Nissan Frontier dials up utility with midcycle update

Nissan's workhorse Frontier pickup receives a nip and tuck in late summer, delivering more utility, a rugged look and more tech.

The 2025 Nissan Frontier arrives in stores in early September. Pricing was not disclosed.

The midsize pickup, last redesigned for the 2022 model year, will be Nissan's sole pickup starting next year. Production of the full-size Titan pickup ended this month and Nissan will not replace it.

Frontier sales rose 17 percent through June to 39,963. During that period, it was the third-fastest-growing midsize pickup behind the GMC Canyon (up 44 percent) and the Chevy Colorado (up 26 percent), according to the Automotive News Research & Data Center.

The updated Frontier's tweaked front fascia, grille and bumper design give it the outdoorsy look of the redesigned Toyota Tacoma.

A long-wheelbase configuration with 6-foot bed is available across the Frontier lineup. Towing capacity gets bumped to up to 7,150 pounds — a roughly 500-pound increase from the 2024 model. And Nissan's off-road camera-based monitoring system now works at higher speeds.

On the inside, the Frontier gets a redesigned dashboard trim, a larger 12.3-inch touchscreen, and the addition of wireless Android Auto.

A telescopic-adjusting steering wheel is now standard on all trims, while a four-way power passenger seat is included on the PRO-X/PRO-4X and SL grades.

The 2025 Frontier carries over the 3.8-liter V-6 engine that delivers 310 hp.

The refresh should be the last major update the Frontier will receive for a while.

According to a supplier memo last summer, Nissan has extended production of the current-generation Frontier at its Canton, Miss., factory two years beyond its previously expected redesign, carrying into the 2029 model year. The previous Frontier went 17 years before undergoing its first major redesign.

The Frontier could reemerge around 2030 as an electric pickup.

Nissan has hinted at a lightweight electric pickup with the outdoorsy activity vehicle concept called Surf-Out. That vehicle featured an open-back cabin for easy access to the bed and an advanced system of Nissan's e-4orce all-wheel-drive electric drivetrain.