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By Lori Wildrick
Used to be, you bought a truck because you had on ongoing need to haul large, bulky or heavy items. That’s not necessarily the case today. In fact, many a truck bed in suburbia has never seen a heavy item—much less one that might scratch that industrial-strength sprayed-in bedliner.
And so, as truck buyers approach the lot with no more than a whiff of necessity to move a thing, the demands of the truck have also changed. Today’s truck needs to drive like a sedan. It also needs to have good seating capacity. And it requires all of the comforts of an SUV, save maybe a DVD player, but really, that would be nice, too.
And today’s automakers are happy to comply. Take, for example, the brand-new Nissan Frontier. Like the other newly redesigned members of the Nissan lineup, the Frontier shares many similarities with its lot-mates, especially the Titan, Armada and the Pathfinder. But the Frontier shares much more than looks with the Titan; it also shares a sprayed-in bedliner, a UtiliTrack™ bed channel tie-down system and its fully boxed, all-steel frame.
Offered in both a King Cab and a Crew Cab body style, the Frontier is available in 4X2 and 4X4 configurations and in rear or 4WD powertrains. Like its competitors—the Chevy Colorado, the GMC Canyon, the Dodge Dakota and the Toyota Tacoma—the Nissan Frontier has moved up to the mid-size class. This new Frontier, built on Nissan’s fully boxed Titan frame has grown in almost every direction, especially the nearly ten inches in the wheelbase. Today’s Frontier is a full 205.5 inches long. The Frontier also shares its suspension with the Titan—an all-steel, double-wishbone front suspension with a rigid leaf rear suspension.
Although it has grown, the Frontier keeps itself garage-friendly thanks to its smallish beds. The Crew Cab’s bed is 59.5 inches long; the King Cab’s is 73.3 inches. Nissan maximizes the utility of these beds with its slick new UtiliTrack tie-down system. Comprised of two C-section rails in the bed floor, one each along the top inner edge of the bedside rails, and one in the top of the bed header panel this system enables users to secure a wide variety of cargo. An array of optional bed dividers, cargo trays and storage units can be added to further enhance utility. There’s also an optional cargo fence that can be used to extend the bed length (both versions come with tailgates that have door-style locks).
While the bed size might not accommodate users who actually haul a lot of cargo, the cabin’s interior is sure to please everyone. The rear doors on both the King Cab and the Crew Cab are larger than expected, making getting into and out of the passenger compartments that much easier. The King Cabs utilize rear-hinged access doors. The Crew Cabs have forward-hinged doors like those found on sedans and SUVs.
There’s also plenty of leg room for everyone, too, as well as flip-up rear seats for added storage space. The Crew Cab interior is more sedan-like than truck-like, given the host of optional amenities. Overall, however, the materials used in the interiors are a bit on the cheap side, so you don’t get the same feel as you might in a more upscale SUV or sedan.
When it comes to powering up this truck, Nissan now offers the same 265 horsepower V-6 engine that made its debut in the Pathfinder. Available in all but the base model King Cab, this new powerplant packs more punch than any of the competitors’ five-, six- or eight-cylinder engines. In fact, it offers best-in-class torque and horsepower—easily beating the 2005 Chevy Colorado, the 2005 Toyota Tacoma and the 2005 Dodge Dakota. The new Frontier also offers up to 6,500 lbs/ft of towing capability and can carry payloads of up to 1,500 pounds. The Frontier even comes standard with power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering and four-wheel disk brakes with an anti-lock braking system.
The Frontier comes in four models: a base version XE; an SE; an LE and a NISMO off-road version. The XE is only available in a King Cab, and comes with rear-wheel drive and a 2.5-liter inline four. It has crank down windows, a five-speed manual transmission and 15-inch wheels. A five-speed automatic transmission is available as an option.
The SE is available in both 4X2 and 4X4 versions of either the Crew Cab or the King Cab. Common luxuries such as air conditioning, a sliding rear window, AM/FM/CD stereo system, and tilt steering all come standard.
The LE is the most luxurious of the group. It comes with an automatic transmission, all of the SE’s standard features, power mirrors, windows and locks, fog lamps, chrome accents, remote keyless entry, height adjustable driver’s seat, sunglass holder, and a host of other "sedan-oriented" features. Options include an MP3 player, a six CD changer, an upgraded traction package, leather, and an XM or Sirius Satellite radio.
The NISMO off-road version (NISMO stands for Nissan Motorsports International, the automaker’s racing and high-performance division), features special shock absorbers, tires, underbody compartment protecting skid plates and an active traction system with Hill Descent Control (which is handy for going down steep hills) and Hill Start Assist (which helps hold you in place when you lift your foot off of the brake when heading up hill). The NISMO is available in both 4X2 and 4X4 King Cab or Crew Cab configurations. The 4X4 King Cab is available in manual or automatic; the other three are all automatic.
Nissan has upped the mid-sized truck ante with its new Frontier. This new truck offers more of everything truck users and truck lovers want: lots more power, more room; great off-road potential, and more utility, all wrapped up in a more luxurious package. Forget the old rough-ride, stripped-down trucks of old; today’s truck is essentially a power-packing sedan—with a lot more cargo capacity.
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