Nissan announced plans for an all-new Frontier in
the fall of 2017 and it appears we won’t have to wait much longer to see the
redesigned pickup. Speaking with Autoblog, Nissan’s senior vice president for
global design, Alfonso Albaisa, confirmed work on the truck is “almost
finished.” His sentiments were echoed by Nissan’s vice president of product
planning, Ivan Espinosa, who told the publication the redesigned Frontier “will
soon be coming into the market.”
There’s no word on a timeframe, but Nissan has
already confirmed the next-generation Frontier will be built at the company’s
plant in Canton, Mississippi. Little is known about the model at this point,
but officials have suggested the truck will be offered with a new V6 engine
which will eventually find its way into the Titan.
Sources have also indicated Nissan is spending “serious
dough” on the new Frontier and it will likely come standard with a
four-cylinder engine. However, the chances of seeing a diesel engine are said
to be slim.
Nissan hinted at the possibility of a diesel-powered
Frontier back in 2014 when it introduced the Frontier Diesel Runner concept.
The truck was equipped with a 2.8-liter four-cylinder diesel engine which
produced around 200 hp and more than 474 Nm of
torque.
While it remains to be seen if the redesigned
Frontier will be offered with a diesel engine, there are plenty of alternatives
if Nissan says no. Besides the current Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon –
which offer a 2.8-liter Duramax diesel with 181 hp and 500 Nm of torque – Jeep will introduce a diesel-powered Gladiator in
2020. That particular model will have a 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V6 that develops
260 hp and 598 Nm of torque.
