Nissan Frontier: Athletic truck handles like a car

Designed to take the off-road adventure to the next level, this 4×4 is built to handle difficult conditions

By: Mike Blake
   Built to be roomy, sporty, aggressive and athletic, the Nissan Frontier 4×4 NISMO King Cab is rugged, sporty-looking, built tough and created to take a family of four down a hill or downtown. This is one fun, sturdy truck.
   My striking Aztec Red Frontier was designed by the NISMO arm of Nissan. NISMO is Nissan’s motorsports group, and its engineers pay special attention to toughness, styling and performance. The Frontier does have style it has great lines for a truck and a rounded, strong appearance.
   But the mid-size Frontier doesn’t rely on looks alone. It provides solid truck credentials, beginning with the sturdy foundation furnished by the F-Alpha platform it shares with the full-size Nissan Titan pickup. Designed to take the off-road adventure to the next level, this 4×4 is built to handle difficult conditions.
   The Frontier comes with special off-road suspension tuning and a collection of unique-to-the-model electronic traction-control systems. It includes four-wheel limited slip, which helps redirect engine torque to the non-slipping drive wheel on low-traction surfaces. A new Hill Descent Control (HDC) helps maintain a low speed on steep downhills without the constant application of the brake pedal.
   Shift-on-the-fly part-time 4WD changes the vehicle from 2WD to 4WD seamlessly. An electronic locking rear differential is standard, and the NISMO Frontier’s suspension also includes off-road-tuned high-performance Bilstein gas shock absorbers.
   Power is part of the fun, too, as my test vehicle came with a strong 4.0-liter 24-valve, DOHC V-6 engine that thunders out 265 horsepower and 284 lbs.-ft. of torque, giving it the most horsepower of any mid-size truck on the market. During my road tests, my six-speed manual transmission got me all the acceleration one would expect from a truck, and when I needed thrust off road, the setup didn’t hesitate, and the aggressive BFGoodrich Rugged Trail T/A P265/75R16 off-road tires extricated me from situations that would make some other trucks cry.
   The powerplant moves this muscular 4,167-pound vehicle robustly while knocking out a decent 17 mpg city and 21 mpg highway fuel economy rating.
   During my rolling, steering-wheel lock-to-lock test, I found a bit more upper shake than I would have liked, indicating a higher center of gravity than expected, but the suspension handled the test well and provided excellent stability.
   I also took the Frontier on an SCCA autocross track and found that it handled as well as most cars on the road. That’s something to shout about, when a vehicle with true truck credentials sticks to a street course like a little sportster. I did find that in 2WD, there is a tendency to spin out on tight turns and wet pavement, but in 4WD, this is one stable, road-sticking beast.
   And off-road? This truck has a motorsports and off-road pedigree. All you have to do is shift the vehicle into 4WD or 4WD low, and you can rock crawl or rut and mud and grass soar as well as any off-roader in its class.
   The King Cab means you have seating for two behind the driver and co-pilot, but it doesn’t mean room fit for a king.
   The rear seats are really kind of cute and child-sized for a truck this rugged, but perfect for a family outing. Under one of the seats is a first aid kit, and between the two rear buckets is your jack and lug wrench set up.
   This new truck offers an extensive list of performance-oriented parts, including sharp 16-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, skid plates, steel double-wishbone front suspension and solid axle rear suspension with over-slung leaf springs and a long suspension stroke for optimized off-road dynamics.
   The new Frontier also offers the innovative factory-applied spray-in bedliner and the Utili-track bed channel tie-down system first available on Titan, and four movable tie-down cleats and bed rail caps. The bed provides a very utilitarian usable space of 73.3 inches in length by 44.4 inches in width. With a tow-rating of 6,300 pounds, this is one very functional truck.
   Priced at $26,030, it is ticketed at thousands less than much of its mid-size truck competition.
   The interior is very sharp-looking attired in black, which accented its high-visibility and striking Aztec Red exterior very well. But the interior is austere trucklike, just so you don’t forget this great-handling vehicle is a tough truck and not a sissy car, despite the cute rear seats.
   Comfortable front seats have an eight-way manual adjustment. There is not an overuse of electronics in the cabin, as though created not to occupy your attention when you need it on the road or off-road.
   Easy-to-read instrumentation, in-dash AM/FM/CD player with six speakers, steering wheel audio controls, cruise control, leather-wrapped steering wheel, tire-pressure monitoring system and air conditioning make this a very comfortable, functional cab.
   A truck with carlike handling. Durable, attractive, functional and priced reasonably, the NISMO Frontier is deserving of a long look.
Visit www.carsatcarlisle.com for more on the automotive hobby. Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He’s been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years.