $8k will buy a lot of gas.
There is a sweet spot in the Frontier lineup somewhere between the base and the Pro4X. It delivers solid performance, a decent size, excellent reliability, and tons of utility at a decent price. THAT truck is what has kept the Frontier in the lineup for so long. Many people don't need a statement, they just need a truck.
In reply to pinchvalve :
Probably the SV 4X4.
Yeah, it's ancient, but you can get one way under MSRP. I like Frontiers quite a bit and would own one if I didn't need a full size truck for kid hauling duties.
Back in 2011-- I had just had a 2nd windshield put in my MINI that year and the very next day it got bullseyed...fed up, I swung by the dealership right then. I spec'd out my dream Frontier -- a Pro-4X (maybe still called Nismo back then) crew cab, white with a black interior. They wanted to sell it bad -- I threw out a lowball offer and told them I would trade the MINI. They offered me several thousand over what I expected for the MINI and accepted my lowball offer and were even willing to do a dealer trade for the exact truck I wanted and have it there in 2 days.
They called my bluff and I had the pen in hand and just couldn't quite make myself do it. It amounted to about 12k off MSRP, but that was still a $27k unplanned purchase after tax.
In 5 years, when I'm down to 1 kid that needs hauling, I may retire the Tundra and do a used Frontier...or maybe they'll still be selling new ones?
Tyler H said:In 5 years, when I'm down to 1 kid that needs hauling, I may retire the Tundra and do a used Frontier...or maybe they'll still be selling new ones?
It wouldn't surprise me if they were still churning these out in 2024 unchanged.
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