At a driving event held last week in the mountains of southern Washington, American journalists were introduced to the new 2009 Nissan truck lineup. The five vehicles presented to us were the Armada, Titan, Pathfinder, Frontier, and Xterra. Getting to drive all five was really a treat, but my favourite was the Frontier.
The Nissan Frontier has always been a solid player in the mid-size pickup segment. In fact, Frontier has been highly competitive in the segment, and one of the bright spots for Nissan in the truck market.
The Frontier looked nice inside with the new seat cloth and large instrument panels, HVAC controls, and white-faced gauges. Combine the interior with a new grille, front fascia, headlights, and a terrific blue color body sitting on 16-inch wheels (SE), or 18-inch wheels (LE), and you have one attractive truck.
I drove a V6 that had great torque, towing, and payload capacity. The full-sized hardware, including fully boxed frame made for excellent off-road capabilities. On highways that were narrow, elevated, curved sharply, and sometimes in a lazy S configuration, the Frontier handled smoothly, and with little bounce. When the terrain changed quickly from smooth surface to gravel and boulder-shouldered pathways. The Frontier took whatever I drove it over. I failed to get good miles per gallon, but did drive a great distance in one day over difficult terrain, around mountains, and through small towns, yet never stopped for gas.
The Frontier has a starting price of $26,248 for the SE CC V6 4X2 and goes on up to $32,198 for the LE CC V6 4X4 LWB. So for about $32,000 you can get a powerful V6 4X4, filled with amenities, that rides comfortably, hauls and tows a lot, all with an air of style.
Durhl Caussey writes a car column read around the world. He may be reached at this newspaper or at dcaussey@sbcglobal.net .
