With news of the Jeep Gladiator’s price drops firing up the page views, attention should be turned to another truck in the midsized segment: the Nissan Frontier.
Unlike the Gladiator, the Frontier has been on the market for a long time. The mild 2020 update won’t be here for another few months, so the only player right now is the 2019 model. 2019 gave the Frontier a bigger touchscreen, making it more modern.
Locally, dealers are selling SV Midnight crew cabs (like the one above) for $7,000 off MSRP. Deals like this are rare for midsized trucks. For $24,000, you get a crew cab truck with a V6, heated front seats, a large touchscreen with Bluetooth and a backup camera, and an appearance that doesn’t look like a work truck.
These features seem sparse, but the competition isn’t much better. The Colorado and the Canyon don’t have a proximity system or push button start regardless of trim, and the optional safety technology is minimal. While the Tacoma has Safety Sense standard, a comparably priced one is a four-cylinder extended cab without remote locking. The lack of CarPlay is normal at $24,000 for midsized trucks.
If you’re wanting a proven truck and you don’t care about locking and unlocking your car with your pinky (unlike me), a new Frontier may be perfect for you.