First Look: 2022 Nissan Frontier

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Midsize pickups are never going to outnumber full-size in Canada, but their popularity is rising, and truck companies are paying attention. At Nissan, that means an all-new 2022 Frontier, and if it drives as good as it looks, it’s going to be a serious contender.

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It gets all-new styling, a considerably upgraded interior, several new features, and most importantly, a new V6 engine and transmission that should address the outgoing Frontier’s thirst for fuel. It goes on sale this summer, with pricing announced closer to launch.

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First Look: 2022 Nissan Frontier Back to video

You might be saying, “Wait — there’s still a Frontier?” There is, but you can be forgiven for not knowing. While it’s had updates over the years, the current-generation truck has been with us since 2005. And last year, things got odd. With the all-new model still under wraps, Nissan in the U.S. released a 2020 Frontier that was the old truck with the new engine. We would have received it here just as COVID-19 shut everything down, so Nissan Canada decided to sit out the model year and wait for the new one.

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The outgoing Frontier had a 2.5L four-cylinder or 4.0L V6, with five-speed transmission. Few buyers opted for the four-cylinder, so now both are gone in favour of a direct-injection 3.8L V6 that makes 310 horsepower and 281 lb-ft of torque, and mated exclusively to a nine-speed automatic. Canadian fuel figures haven’t been announced yet, but they should be considerably better than the old V6, which was rated at 15.8 L/100 km in city driving. Towing capacity tops out at 6,490 lbs, and trailer sway control is new to the Frontier and included as standard equipment.

The external dimensions remain the same, save for a few extra inches of length in front. The bed-floor height and width don’t change, but the sides are taller, and the tailgate is now damped. The fully-boxed frame carries over, but gets heavier-duty brackets, and hydraulic rear cab mounts to reduce vibration. The front stabilizer bar is larger, new urethane jounce bumpers give a smoother ride, and the hydraulic steering ratio tightens up for better handling.

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As before, it comes in King Cab with six-foot bed; or Crew Cab with five- or six-foot bed. In both, trim levels are the S, SV, and off-road-ready PRO-4X. Commercial fleets will be able to order a base King Cab in two-wheel drive, but for Canadian consumers, everything’s a 4×4. It uses an electronically-controlled two-speed transfer case with shift-on-the-fly for 2WD, 4High, and 4Low, and hill-start assist and hill descent control are standard equipment. The PRO-4X adds Bilstein shocks, a locking rear differential, and skid plates. And yes, that PRO-4X is available in King Cab configuration as well as Crew Cab here, even though U.S. buyers can’t have it; it seems Canadians like the off-road King enough that it’s being built for us.

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Compared to the gently-rounded outgoing Frontier, the new one is squared-off and chunky; its designers refer to it as “interlocking volumes.” It pays homage to the tough little 1986 Nissan Hardbody truck, but wasn’t meant to be a retro design either. And because midsize buyers are opting for that segment instead of full-size, those designers said they couldn’t simply make a scaled-down version of a big truck by popping a massive grille onto its nose. Instead, all that chunkiness just looks proportionate.

The front and rear lighting are all LED, and the front tow hooks are new. The front-window dip echoes that introduced by Ford, but it’s good for visibility. The Frontier name is now stamped into the tailgate, and the handle is integrated into the spoiler. I haven’t seen this truck in the flesh yet, but from photos, this and the Jeep Gladiator are lengths ahead of the competition, neck-and-neck for “best-looking midsize on the market.”

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The interior is equally handsome. It continues the exterior theme of interlocking components, including the components in the dash and the embossing on the seats, which use Nissan’s “Zero-Gravity” construction for comfort and support. The door handle cut-outs mirror the grab handles on the sides of the centre console.

The nine-inch centre touchscreen includes Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Siri Eyes Free, and there’s a configurable seven-inch display in the instrument cluster. All models get Type-A and Type-C USB ports, and two 12-volt outlets.

All Canadian models have Nissan Safety Shield 360 as standard equipment, which gives you front and rear emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane departure warning, and automatic high-beam headlamps, along with adaptive cruise control and a driver alert feature.

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Other available features, depending on trim, will include a 360-degree camera with off-road mode, Fender audio, wireless phone charging, two 110-volt outlets in the cab and bed, spray-in bedliner, LED bed lighting, and bed-mounted rails for moveable tie-down cleats.

Three option packages will be available over the lineup, but they haven’t been finalized yet, so we’re waiting to hear what’s in them. We’ve also only been given hints about “heated features” with full news yet to come, and I’m hoping it means a heated steering wheel – my new gotta-have-it – will find its way into this truck.

Even as other automakers brought out trucks that were newer and fancier, I’ve always liked the Frontier. It’s a stout little workhorse, it’s got a comfortable seating position with good visibility, and it handles itself well off-road. Driving it will be the ultimate test, but this new engine should be a considerable improvement over the old one, and with its new looks and more features, this new Frontier should perk up the midsize segment again.

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