New Nissan Frontier won't show up until 2020, report says
It's still selling well, but it feels every bit of its age.
Following previous reports, the Nissan Frontier will finally move away from its current 15-year-old self and head in a new direction, and it'll happen relatively soon.
The Nissan Frontier will finally receive a full-on redesign, Automotive News reports, citing sources familiar with the company's plans. The kicker, though, is that it won't make an appearance until the 2021 model year, which means it won't hit the market until fall of next year or thereabouts. Its last big do-over was in 2004. A fun aside: I was in high school at that point.
Here's what to expect. AN's report claims that the Frontier will still ride on the same platform as before, albeit a modified one, as it's more sensible to reengineer the current platform than attempt to make the global Navara platform larger to accommodate the Frontier. That means the next Frontier will likely sport rear leaf springs, as opposed to the car-like (and more expensive) coil springs the Navara uses.
Below-average transaction prices have maintained consumer interest in this 15-year-old midsize truck.
In terms of looks, AN's source described it as "futuristic," but did not specify further than that. Under the hood, the Frontier's old 4.0-liter V6 will be dropped in favor of a newer V6 that reportedly makes around 300 horsepower. The five-speed automatic will sprout two more forward gears, as well.
Nissan declined to comment on the report, which is par for the course on reports of this kind. Automakers routinely decline to discuss future products until the right time, usually leading up to the vehicle's debut. As of now, Nissan has not made any announcements to this end.
While the Frontier may be pushing 105 in dog years, the market is still embracing the midsize pickup. AN's report points to data that says the Frontier's market share is down, yet it still commands 15.2 percent of a segment that includes fresh faces from Ford and, soon, Jeep . In March, Nissan pushed 7,868 Frontiers out the door in the US, a slowdown of about 1,000 units compared to March of last year, according to data from GoodCarBadCar. Thus far in 2019, Nissan has sold 20,221 Frontiers.
