Nissan dropped quite the surprise, showing off nearly its entire portfolio of soon-to-be-updated or outright redesigned models in a video that briefly showcased each vehicle beneath the first letter of its respective name. This teaser of Nissans to come applies to the automaker’s global product line, so there are a few appearances here of stuff America likely won’t get, including the Terra SUV and the Navara pickup. Easily the most consequential upcoming Nissan in the video (at least, next to the hot-lookin’ Z sports car) is the Navara’s American cousin: The 2021 Frontier.
While the new Z likely will draw the most attention and headlines, the next-generation Frontier is far more likely to help Nissan pay its bills. Today’s Frontier is a long-serving workhorse, with—probably—long-paid-off tooling, as well as research and development costs, that continues to sell surprisingly well despite its age. (Introduced for 2004, the Nissan truck has been on sale in pretty much the same form for more than 16 years!) Value pricing helped its popularity through the years, with the Frontier, until recently, anchoring the low-priced end of the midsize pickup segment, undercutting key rivals such as the newer Ford Ranger, Chevrolet Colorado, and Toyota Tacoma.
We doubt the new truck will be so cheap, particularly given Nissan’s move to axe the base four-cylinder engine from the 2020 Frontier, effectively raising the price of the current pickup in its final year. Part of the reason for the big price jump and the engine shuffling is that, curiously, Nissan rolled out the upcoming 2021 Frontier’s V-6 engine early, installing it in 2020 models as a sort of test run ahead of the new truck’s launch. Like the 2020 model, expect the six-cylinder 2021 Frontier to wear a sticker price that puts it right in the thick of the midsize truck segment.
It also appears as though the 2020 Nissan Frontier’s life will be quite short. Reports indicate the redesigned 2021 model could reach dealerships as soon as September, though we should point out that those timelines were before the coronavirus pandemic took hold. We expect that plant shutdowns and other disruptions to Nissan’s normal flows of business for the new Fronty’s launch to be pushed back somewhat. Look for the new truck to boast all-new styling inside and out, and a new structure, as well. In the teaser video, we can just make out the Frontier’s shape, which remains traditionally blocky and rectilinear, as well as its new cat-eye LED headlight accents.
