Nissan Frontier lives on another year with minimal changes, same low price

WoW, I just saw this!! Nissan is going to go with it another year and hope the low price will keep them in the game. I rented a 2017 on vacation this month for a week. Traveled the PCH in Cali. I liked the transmission and engine combination. It actually felt better than my Taco ( see my **UPDATE** post though). The mpg was about 2 mpg less and the cockpit very outdated and had a cheaper feel. I guess for the price it might be a good buy for those looking at it that way.

 

I guess if you just want a small basic lower priced truck then that would probably be your choice.

 

If it still sells, there's no need to change it.

 

My brother bought a Fronty about 4 years ago - thing was literally worn out in 50k miles! But he got smarter and bought a Ridgeline next /sarc

 

Sweet fancy moses....this is the interior of a 2018?!

 

It's a good option if you can't afford a Taco. Especially the Pro 4X.

 

Loved my 03 supercharged. I drive a 16 at work and The new ones do have a good drivetrain but I just don't like anything else about it.

 

The Pro4X is a legitimate bargain if you can live with the interior. It's a sturdy little truck.

 

It was supposed to be a 2019 release last I heard but that would have been suicide with the return of the Ranger. I guarantee they bumped it back a year because they know they'd get no press. A 2020 release is safer with the biggest risk being a facelift for the Tacoma or GM twins.

 

I guess that will make the 2020 pretty appealing then knowing you'll have the late model for the next 20 years

 

It fills a niche. They're still the bare bones Autozone rent-a-truck.

What sells Toyota Tacomas? Perceived reliability

What sells Nissan Frontiers? Bang for the buck.

If Nissan forks over a ton of money on R&D to build a newer "better" Frontier, how will they justify the price? If Joe consumer has to pay the same amount for a redesigned Frontier as a Tacoma Joe is gonna pick the Taco. Nissan knows this. So why change?

 

I was on the fence in ‘15 . I was in the show room and test drove it. It looked like a outdated truck. The interior just looked like garbAge. I bought a 15 prerunner for $24k. The Nissan was about $1,300 less. I drove the prerunner 2 years and put 50k on it. Traded it on my ‘17 sport. I owe $18k on it so I think I did ok.

 

Or have the money sense / thiftyness not wanting to pay $40K+ on a midsized truck. The price on the Nissan website is close to a Tacoma but in reality a lot of people are getting a significant discount off MSRP. I can see why the Frontier is still popular. I think if they updated the interior and kept the price near the same, they would sell a lot more off them.

 

That colour is especially bad. The black / graphite of the pro-4x is a bit nicer.....a bit. But it works and all the buttons and knobs are functional and easy to grip.

 

Honestly, it just needs an interior facelift, as you said, and maybe a bed redesign. I think they should go polymer like the Taco to cut down on weight. Throw in some cargo cubbies too, maybe.

 

and don't forget the MT... nowadays you can count 'em on one hand.

 

I got 3k almost 4k off msrp. I’m lucky. Plenty of dealers to choose from that are willing to write up a offer sheet. It also helps that a salesman I talked to at local dealer didn’t get my sale in ‘15. He lost out on the sale over $500 on my 2015 prerunner. When i contacted him in Feb ‘17 and said I’m buying a ‘17 TRD Sport he said he would beat any written offer by $500. that was his best price . I shopped every where within 100 miles. I also said I wanted 20k for my trade or I’m walking. You need to be ready to pull the trigger and do a ton of leg work! Just know the value of your trade . I know you can sell it out right but in Wisconsin the trade in washes some sales tax . So basically got 21k and change on the trade. A 2wheel drive truck in the land of ice and snow. That thing did donuts like a champ!

A $1,300 difference I bought the Tacoma.
$15/20k probably would of bought the Nissan

It started In 2015 at the GMC Dealer that had zero GMC Canyons in stock. I was told 6-8 weeks .. pfff I went to Toyota and Nissan. They had trucks sitting and waiting. Also the canyon was super high.

 

Yeah, when I was cross-shopping a Nissan dealer offered me 4K off MSRP on a Pro-4X for just calling them, no work at all.

 

The Frontier has two “problems” that the Taco doesn’t share (other than the dated interior)

1-limited aftermarket support or upgrades. No fun for the modders.

2-poor factory ground clearance on the 4WD models.