2023 Nissan Frontier

The 2023 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab will be offered in two trims which are S and SV. The price for the S will start from $31,785 and it'll get features such as 16-inch wheels, tilt adjustment for the steering wheel, push-button start, cloth upholstery, and an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment display. On the safety part, the truck comes standard with a forward collision warning and mitigation system only. The SV trim demands a base price of $34,585 but comes with a couple of upgrades only which are bigger 17-inch wheels and power adjustments for the driver's seat. Nissan offers a couple of optional packages for the SV trim only, making the base S trim make do with its standard features only. The SV trim's packages are the SV Convenience package and SV Premium Package. A few features that one can get via these packages include a spray-in bed liner, under-rail lighting in the bed, a couple of household-style power outlets, leather wrapping and heating for the steering wheel, heated front seats, a two-zone automatic climate control, and faux leather upholstery.

We Recommend

The base S trim provides a decent number of features for its price but we'll recommend going for the additional safety techs offered by the brand. To get more out of your truck, the SV trim along with the SV Convenience package is recommended.

Release Date

The 2023 Nissan Frontier is expected to arrive late 2022 or early 2023 as per the latest reports. 

The 2023 Nissan Frontier gets a sizable 3.8L naturally aspirated VQ38DD V6 motor that puts out a healthy 310 horsepower along with 281 lb-ft of torque. Several rivals of the Frontier get a small 2.0-liter turbocharged motor as their base powertrain, putting out some mediocre output numbers. The horsepower and torque figures are not only for show, but you’ll realize every bit of it once you get behind the wheel of the truck. Both inside the city limits and out on the highways, the motor delivers strong performance, and getting up to freeway speeds isn’t a big hassle for the truck as well. The motor is paired with a standard 9-speed automatic transmission that drives the rear wheels. An optional 4-wheel drive is available, complete with low gearing to take on rugged terrains better.

The Toyota Tacoma gets a 3.5-liter V6 under its hood that delivers a decent 278 horsepower along with 256 lb-ft of torque. The Tacoma’s output numbers might be slightly lower than the Frontier’s figures, but it is as capable as the latter. The Ford Ranger has the smallest motor here but that delivers the highest torque output among its rivals here. Moreover, it has a higher tow rating than the rivals here as well. The Chevrolet Colorado houses a 3.6-liter V6 and is the only one to come close to the Frontier with its 308-hp power on tap. On the plus side, the Colorado can tow 500 lbs more than the Frontier as well.

2023 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab Ride and Handling

In recent times we have seen compact pickup trucks doing a solid job in their handling department while keeping their load-carrying capabilities intact. The new Frontier gets a comfortable ride too as compared to a few rivals and has pleasant handling too. Around the cities, the truck is quite maneuverable but the unnecessarily heavy steering wheel plays a spoilsport. Irrespective of the tarmac condition, the suspension setup eats up almost everything on its way and the commendable 8.6-inch ground clearance allows the truck to tackle tough terrains properly when equipped with the 4WD layout.

2023 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab Braking Performance

After its major redesign, the brakes of the Nissan Frontier are completely new units. At the front, the truck gets 11.7-inch and at the rear, the truck gets 11.3-inch brake rotors to perform the stopping duties. With these brakes and a curb weight of 4,304 lbs, the truck comes to a complete stop within 115 feet only, one of the shortest stopping distances in the class. The braking performance is further enhanced by the standard and available advanced driver assistance systems that work perfectly in any situation.

The Toyota Tacoma has the smallest brakes here, a pair of 10.8-inch front and 10-inch rear brake rotors. Even though it weighs much less than the Frontier at 4,075 lbs only, the Tacoma takes 124 feet to come to a complete stop from 60 mph. The Ford Ranger gets 12.2-inch front and 12.1-inch rear brake rotors. With that setup, the Ranger requires about 127 feet to come to a complete stop from 60 mph, a decent performance for the class. The Chevrolet Colorado again takes about 126 feet to halt while having 12.2-inch front and 12.8-inch rear rotors.

