2026 Nissan Frontier: A mostly pleasant trip back in time
The midsize pickup received a refresh in 2025. Its controls stick to the tried and true; so does the suspension, evidently.
2026 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab Pro-X V-6 vs. 2026 Hyundai Santa Cruz XRT AWD vs. 2026 Chevrolet Colorado Trail Boss Stars and Steel: Smallish truck smackdown.
This week: Nissan Frontier
Price: $48,735 as tested.
What others are saying: “Highs: Solid overall value, offers more bed and cab configurability than rivals, old-school knobs and buttons are easy to use. Lows: Interior not as polished as competitors, only adequate towing capabilities, crew cab is a bit cramped,” says Car and Driver.
What Nissan is saying: “The only midsize truck with a standard 310-HP V-6 engine, recognized by Wards as the most awarded V-6 engine over the last 30 years.”
Reality: If by “Frontier” the Nissan folks mean like days of old, then the name fits.
What’s new: The Frontier received a refresh in 2025 — slightly new look, bigger infotainment system — after a redo in 2022.
But a pickup revamp is never that intensive. It’s a cab with a box on the back; how much could change? Fortunately, that carries over to the interior. If you’re frustrated with sliders and screens, has Nissan got something for you.
Competition: In addition to the Santa Cruz and the Colorado, there are the Ford Ranger, GMC Canyon, Jeep Gladiator, Honda Ridgeline, and Toyota Tacoma.
Up to speed: The 3.8-liter V-6 creates 310 horsepower. It gets to 60 mph in 7.3 seconds, according to Car and Driver, kind of doggish.
Shifty: The 9-speed automatic operates via a real shift lever. Leave it in automatic mode and it works quietly on its own. Slide the lever to the left to shift your own gears and it feels old school but nice.
On the road: Even more than most small pickups, the Nissan Frontier Pro-4X would do well as bump finders for road crews aiming to smooth things out. (They do that, right? Maybe in other states?) Some quirk in Route 202 South in Tredyffrin is a great testing ground for this, and the Frontier failed.
At first, keeping the Frontier on the road became challenge enough. I took a roundabout near my home a little too energetically on Day 1 and worried I was going to be sideways.
Over time, I became accustomed to the quirks and the vague accuracy on narrow lanes. Small pickups have a way of making up for the shortcomings by just being a blast as you roll along, and the Frontier was no exception. Sort of Jeep Wrangler-y.
Off the road: The hardest part about small pickups, especially the Frontier, is guiding them into a parking space head first. The turning diameter (42.6 feet) is huge, so plan ahead.
Driver’s Seat: The leather seats that come with the Pro Premium Package ($3,080) are comfortable and roomy.
Gauges and controls have a fairly old-fashioned look, so getting around seemed easy enough. Of note, the seat heaters are real switches, the kind that stay switched on and at the ready when you return to restart your cold vehicle, making a fan out of the Chilly Mrs. Passenger Seat.
Friends and stuff: The rear seat feels a lot like the third row of an SUV: The seat is small, legroom is snug, and foot room is nearly nonexistent. Here it also means the seat back sits fairly vertical, and there’s no room for reclining, nor does the seat move forward or back.
The 59.5-inch bed in the test model is most common across various trims. A 73.7-inch version comes on the long bed models. The Frontier as tested tows 6,880 pounds. Other versions tow more.
Finally, the rear seat folds down rather than up. I never tried living with one, but I feel like the fold-up seats offer more storage options.
In and out: It was a high step up into the Frontier Pro-4X as tested.
Play some tunes: Dials adjust volume and tuning and the rest of it happens inside the (new for 2025) 12.3-inch touchscreen. Sound from the 10-speaker Fender Premium Audio system (part of the Pro Premium Package) was pretty good, about an A-.
Keeping warm and cool: Dials easily control the temperature and buttons control the rest, without the eyes-off-the-road time of screen controls.
Fuel economy: The vehicle averaged a sad 16.9 mph over 400-plus miles, which included Mr. Driver’s Seat and other drivers.
Where it’s built: Canton, Miss. The bulk of the parts (40%) hail from the U.S. and Canada, while 20% come from Japan.
How it’s built: The Nissan Frontier gets a 4 out of 5 predicted reliability score from Consumer Reports.
Next week: Hyundai Santa Cruz
