Little Big Truck: 2021 Nissan Frontier Spied

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

As Nissan flings an old truck with a shiny new powertrain at midsize truck buyers, a top-down replacement waits in the wings.

To say a successor for the Frontier has been a long time coming would be the ultimate understatement. The current body has soldiered on since late 2004, when the second-generation truck appeared as a 2005 model. You author has gone through six cars since that long-ago year.

But the wait’s nearly over. And there’s even something to look at.

Motor Authority posted spy photos of the 2021 Frontier on Thursday, revealing a not-so-little truck that mimics the big boys. Whereas the current Frontier, despite its new 3.8-liter V6 and nine-speed automatic, feels like a lightweight throwback, the upcoming replacement looks like it’s hiding a GMC badge somewhere.

It’s a pickup with all the tall, blunt front-end action you’d expect from a full-sizer, and something tells me this will turn on many a buyer. Somehow managing to display an innate “Nissan-ness” through all of its camo, the spied truck sports a crew cab bodystyle and a short bed — by far the most popular configuration in the class. It remains to be seen whether Nissan, eager to reduce build configurations amid a cost-cutting spree, will return with a shorter King Cab cabin, or if the base 2.5-liter four-cylinder powerplant that disappeared for 2020 will stage a return.

Despite its cash-strapped nature, Nissan will be under pressure to live up to its value-oriented heritage and undercut the likes of Ford, General Motors, and Toyota at every turn.

Viewed from the side, the upcoming Frontier gives off echoes of both the Toyota Tacoma and the final-generation Dodge Dakota, though what a writer “sees” in a vehicle’s styling is entirely subjective and pointless. Still, those aren’t bad muses for a midsize truck.

There’s no official word from Nissan as to the new Frontier’s debut or on-sale date, but late this year seems an obvious guess. It isn’t known just how much the pandemic lockdown impacted the model’s timeline.

[Images: Nissan]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Dukeisduke Dukeisduke on Jul 09, 2020

    Doesn't look as aerodynamic as the Tacoma or the Ranger, and if that's their full four-door cab, it looks like the back doors may be as short, and the backseat as cramped, as the current Frontier.

  • Jeff S Jeff S on Jul 10, 2020

    What made the Frontier desirable for me no longer exists. The cheap Frontier with a 4 cylinder and manual transmission has now been replaced with a more expensive V-6 with a Jatco automatic. The Jatco automatic transmission (yes I realize the CVT is the worst but all Jatco automatics have had issues) alone is enough to prevent me from buying any Nissan. I will not buy a Nissan or FCA product and I am getting to the point of never buying another GM or Ford product. I am willing to pay a little more to get a reliable vehicle.

  • TheMrFreeze That new Ferrari looks nice but other than that, nothing.And VW having to put an air-cooled Beetle in its display to try and make the ID.Buzz look cool makes this classic VW owner sad 😢
  • Wolfwagen Is it me or have auto shows just turned to meh? To me, there isn't much excitement anymore. it's like we have hit a second malaise era. Every new vehicle is some cookie-cutter CUV. No cutting-edge designs. No talk of any great powertrains, or technological achievements. It's sort of expected with the push to EVs but there is no news on that front either. No new battery tech, no new charging tech. Nothing.
  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
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