'Off-Roading Is In Our DNA:' Nissan Talks Frontier Sport, Xterra, And What's Next

Crack open a history book, and you’ll quickly realize that off-roading has always been a part of Nissan's heritage. Spearheaded by the Patrol SUV in the early 1950s, the Japanese automaker has been paving its own path for more than 75 years.

That’s still true today. With offerings like the Armada Pro-4X and the entire Frontier line, Nissan is committed to its off-road roots, rolling out new models regularly that give buyers even more ways to get off the beaten path.

This year, Nissan introduced the Frontier Sport. While not quite as rugged as the full-fat Pro-4X, the Frontier Sport allows buyers to get into a moderately equipped off-roader for a fraction of the price of the Pro-4X—think Nissan’s answer to the Ford Tremors, Chevrolet Trail Bosses, and Toyota TRD Sports of the world.

To get a better idea of how Nissan plans to position the new Frontier Sport, we sat down with Brent Hagan, who leads product planning for Frontier in the US. We discussed this latest Frontier trim, the importance of the V6, and Nissan’s off-road heritage as a whole. (The conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and length.)

2027 Nissan Frontier Sport Edition Package

Photo by: Nissan

Q: The New Frontier Sport Fills A Nice Gap Between SV And Pro 4X, Right?

A: Most truck customers, one of the first things they do is put on some all-terrain tires. So why not offer that at a more affordable price point? And why not offer Dark Armor—a new introduction for 2026—which customers have loved? So we take that and give it a little bit of personality, give it some all-terrain chops—skid plates, all-terrain tires, all that stuff.

So I think Frontier Sport gives us a really good position between SV and Pro 4X to do exactly that. A little more personality and a little bit more bold performance with the all-terrains and skid plates.

With Frontier Sport, How Do You Decide What To Add And What To Remove?

It starts with: What’s the objective? In this case, the objective was to offer something that's sub Pro-4X. So we didn’t want to encroach on that positioning, both from a price and content perspective—but we wanted to add some of those really desirable features for customers in the SV grade.

We know those customers are buying all-terrain tires in the aftermarket; why can't we give them those options at a very affordable price point? We can give them those all-terrain tires at a better price point than they can get from the aftermarket, and do it with better quality, better performance, a warranty, and all of that. So why not go ahead and give them what they're asking for anyway?

But again, the aim for this trim was value-oriented. SV customers come in and say, ‘Hey, I really like the SV, but I don't need the super capability of a Pro-4X.’ So how do we give them the good parts and then add a little more personality? So it starts with that objective.

And then we say, ‘Okay, what makes sense? What tools are available to us, like all-terrains or skid plates?’ And then we ask, ‘What are the things we want to stay away from that we did in Pro 4X?’ As an example, the locking diff. Not every customer needs a locking diff. They don't want the expense of it, and they don't need the full capability of Pro-4X. So how do we stay away from that, but still give them a truck with a unique identity and a reason to buy?

So we take the goodness of Dark Armor but not the orange accents we have on Pro-4X. Get a different flavor and feel. So, it really just starts with the objective setting and then finding the right ingredients that give us the right result.

Photo by: Nissan

Was Frontier Sport Something Customers Have Been Asking For?

Yeah, a lot of dealers were asking for this. Like, ‘Hey, help us pump up SV.’ SV is fantastic—it's at a really good price point. And we compete very well on value. We haven't had as frequent updates as some of our competitors, but we know we align well on our durability and quality, and we have a V6. We align well on the value perspective.

So how do we take all those ingredients and give somebody something at a really good price point in the SV grade, spice it up, make it a little more exciting? So that's what the dealers and customers were really clamoring for. We wanted something unique and differentiated, and so we felt Sport fit that need.

The Name 'Sport' Is A Bit Generic? Why Not Call It Something Like 'Nismo Light?'

We wanted something that was little bit more bold, a little bit more useful, and a little bit more exciting. Pro-4X has a very clear identity—we don't want to stay in that space. Dark Armor gives the toughness, but it lacks some of the youthfulness and excitement.

Sport, as you mentioned, is a little more generic. What do customers want it to be? And quite honestly, that actually aligns with what we're calling the Lime Yellow, because when we had those color samples, we said, ‘Gosh, people who wanted to be a yellow, it'll look yellow to them. Those who want it to be green, it'll look green.’ So we can offer both options in one color.

