Back in the 1980’s, little pickup trucks were all the rage – a remnant of the oil crisis, the small, nimble and very-useful trucks were ubiquitous. Over time, as oil prices fell, the little trucks fell out of favor as well. A few are still available here, and actually mirror offerings from around the globe. This Nissan Frontier, even though it was redesigned in 2014, is essentially unchanged since 2004. And in some ways, that’s a good thing; especially if you get a base model like our test truck.
When I say base model, I mean it – we’re talking crank windows, no power locks – a real throwback to the way this truck would have been in the 80’s and 90’s. The only real giveaways are the (small) LCD-screen display on the radio, mandated backup camera and traction control.
Even the transmission is only a 5-speed (manual). We found this somewhat endearing in this day and age of $50k-and-up pickups. Here’s an under $20k truck, with room for more than two adults and a decent bed for payload...

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