The last Nissan Frontier ended its life as a good value and a rugged beast of burden. The new model, though, stands out with a dramatically improved cabin, a potent powertrain, and chiseled good looks. And now, after good showing at Overland Expo West, Nissan’s redesigned mid-size pickup can add a healthy roster of Nismo-tuned goodies.
Introduced on the Nissan stage at the sprawling outdoors show, the Nismo catalog for the Frontier now includes 4.0-inch off-road lights, an overland bed rack, a Nismo-branded rooftop tent, and a freer-breathing cat-back exhaust system. Let’s dive in and see what’s what.
The off-road lights are a healthy size and pack plenty of brightness, with 3,060 lumens of max illumination – that’s about twice what you’ll get with a 100-watt incandescent light bulb. But helpfully, it’s focused in a small housing that should prove plenty durable with its waterproof aluminum construction. The LED units have a modest 2.0-amp draw.
The bed rack amplifies the cargo capacity of the Frontier’s bed, although by how much, we can’t be sure. Nissan doesn’t list a weight capacity (we’ve reached out for details). The company does, however, mention that the rack will be available in both low and high variants, and that the latter is available now.
Driving The Frontier:
If all you are about is the tent, maybe go back and re-read the bit on the bed rack. It’s a pre-requisite (or a similar mount) for mounting the two-person sleeping arrangement can handle up to 600 pounds of people and weighs 132 pounds on its own. Getting up into the tent happens via a 6.9-foot aluminum ladder, which extends down on the passenger’s side of the truck.
Finally, the stainless-steel cat-back exhaust joins a lineup that already includes the old Xterra SUV, as well as both regular and XD versions of the Titan. Nissan didn’t include any clips of how the new exhaust setup affects the Frontier’s 3.8-liter V6.
You can check out the whole host of Nismo parts for the Frontier at Nissan’s accessories site. The lineup already includes a lift kit and additional lighting options.