We all know that pickup trucks tend to have longer life cycles than cars and crossovers, but the fact that the current Nissan Frontier mid-size pickup truck has been soldiering on for 15–years here in the U.S. and Canada is pretty remarkable. What’s even more remarkable is that Nissan replaced our outgoing Frontier in global markets years ago! 

Well, that has now changed. The now North American exclusive, the 2022 Nissan Frontier not only sports a more macho, modern “Hardbody” look than of the brand’s previous small truck efforts. There are two body styles, the extended King Cab with a 6-foot bed, and true Crew Cab with standard 5-foot or optional 6-foot bed. The bolder looks are backed it up with best-in-class 310-horsepower from its already redesigned, and standard, 3.8-liter V6 with 9-speed automatic transmission, a PRO-4X off-road model with Off-Road Assist for the Surround View Camera, and 6,720-lbs. towing capacity with standard Trailer Sway Control. 

But street ride has also been softened, despite carrying over basic body-on-frame underpinnings and wheelbase. With that, while overall the standard length does grow 4.5 inches, other exterior dimensions are roughly the same, giving the new Frontier a tidier feel than most rivals. On the other hand, the new Frontier does include the largest touchscreen in the mid-size segment with standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus availability of Nissan’s Safety Shield 360 driving assistance with every trim.

For our complete road test of the new generation Nissan Frontier, be sure to catch MotorWeek episode #4117 that begins airing on PBS December 31, 2021. For a listing of the PBS public television stations that broadcast MotorWeek, go to motorweek.org and click the “About the Show” tab at the top. You can also watch weekly episodes of MotorWeek on our cable partner MAVTV with new episodes airing each Saturday at 7:30 PM. Check their entire schedule at MAVTV.com. MotorWeek can also be streamed in its entirety on PBS.org/MotorWeek, as well as on PBS Living, a part of Amazon Prime Video. The test of the new Nissan Frontier will also be available at motorweek.org and on youtube.com/motorweek.

It will be interesting to see how well the new Frontier fares not only against its direct competitors with the personal use buyer, but against new compact unibody pickups like the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz. To us, the 2022 Nissan Frontier represents a thorough modernization of one of the longest serving, most dependable small trucks ever, and one that will no doubt be around for many years to come.