The Nissan Frontier is an old truck, but that doesn’t mean it’s a poor selling pickup. The model outsold the much newer GMC Canyon by several thousand models in April, March, February and January. It’s on track to have a pretty decent year despite the fact its design is more than a decade old.
Nissan has long since got its money back on the Frontier’s development. Now the company is just cashing in on it. The GMC isn’t the only model the Frontier outsells. It also beats its bigger brother, the Titan, and the Honda Ridgeline. Both of those trucks have been recently redesigned as well.
There’s a logical reason why this is. Midsize trucks have grown in size, and the Nissan Frontier, with its old design, hasn’t. If someone wants a small and inexpensive pickup truck there’s really only one option, the Frontier.
The current generation of the Frontier made its official debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in 2004. George W. Bush was in the Oval Office then, and Facebook had just launched earlier that year. It was a very different time. Despite this, the Frontier still remains relevant.
According to The Truth About Cars, another reason why the Frontier is still doing so well is the fact that the redesigned pickups in its segment have drawn more buyers to small trucks. The Toyota Tacoma, Honda Ridgeline, GMC Canyon, and Chevrolet Colorado are relatively new designs and they sparked interest in the vehicle type. Once people were paying attention, they noticed that Nissan still sold a little pickup that did most of what the others do for a few thousand dollars less.
You can get the Nissan Frontier with four-wheel drive, four-doors, and equip it to tow up to 6,710 lbs. That’s more than the recently redesigned Honda Ridgeline can tow, and the Ridgeline starts at $29,475, which is over $11,000 more expensive.
The GMC Canyon is only $20,885 – only about $2,500 more than the Frontier, but that price skyrockets when you add the options. Most of the vehicles in GMC’s advertising footage come in at the mid $30,000 range. The same goes for the Chevrolet Colorado.
The Frontier can be optioned out as high as $41,390, but that’s with a crew cab, 4x4, sunroof, every package, and all of the 33 accessories that Nissan will sell you. Do the same with the GMC Canyon, and you get a truck with a price tag that sells well over $50,000. Try the same thing with a Honda Ridgeline and you’ll find it tops out at almost $46,000.
Most of the models sold will be somewhere in between the top of the line pickups and the base model, but it’s clear that the Frontier wins when it comes to price. The fact that it’s a contender when it comes to performance at that lower price point shows exactly why the model still sells well.
Nissan’s Frontier is still interesting to consumers because it’s an affordable and capable compact pickup. The model is due for a redesign and is supposed to receive it in 2018, but we’re starting to wonder if the automaker should just ride this sales wave for a while.
