2023 Nissan Frontier Reviews, Pricing & Specs

In Canada, the 2023 Nissan Frontier is offered in six trim levels: S, SV Convenience, SV, Pro-4X, Midnight Edition, and SV Premium. Little has changed for the new model year, and for good reason—the exterior redesign, inspired by the 1986 Nissan Hardbody, and the all-new-for-2022 interior were well-received.

Updates for 2023 comprise a few additions. The new Nissan Frontier lineup gets a Midnight Edition, offered on the SV trim, which blacks out the grille, wheels, mirrors, badging, interior accents, and headliner. The Pro-4X trim, meanwhile, gets unique 17-inch alloy wheels and Lava Red interior accents evident in the stitching, the steering-wheel badge, and the inserts lining the grab handles and the door-mounted speakers.

Heated front seats and a heated steering wheel are available on the Pro grade (and all other grades except the base S), as well as a six-way power adjustable driver’s seat and a four-way manually adjustable passenger’s seat. A 60/40-split flip-up rear bench seat is included on crew cab models.

The nine exterior colour options include “Baja Storm” tan, Tactical Green, Blue Pearl, and two shades of red in addition to the obligatory grayscale offerings.

This second-generation Nissan Frontier debuted for the 2022 model year, but its powertrain led an advance charge, joining the lineup in 2020. That 3.8-litre V6 engine is still standard, and it still produces power specs of 310 hp and 281 pound-feet of torque. The Frontier uses the same nine-speed automatic transmission also found in the now-discontinued full-size Nissan Titan and the Nissan Z. It felt like the appropriate number of gears during in-town driving, but we would have preferred it to not have to downshift so many times before accelerating on the highway.

A shift-on-the-fly four-wheel drive (4WD) system is standard in Canada (rear-wheel drive (RWD) is offered in the U.S. but not in our market). 4WD models can be operated in either RWD or 4WD: The driver can shift to 4HI while traveling at speeds under 110 kilometres per hour. To shift into 4LO, they need to stop the truck.

Hill-start assist and hill-descent control are standard. Hill-descent control will maintain a steady speed so the driver can focus on placing the truck’s wheels safely. We appreciated this feature when we tested it on a fairly technical off-road course made more difficult by its carpet of wet fall leaves.

Nissan told us that they set themselves a challenge for this new generation of the Pro-4X trim: to balance its off-road capability with comfortable on-road manners. The automaker placed a strong focus on developing a smoother ride for the newest Frontier Pro-4X. The suspension with its Bilstein off-road shock absorbers is now more progressive in its compression, and a new urethane jounce bumper makes for a softer feel when it’s fully compressed. Nissan has also used a total of 41 new parts to reduce engine noise by five decibels, road noise by three decibels, and wind noise by 2.5 decibels.

Though some other automakers have shifted their trucks to electric power steering and the attendant (minimal) boost to fuel economy, Nissan still uses hydraulic steering in the Frontier. But, they’re listening: Following customer feedback that the truck was difficult to maneuver in parking lots, Nissan has increased the steering gear ratio by 16%, allowing the truck to turn faster at low speeds.

The Nissan Frontier has a towing capacity up to 2,952 kilograms (6,510 pounds) and can handle a maximum payload of 635 kilograms (1,400 pounds). Natural Resources Canada has rated the 2023 Frontier’s fuel economy for most versions at 12.8 litres per 100 kilometres in city driving, 10.2 on the highway, and 11.6 combined, while the Pro-4X is rated at 13.3 L/100 km city, 10.5 highway, and 12.0 combined.

The Frontier is available in two cab configurations. The larger Crew Cab is available with the SV, Midnight Edition, SV Premium, and Pro-4X trims and offers four full-sized doors and a larger interior space. A 6-foot bed length is matched with most grades, while the Pro-4X grade gets a 5-foot bed. King Cab, the base offering for S, SV Convenience, and Pro-4X trims, has two full-sized doors and two rear access doors. It’s smaller inside and gets the 6-foot bed standard, including with the Pro-4X.

LED under-rail bed lighting is newly available, joining the available spray-in bedliner, and Nissan has increased the volume of the Frontier’s cargo bed by increasing the height of the walls that enclose it. The 5-foot bed now offers a volume of 1,135 litres, and the 6-foot bed now offers 1,314 litres.

The hydraulically assisted tailgate is a nice touch: It resists gravity, opening in a slow and controlled manner, and it was designed to be light enough that it can be closed with just one hand. We found a single-handed approach a bit tough on the wrist, but we’re willing to believe that many of the Frontier’s target customers will appreciate the difference.

