They Still Make One Like They Used To: The 2016 Nissan Frontier PRO-4X Crew Cab

The 2016 Nissan Frontier PRO-4X Crew Cab.

Ten years is an eternity in the car business.  The Nissan Frontier has been with us for 12.  That's right, the midsize pickup truck you see here, has, with very few changes, been with us since 2004.  So, can it compete today?

How The 2014 Nissan Frontier PRO-4X Tries To Hide Its Age

The 2014 Nissan Frontier PRO-4X.

In the 1970s, the streets were awash with small pickup trucks.  There were Toyota pickups, Datsun pickups, Mazda pickups, the Ford Courier, which was the Mazda pickup with a Ford grille and badging and the Chevy LUV, an Isuzu kept secret because Isuzu had yet to sell its own vehicles in America.

Over time, the small pickups got bigger, and the number of them got smaller.  Today, there are really only two: The Toyota Tacoma and the Nissan Frontier. And they are not small at all.

It has been ten years since this generation of Frontier was introduced, five years since its last facelift. In large trucks such as the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado and Ram, there has been rapid change and evolution. But the Frontier looks and feels like a relic from a different age.