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We’ve been waiting a while for Nissan’s redesigned Frontier and it’s finally here. Worth the wait? In a word, yes.


I’m going to start with the obvious and how it looks. The Frontier is all grown up. Full stop. It gets the looks of a rugged full-size truck, but it doesn’t look like it’s wearing its big brother’s clothes.

The Frontier’s proportions are excellent. It looks like it’s riding higher, even though it’s not. The front grille and fascia look great. Like puzzle pieces that fit together well. The grille on the Pro-4X will be blacked out and on other trims will be body-colored.


I appreciate that Nissan didn’t go with a more aerodynamic profile here. Trucks like the Ranger and Colorado with their sloping rooflines look a little soft now by comparison.

I’ll wait till I see it in person, but this might be my favorite looking midsize truck now.


The bed floor height doesn’t change from the previous gen, but the bed walls get a bit taller. It might be harder for a shorter person like myself to put stuff into, but you ultimately get more cubic footage to store stuff. You can also get the Utilitrak system to tie that stuff down. (Towing capacity: 6,720 pounds, Payload capacity: 1,610 pounds)


The interior was so in need of a change, and it’s finally into the modern midsize truck age. Still utilitarian, yes, but what truck in this segment isn’t. This interior feels more intuitive, looks like the available space is well used, and finally, the gauge cluster has a digital component to it!


It gets Nissan’s awesome Zero Gravity seats, but I’m not crazy about this pattern on them.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will come as part of the standard goodies package but you can get extras like wireless phone charging.

Safety Shield 360 features will also be available, just not standard. Nissan’s ProPilot Assist will not be available.


The Frontier gets four trim levels, S, SV, Pro-X, which is sort of a 4x2 Pre-Runner version, and the 4x4 Pro-4X. You’ll be able to get King or Crew Cab, but the Pro-4X and Pro-X are crew cab only.


The powertrain is a holdover from the all-new V6 (3.8-liter V6; 310 hp, 281 lb-ft torque) from the 2020 Frontier. It’s mated to a 9-speed auto transmission. No manual or 4-cylinder option anymore. If you want a full rundown of that, check out my video on the 2020 on our YouTube channel.


Since this is just a first look, I’ve not driven it yet, but I’m guessing it’s not going to be all that different from the previous-gen as far as the feel goes because it’s riding on the same chassis. Now before you all freak out, this is already a good fully-boxed steel frame. They’ve made some adjustments to this one giving it new hydraulic mounts to help vibration and all the brackets have been optimized for this generation.


The same chassis means the wheelbase stays the same. In my book that’s a huge win. Midsize trucks are getting far too big. The length extends by 5-inches thanks to that new grille. While we don’t have approach, departure, or breakover angles yet, I’m guessing they’ll be pretty in line with the previous gen.

The same goes for fuel economy numbers here.

The suspension is an independent double-wishbone in the front and leafs and a solid axle in the back. Nissan has partnered with Bilstein for the Pro-X and Pro-4X models, which is my shock of choice, so that’s one for the win column. Both of those suspensions are tuned differently to best serve their purposes.

Nissan has confirmed that there are shared parts with the previous gen, but didn’t get specific on which ones.


Pricing on the 2022 Frontier isn’t available yet.

From my computer screen, so far so good, Nissan. More on the new Frontier when I see it and more importantly drive it.



00:00 2022 Nissan Frontier
0:14 Exterior
1:18 Interior
2:02 Trim Levels
2:19 Powertrain
3:02 Dimensions