Old-school truck still gets the job done
With 14-year-old design, Nissan Frontier lacks modern amenities many of its competitors offer
Aline from Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi came to mind almost immediately after getting behind the wheel of the Nissan Frontier pickup for the first time in probably a decade. “Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.” In this case, it was amenities I had become accustomed to finding in most vehicles I’ve been testing that the Frontier didn’t have.
By way of explanation, one has to realize that, in the mid-sized pickup segment the Frontier is as old as Methuselah — if Methuselah was born in 2004. OK, 14 years for a human and you’re barely a teenager; 14 years in the automotive marketplace without a major update these days is an eternity for a truck. So, expecting things like automatic headlights and push-button start, and not finding them can require a bit of a readjustment.
As a kid, I spent enough time bouncing around in my father’s pumpkin-coloured 1967 Fargo Sweptline to remember what stripped down was truly like; using that as a comparison, the Frontier is positively Rolls-Roycelike. But, in these days of fancier and pricier rigs such as the Chevy Colorado ZR2, GMC Canyon Denali and Honda Ridgeline Black Edition, the Frontier Crew Cab is a throwback to when a pickup was foremost a work vehicle.
So, yes, it has air conditioning, power windows, heated seats and a backup camera. But it’s also a truck with a fully boxed ladder frame
and a 6,210-pound towing capacity. Beat it up, get it dirty, load up the bed with construction materials — it comes with a factory-applied sprayon bedliner as well as Nissan’s Utili-track system. The latter provides cargo flexibility through five special “C” cross-section rails mounted in the bed (two channels in the bed floor and one each on the bedside rails and the bed header panel). Removable utility cleats slide into the channels, providing a multiple attaching points for securing cargo.
Yet, Nissan also decided to tart up the old girl for 2018 with a new Midnight Edition package for $35,398.
This includes a gloss-black grille, 18-inch gloss black aluminum alloy wheels, semi-gloss black step rails, body-colour front and rear bumpers, black outside mirrors and door handles, and black badges. Though purely cosmetic, it’s not putting lipstick on a pig — in fact, contrasting with the tester’s Gun Metallic grey paint job, the effect is kind of macho in an understated way.
Though a 2.5-litre four-cylinder is offered in the base 4x2 King Cab model, the rest of the Frontier’s lineup is powered by the evergreen 4.0L DOHC V-6, the go-to engine since the second-generation pickup made its debut in 2004. Pumping out a stalwart 261 horsepower and 281 pound-feet of torque, it no longer has the same brawn as the V-6-powered competition, but it’s close enough and there’s still plenty of low-end grunt on tap: The pickup will hit zero to 100 km/h in less than eight seconds when it’s pushed. It’s a growly engine under load, with a retro muscle car-like rumble once the revs smooth out.
In the tester’s case, the V-6 is hooked up to a five-speed automatic transmission, a smooth unit though a little leisurely on the upshifts. Fuel economy isn’t a strong suit — with about a 50/50 mix of in-town commutes and highway jaunts, I averaged 18.1 L/100 kilometres.
The truck’s shift-on-the-fly, fourwheel-drive system comes with 2WD/4H/4LO modes operated by an electronically controlled, parttime transfer case. The tester also had standard four-wheel limited-slip, which helps transfer power to the drive wheels with more grip on slipperier surfaces. Traction control and vehicle dynamic control are also included.
The Frontier shares its suspension layout with the larger Titan, including its all-steel double-wishbone front suspension and solid axle rear suspension with overslung leaf springs and a long suspension stroke for better off-road performance. I didn’t go off-roading, but encountered myriad potholes and unceasing road construction that the Frontier’s suspension and meaty P265/60R18 rubber absorbed well, with just a gentle rocking of the cab to show for it. The power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering was precise with a good feel for the road.
Nissan describes the Frontier Crew Cab’s interior as functionality combined with comfort and intelligent design. And, once you adjust to the acres of grey plastic and a square-ish industrial dash layout, the description holds true. There’s no touchscreens here, just gauges and buttons — and one five-inch display screen (new for 2018) — that are large, well marked and placed exactly where they should be. In addition to the display screen, other enhancements for the 2018 model year include the addition of standard rear-view monitor across all models and updated base grade content — including standard air conditioning, cruise control, Bluetooth hands-free phone system and Siri Eyes Free.
There are multiple storage areas, including removable storage boxes tucked beneath the rear seats, a locking dual glove box, centre console storage, one-litre bottle storage integrated into the front doors and cupholders and power points.
Fourteen years without a major redesign isn’t going to translate into major sales. Yet, unlike the rolling billboards some of these trucks have become, the Frontier’s simplicity, ruggedness and reliability also have its fans. Just because it’s old school doesn’t mean it can’t get the job done. Authenticity still counts for something.