Compact pickup trucks with puny turbocharged motors under their hoods deliver some respectable EPA figures but the ones with V6 units aren’t too far. The 2023 Nissan Frontier, with its standard V6, returns an average of 18 mpg when driven inside the cities and a solid 24 mpg while out on the highways, according to the EPA. The combined mpg is rated at a decent 20 mpg and the truck gets a sizable 21-gallon gas tank as well. With a full tank of fuel, the truck can cover about 380 miles in city driving conditions and the number crosses 500 moles during highway driving.

The Toyota Tacoma is marginally more fuel efficient than the Frontier, which is a bit disappointing since the latter makes more power and torque. However, the Tacoma gets an identical 21-gallon gas tank as the Frontier, resulting in slightly better driving range figures than the latter as well. The Ford Ranger is the most fuel-efficient here which is quite expected courtesy of its smaller turbocharged motor. Despite the solid mpg ratings, the Ranger is forced to take a step back due to its smaller 18-gallon gas tank that delivers some average driving range figures. The Chevrolet Colorado has a similar city mileage rating to the Frontier and slightly better highway and combined mpg ratings than the latter. With its decent-sized 19.5-gallon gas tank, the Colorado offers impressive highway and combined driving ranges.

Nissan is among the better automakers that are known to make pleasurable cabins. The 2023 Nissan Frontier also gets the same treatment and has a nice cabin. While the interior might not match in terms of styling with the likes of a few rivals such as the Honda Ridgeline, it gets plenty of things right. For starters, the cabin has ample storage cubbies and the overall layout of the dashboard is simple and user-friendly too. The front seats are quite comfortable for both long and short driving sessions but the rear seats are a bit short in legroom. As a result, the adults in the rear seats might manage for a short distance but out on long distances, they’ll be uncomfortable. You can use the rear seats for storage purposes though if you run out of space after filling out all the storage cubbies inside. The cabin also gets several standard features but you can further equip the truck with goodies such as heated front seats, faux leather upholstery, leather wrapping and heating for the steering wheel, and power adjustments for the driver’s seat. The cargo capacity is at par with the rivals at 40 cu-ft.

Time and again, Toyota has been praised for making simple yet robust cabins for its utility vehicles, and the Tacoma’s cabin is another example of the same. The dashboard has a proper tough and truck-like appeal while there are minimal buttons on the dashboard to distract you while driving. The cargo capacity is more than what the Frontier offers at 42.9 cu-ft of space. The Ford Ranger also gets a decent cabin and its rear seats are more spacious than both the Frontier’s and Tacoma’s rear seats. However, the cargo capacity of the Colorado takes a toll with only 33.9 cu-ft of space on offer.

Some of the key interior features available with the 2023 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab include:

• Cloth upholstery
• Tilt-only steering wheel
• Heated mirrors
• Heated leather-wrapped steering wheel
• Heated front seats
• Dual-zone automatic climate control

How intuitive is the 2023 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab’s infotainment system?

The 2023 Nissan Frontier’s infotainment system is a huge step up over the previous gen’s unit and gets an 8.0-inch touchscreen display as standard. Right from the base trim, the system offers features such as Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, satellite radio, Bluetooth, and a 4-speaker audio system. From the optional features list, you can choose extra features such as a bigger 9-inch touchscreen display, navigation, Wi-Fi hotspot, wireless support for Apple CarPlay, and a premium 10-speaker Fender audio system.