It's the same thing with Sport. Sport can mean a little bit sportier, a little bit more youthful, or it can be a little bit bolder. Where do customers want it to be? It was trying not to be one specific thing. And the reason why we don't go with, like, say, Nismo or Pro Light is that, again, it's not a Pro item—it's not a Pro-4X. It doesn't have the full menu Pro-4X things, and it’s supposed to be that.

Nismo also has very specific connotations inside the company. You’ll see that the Armada Nimso has a very clear identity—red accents, completely different tuning, the steering's different, the braking's different, etc. So this isn't that. This isn't a racing vehicle; this is more of a useful off-road execution. That's why we didn't go Nismo.

Photo by: Nissan

Do You Expect More Buyers To Come Down From Pro-4X, Or Move Up From SV?

We see mostly these people who are going to walk up from SV. Pro-4X has a clear customer base that needs the capability of a locking diff and all the things that Pro-4X does. This is more of a customer saying, ‘Hey, I really am more of a price point of an SV, and I like an SV. That's what I'm looking for, but I want a little bit more. I'm going to customize it. I want to put my own painted accents in there. I'm gonna put skid plates or all-terrain tires.’

So this is a customer that's going to start with an SV trim, but wants a bolder look and a canvas that has a few more things on it, so they don't have to personalize on their own.

Does The 'Sport' Name And Aesthetic Make Sense For Other Models? Or Is This Specific To Frontier?

Great question. It’s something we're going to continuously look at. If this is really successful—not necessarily in the name, but in the ethos of taking something that's more value-oriented in the SV grade and spicing it up a little bit—you might see that elsewhere in the lineup. It may or may not have the Sport name, but that ethos could very well be crafted for other models.

Was There Any Consideration To Add More Power? Maybe Forced Induction?

That is something we are always looking at. For this one, though, it doesn't quite make sense. The objective was to come in below the Pro-4X, so this wasn't trying to be a Halo-type vehicle.

If we were going to go that direction, that'd be a halo on top of Pro-4X; we've got other things in the works to hold on to that we're quite excited about. But Sport isn't intended to be a halo vehicle. This is a sub-Pro-4X value-oriented play.

Photo by: Nissan

The Ford Ranger Tremor and Colorado Trail Boss Are Big Competitors—Do You Hope To Acquire Some Of Those Customers?

This is a customer who's already intending to buy Frontier—they're already shopping us, they're maybe looking at a Pro-4X or an SV. Again, they say, ‘Gosh, I really like the SV, but I want a little more spice.’ So we don't anticipate this is gonna be one of those customers who’s never considered Frontier, but because of Sport, they came looking. We do hope it's eye-catching. We do hope that some of those Lime Yellow accents grab attention and bring people in. But this is not a halo.

Many of those vehicles, though, we’re continuously studying. How do we take market share from the competitors? How do we offer something more that customers want? Like you said, the Trail Boss, the TRD Sport, and other areas. So we're constantly considering that.

We've got a lot in store that I'm quite excited for in the next couple of years, showing customers as we gear up for the next-generation products. We're not done yet, so we're quite excited to show some of those that I think will attract new customers and have people reconsider what they're looking at.

How Important Is Off-Roading To Nissan As A Whole?

It is our DNA, whereas other people are coming into it because it’s in vogue; we've been doing it for 60-plus years. We invented the compact pickup truck space. We've done so much with Baja racing, and we've always been there and always delivered a product that's dependable and capable—maybe unassuming at times—that does a lot more than people recognize and realize. So this is a space we've been in, and we will continue to be in and continue to invest in.
There are more things we have on our shelves that I'm excited to get feedback on that demonstrate that commitment—not just the upcoming Xterra—but that demonstrate Nissan’s off-road credibility and that it is authentic to our brand, authentic to our customers, and that customers can recognize what we offer.

A lot of people are coming into the space, but there are only a few of us who have done it for years and have the Japanese dependability, what we call ‘DQR’—dependability, quality, reliability—and a proven track record. So, yeah, we're not going anywhere, and we're going to continue to invest in the space. We’re quite excited about what it offers.

Nissan Rogue Rock Creek

Photo by: Nissan

Does The V6 Give You An Advantage Over Competitors Who Have Downsized?

No doubt. We just had V6 day, as we called it. Our internal tagline is ‘We’re too V6 to quit,’ because we built our heritage on V6s, from the GT-R and Xterra to the current Frontier and Pathfinder. We've got generations upon generations of V6s, and it does give us a differentiator because we're using tried-and-true technology that's durable, reliable, and of high quality. Our VQ38 is produced here in the United States, so it's made in America, by Americans, for Americans—and it has the Japanese quality and reliability.

