2022 Nissan Pathfinder and Frontier star in splashy teasers ahead of reveal
Nissan has a new SUV and midsize pickup truck to show us this week.
Here come the 2022 Nissan Pathfinder and Frontier, folks. On Monday, Nissan released two separate teasers, one for each vehicle, showing off both vehicles ahead of their debuts on Feb. 4. Although we don't see much of them at all, the Pathfinder teaser in particular has me optimistic for a much more rugged vehicle than what's currently sitting at dealerships.
The Pathfinder, as you likely know, was always a beefier, body-on-frame machine. But Nissan sort of neutered the SUV back in 2012 as it shifted to a unibody, front-wheel drive architecture. There's nothing wrong with that combination, because we see what's possible in, say, the 2021 Ford Bronco Sport. But the current Pathfinder is just a little soft; hopefully the 2022 model fixes this. We don't know much about it still, and the video above shows super quick glimpses of the SUV at best. If anything, it looks like there are some Rogue-looking taillights at the rear and some sharp LED running lights up front. That's the best I can discern for now.
The 2022 Frontier is a different story since Nissan gave away the truck's powertrain last year. The Japanese automaker, for one year, sold the outgoing truck with the new powertrain -- a 3.8-liter V6 with 310 horsepower married to a nine-speed automatic transmission. Rear-wheel drive and 4x4 layouts will be on the table, but as for the design, we're left in the dark still. The current Frontier is stupid old, though, so here's hoping Nissan ushers in a fresh looking ute.