Some of the most notable infotainment features available with the 2023 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab include:

• 8-inch/9-inch touchscreen display
• Apple CarPlay/with wireless support
• Android Auto
• Bluetooth
• Satellite radio
• Navigation(optional)
• 10-speaker Fender audio system(optional)

The old model of the Nissan Frontier looked handsome and rugged but looked quite dated when it was phased out. However, Nissan did an excellent job with the new Frontier’s design, especially on the outside, and retained the truck-like and rugged appearance of the truck as well. At the front, the truck gets a rectangular and grayish front grille that also gets a wire-like pattern. The front bumper gets a two-tone design with the lower part finished in a similar gray theme as the grille, giving a tough appeal. The headlamps are halogen units while LED headlamps are offered for the SV only through the SV Premium package. Around the sides, the doors get a sculpted design on the lower side while the fenders are sleek but the square design makes them look chunky. The rear end gets a typical truck design with sculpted designs on the tailgate and a couple of compact halogen tail light units on either side. The truck also gets a decent ride height of 8.6 inches which allows it to stride over bad and tough terrains fairly easily, especially when equipped with the 4WD layout.

The Toyota Tacoma gets its front-end design inspired by the Tundra and a few other utility vehicles from the brand. However, it is among the most rugged-looking trucks in the segment. To enhance its dominance, the truck gets a standard ground clearance of 9.4 inches, which allows it to wade through shallow waters and traverse tough terrains with ease. The Ford Ranger has started to look dated, especially since most of the rivals here have received their much-deserved facelifts. Despite that, the Ranger still has a ute appeal but its front end has an understated appearance though. The Chevrolet Colorado is the true baby version of the bigger Silverado truck with a slightly identical front-end design and similar chunky fenders on the sides.

Some standout exterior features include:

• 16-inch wheels
• Spray-in bedliner
• Adjustable bed tie-down cleats
• Bed under-rail lighting
• Heated mirrors
• Trailer hitch with wiring harness

The current version of the Nissan Frontier hasn’t been crash-tested yet by both the NHTSA and the IIHS, hence its crashworthiness ratings aren't available yet. We expect its safety ratings would be at par with the rivals it faces in the segment. Based on the latest Nossan F-Alpha platform, we expect the overall sturdiness of the truck to be excellent since several other vehicles including a few Infiniti luxury utility vehicles are also underpinned by the same platform. On the safety features part, Nissan has only provided the forward collision warning and mitigation system as standard. With the optional Technology package you can further equip the trick with features such as Lane departure warning, Blind-spot monitor with rear cross-traffic alert, Rear automatic braking, and Adaptive cruise control.

Some of the standout safety features include:

• Lane departure warning 
• Blind-spot monitor with rear cross-traffic alert 
• Rear automatic braking
• Adaptive cruise control
• Forward collision warning and mitigation system
• Emergency braking assist 

2023 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab vs 2022 Toyota Tacoma

The Toyota Tacoma challenges the Frontier quite well but not in its base form. In the price-to-performance ratio, the Frontier clearly has the advantage since the optional V6 of the Tacoma results in the price climbing past the base price of the Frontier, making the latter more value-for-money. In the design part, the Frontier feels fresher and more modern on the outside but the Tacoma has a bit more ruggedness on the inside. The Tacoma has a higher ground clearance and a slightly bigger cargo capacity than the Frontier.

2023 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab vs 2022 Ford Ranger

The Ford Ranger gives the Frontier a tough fight despite being dated in the design part. With more towing capacity and fuel economy numbers, the Ranger strides ahead blessed with its brilliant and torque-rich 2.3-liter EcoBoost I-4. However, it levels out with the Frontier in the driving range department due to its smaller gas tank. The Ranger gets more spacious rear seats but compromises on the cargo capacity. Moreover, the Ranger lacks a bit on the part of the standard features as compared to the Frontier.

The Nissan Frontier, in its new form, offers a fresh take on a trusted nameplate with an updated design and an all-new platform. The standard V6 is the cherry on the top since a majority of the rivals get only a smaller and less powerful turbocharged I-4 at a similar base price tag. While the Frontier won’t win any awards in its capability section, both the towing and payload capacities are adequate for day-to-day purposes and running errands. The Frontier also gets a tasteful set of optional features including optional safety techs that turns it into a solid urban truck, complete with its pleasant ride quality.