Now, I can tell you, does it separate us? Absolutely. It’s funny because people post and say, ‘Well, if anybody from Nissan's listening, I have this opinion.’ I'm scouring the forums, scouring all the Facebook pages, and everything else—I’m on all of that, and I see just about everything that people post. And it matters, and we care.

I see a lot of people posting recently saying, ‘I'm a Toyota guy, or I'm an XYZ company guy. I've been with them for a while, but they've gone away from V6s, and I really prefer V6. I prefer the linearity. I prefer the durability. I prefer the overall performance, and I've never considered a Nissan or a Frontier, but now I'm looking at it because of the V6.’ So we know it is a differentiator for sure.

A tried-and-true V6—especially in today's day and age, where you're paying more for less because of inflation and trying to squeeze more out of them—you don't have to worry about the batteries or turbos. You don’t have to worry about any of those costly expenses coming up, creeping up on you when you get to 100,000 miles. That's a huge benefit for consumers.

2026 Nissan Frontier

Photo by: Nissan

How Do You See Nissan's Off-Road Heritage Growing? Does That Expand To Other Body-On-Frame Segments?

No doubt. You've already seen it. The very first Pro-4X launched on Armada. We have now Rock Creek on Pathfinder, Rogue, and other models. So we will continue to invest in this space with Frontier. You saw the next-generation Xterra, with that program and with others.

Again, off-roading is in our DNA. It's not going anywhere. We've not gone anywhere. We've been in the space the entire time, and we will continue to invest in it. And even when it's not in vogue or whatever, we’ll continue to be in that space because it's true to our DNA. So it’s across our entire model line and our future product line as we continue to invest in off-road.

Again, not to speak about future products, but we've got some more things up our sleeve before we even get to the next generation Xterra that I'm quite excited for people to see. It reinforces our commitment in that space.

I Have To Ask—But Does A Manual Frontier Make Sense For Nissan?

We are enthusiasts too, and we care about what customers care about. But we're also a business; we're not a charity. The best thing that customers can do if they want to see manual vehicles come back is to go out and buy the manual vehicles that exist.

There are a few vehicles out there that still have a manual—we've talked about some of our own—and so the more the customers can go out there and buy them, show us as a manufacturer that they want them, the more likely that everyone's going to be fully supportive of them.

That's not to say whether we do or don't have manuals coming, but if customers really want it, the best thing to do is go out and buy new vehicles with manuals. And then I promise you, 1,000 percent, if there's a business opportunity there, we and I bet our competitors will follow along behind us. So we're anxiously watching where those opportunities are.

Photo by: Nissan

Affordability Is A Big Issue—How Is Nissan Keeping The Frontier Affordable?

We're researching that; every single day, we're talking about it. We're constantly looking at how we can give the customer more for what they spend. We have to cover our costs; inflation's hitting us like it is everyone. But the reality is, we're constantly looking for ways that we can give them more.

So, as an example, we talked about this in Sport. If you want to go out and buy all-terrain tires for your truck, you’re probably gonna drop a thousand bucks easy. So why don't we give customers that and skid plates and more on a Frontier? Boom, they got it from the factory. We know the overall uniformity of those tires, and the quality of those tires is better from us than they're going to buy from, you know, X, Y, Z, tire retailer down the road. So that's one example; the Sport is where we're trying to give them more value.

Some of those new things that are coming out are going to be another proof point of that, where we're trying to give buyers something they've been asking for for a while, something that the aftermarket offers, and we can give it to them with higher quality and a better value. So we're constantly looking at how we can squeeze more and give more to our consumers. It's not easy in today's economy, but that's something that we're all targeting, because we do feel the pain.

So The Frontier Sport Seems Like A No-Brainer, Then?

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We're quite enthusiastic about what the Frontier Sport will do. Again, we're not trying to break any records with it. We understand its positioning. It is more of a value play, so we're not trying to knock it out of the water with a new halo product, but I think it'll be a really compelling offering for a lot of customers who want to customize.

These are more lifestyle customers; they say, ‘I need a vehicle that can take me anywhere, can go anywhere, and in a pinch, I don't want to come up to a situation where I can't feel confident in my vehicle.’ But they're not setting out to rock crawl or anything else. These are more active lifestyle type people who are into hiking, canoeing, marathon running, etc. And they need to make sure they have a vehicle that's capable of getting them where they need to go.

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