As the off-roader of the lineup, the Pro-4X trim is endowed with an aluminum front skid plate, plus three steel under-body skid plates to protect the oil pan, the fuel tank, and the electronic locking rear differential.

Inside, the standard Zero Gravity seats keep the driver and passenger planted during off-roading, or spirited on-road driving. The interior offers 4 litres of storage in the centre console, which Nissan tells us is nearly double the volume found in the closest competition. Another 5.7 litres of storage volume are found in the rear door pockets and 6.5 in the front door, and all but the base S trim offer under-seat storage in the second row to boot.

For the 2023 model year, Nissan has made wireless Apple CarPlay standard on the Pro-4X trim. A wired connection was previously required across the lineup but is now only necessary in the S and SV trims—and for Android Auto users. Bluetooth wireless connections notwithstanding, the Pro trim does get two USB-A and two USB-C ports each, and a wireless charging pad is also equipped. The two available 120-volt power outlets, located in the truck’s rear centre console and bed, generate 400 watts when the vehicle is parked and 50 when it’s in motion.

Infotainment is hosted through an 8-inch touchscreen for most trims, while Pro-4X gets a 9-inch infotainment system, which Nissan says is the largest in the class. A four-speaker audio system is standard on most trims, and a six-speaker system is standard on Pro-4X. Our tester had the available 10-speaker Fender premium sound system that can be optioned on the Pro trim and is standard on SV Premium. We cranked it and felt that the bass did justice to Rage Against the Machine, thanks to the subwoofer beneath the rear seat.

The 7-inch digital gauge cluster is standard across the lineup, as is keyless entry and push-button start. The off-road gauge cluster features a new meter which shows the truck’s angles in real time when 4WD is engaged. Nissan’s Intelligent Around-View Monitor (AVM) is offered on Pro-4X, and it includes an off-road mode which automatically turns the camera on.

Forward-collision warning, trailer sway control, lane departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, a driver-attention monitor, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, and rear-door alert are standard driver assistance and safety features across the 2023 Nissan Frontier lineup in Canada. Traffic-sign recognition is standard on Pro-4X.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gave the 2023 Nissan Frontier a four-star overall safety rating. The Crew Cab-configured 4WD truck scored a five out of five on the side crash test, but it missed out on the fifth star in its overall rating due to earning four on the Frontal Crash test and three on the Rollover test. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has not tested the 2023 Frontier, but it rated the 2022 model Superior for daytime front vehicle-to-pedestrian crash prevention, Advanced for nighttime front vehicle-to-pedestrian crash prevention, and Acceptable for seat belt reminders.

The 2023 Nissan Frontier starts at a new vehicle MSRP $40,998 for the four-door, V6-powered S King Cab with the long bed, excluding the $1,995 destination fee. The 2023 Ford Ranger has a starting price of $38,480, but that is for a two-door model with the four-cylinder EcoBoost engine. The Ranger’s base MSRP rises to $42,215 for four doors. The 2023 Toyota Tacoma, meanwhile, starts at $41,350. The 2023 Chevrolet Colorado starts at $29,248, but that’s for a RWD truck with two doors and a four-cylinder engine. Adding another two doors, the V6, and 4WD bumps the base price up to $35,948 for the WT (work truck) grade.

The Pro-4X tops the line-up at $49,498 in its Crew Cab configuration, while the Frontier King Cab Pro-4X is priced at $46,598.

Because we drove the Pro-4X, we’ll focus on its closest competitors. These include the Toyota Tacoma’s TRD Off-Road, the Chevrolet Colorado’s Z71, and the Ford Ranger’s XLT with the FX4 package. The 2023 Tacoma in TRD Off-Road trim with the Double Cab and 4WD starts at $46,410. It has Toyota’s Safety Sense suite of features standard, but it makes 278 hp and 265 lb-ft of torque to the Frontier’s 310 and 281. The 2023 Ford Ranger in XLT trim with the SuperCrew cab and FX4 package starts at $43,615. Its turbo-charged EcoBoost engine makes more torque but less horsepower than the Frontier’s V6. The Colorado Z71 starts at $47,103.

True midsize pickup trucks are relatively uncommon these days. In this narrow field, the Nissan Frontier has the substantial advantage of being one of very few recently redesigned, though the Colorado and Ranger are both expected to catch up in the coming model year. Whether the Frontier’s retro-inspired look and traditional-truck steering feel will prove to be pros or cons is in the eye of the buyer.

Note: Images show a US model.