2025 Nissan Frontier review

It took 17 years, but Nissan finally redesigned the Frontier for 2022, giving it larger proportions, a more rugged look, more up-to-date interior technology, and a better ride.

The lone engine is a 3.8-liter V6 hooked to a nine-speed automatic transmission. Rear-wheel drive comes standard, and buyers can get a part-time four-wheel-drive system that should be disengaged on dry pavement. Nissan continues to offer a Pro-4X model for off-road enthusiasts. It has standard four-wheel drive, Bilstein shocks, additional protective skid plating, tow hooks, and all-terrain tires.

The Frontier keeps the 126-inch and 139.8-inch wheelbases from the outgoing model, but its body is 4.5 inches longer. An extended cab with smaller rear doors, called the King Cab, comes with a five-foot bed, while the larger crew cab is offered with a five-foot or a six-foot bed.

While the previous Frontier had a notoriously buzzy ride, the addition of a rear stabilizer bar, hydraulic cab mounts, and a thicker front stabilizer bar give the current Frontier a composed ride.

Driver-assist features are plentiful. They include automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, rear cross-traffic alert with braking support, rear parking sensors, and automatic high beams.

The second-generation Nissan Frontier shared its underlying structure with the at-the-time-new Nissan Titan full-size pickup. It was about 10 inches longer in its wheelbase and a foot longer overall than the outgoing model in both its extended-cab and crew-cab body styles.

Nissan offered the Frontier with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder or a 4.0-liter V6, and depending on the model and engine, five-speed and six-speed manual and automatic transmissions were available. It came with rear-wheel drive or a part-time four-wheel-drive system. The lineup also offered an off-road variant, a Nismo model at the launch of this generation and later the Pro-4X.

Before its 2022 redesign, the Frontier got a major upgrade for the 2020 model year when it changed to a more powerful 3.8-liter V6 as the only engine option and a nine-speed automatic as the only transmission.

Inside, the base Frontier was indeed basic for many years, with no air conditioning or cruise control and with vinyl floors and upholstery. Air conditioning and cruise control were later added as standard for the 2018 model year.