Nissan is a company on a major product roll after some very lean financial times in the late 1980s and early 90s. In my view, it’s building some of the best product in the marketplace right now.

In the past couple of years, the company has successfully updated its entire Nissan and Infiniti car lines, retooling and this year tweaking the Altima, seriously upgrading the Maxima, and reintroducing the Z-car to universal raves. It also seriously upgraded its luxury Infiniti brand, with the G35 sports couple and sedan, as well as the M35 and 45 sedans, and the FX 35 and 45 crossover SUVs.

With those efforts unqualified successes, Nissan focused on its truck and SUV lineup. First out of the box were the full-size Armada and Infiniti Q56 SUVs, and the new Titan pickup. Then came the redesigned Pathfinder, and finally the new Xterra and Frontier.

Nissan is the biggest innovator in pickups as the mid-size Frontier and full-size Titan prove. Frankly, the Frontier dropped off most truck buyer’s radar screens early in this decade, enduring parts bin upgrades designed to keep it somewhat current. Meanwhile, Detroit as well as Toyota had widened the competitive gap.
But Nissan upped the ante with the 2005 Titan and Frontier. I had the opportunity to put the Frontier (and the new Xterra) through its paces in Austin, Texas at the beginning of this year and again recently drove the NISMO version of the Frontier here locally.

Walkaround: The all-new 2005 Frontier is built on the same rugged F-Alpha platform as Nissan’s full-size Titan pickup, Armada and Pathfinder SUVs. They share a number of significant features including fully boxed all-steel, body-on-frame construction, independent double-wishbone front suspension, a solid rear axle with overslung leaf springs and long-stroke shocks. It comes with power rack-and-pinion steering and four-wheel disc brakes with ABS as standard equipment.

Frontier boasts the same soft wedge profile as the Titan, and the same vinyl trim around the tailgate release. It also shares the aggressive, wide stance, chrome grillwork and most other styling cues as the rest of the Nissan lineup

Although the Frontier is offered in King Cab and full four-door Crew Cab configurations, with 4x2 and 4x4 drivetrains, it remains a compact pickup by government standards — not a mid-size, although it clearly competes with the mid-size Dodge Dakota and Toyota Tacoma sizewise.

Although less bulky than a full-size truck, the new Frontier is significantly larger (5.6 inches longer overall) than the previous model, with a wheelbase almost 10 inches longer to smooth out the ride and improve high-speed stability. The Frontier is now one of the largest trucks in this segment, inside and out — surpassing the Tacoma, Ranger, and Chevy Colorado, with only the Dakota slightly bigger.

The King Cab and Crew Cab both have larger rear doors than previous Frontiers, and like the full-size Titan, the King Cab rear doors are hinged in back while Crew Cab open forward like a sedan.

Nissan’s innovative Utili-track multi-configuration bed — complete with standard spray-in bedliner — consists of five channels in the bed, two down the bed floor, and one each along the top inside edges and cab end of the box. These flexible mounting points are similar to drawer slides and offer an infinite combination of tie-down, rack or compartment possibilities.

 Interior: The roomy, modern interior is larger and much more comfortable than the previous generation Frontier. It comes with a choice of power-adjustable cloth or leather seats, plus optional heated seats and mirrors. The Frontier offers flexible seating and cargo configurations, and both King Cab and Crew Cab feature flip-up rear seats while the Crew Cab also has a full-size, three-place bench available. Both also have storage bins located in the floor under the rear seat.

Instrumentation is Nissan’s signature amber and easy to read. Sound and climate controls are ergonomically positioned and easy to figure out.

 Under The Hood: Only two engine choices are offered: the base 2.5-liter DOHC inline 4-banger available on the base Frontier King Cab 4x2; and a new 4.0-liter, 265 horse V6. This powerplant is a larger version of the high-output V6 under the hood of the 350Z and is most powerful six-cylinder engine available in a compact pickup. It’s been tweaked for truck use and features fully variable valve timing and Nissan’s Induction Control System (NICS).

The Frontier is offered with three transmission choices — an advanced 5-speed automatic, 5-speed manual, and a 6-speed manual. Our red King Cab NISMO test truck featured the V6 coupled to the 6-speed stick. Although I’m not usually too hot on a stick in a truck, this combination worked well together.

Frontier 4x4 models include shift-on-the-fly 4-wheel drive with 2WD/4HI/4LO modes operated by an electronically controlled part-time transfer case. Overall off-road capability is substantially improved. The new advanced off-road traction system includes a 4-wheel limited slip system that restricts wheel slip when starting on low traction surfaces. There’s also a new Hill Descent Control (HDC) similar to Land Rover for going down hill without using the brake pedal. HDC is engaged by the driver flipping a switch, and is available only when the transfer case is engaged in 4HI or 4LO. Cool features include it working in both forward and reverse and activation at speeds up to 31 mph in 4HI and 15 mph in 4LO.

Behind The Wheel: The NISMO, which comes in King Cab and Crew Cab versions, is the off-road Frontier developed in conjunction with engineers from Nissan’s Motorsports group. In addition to the standard equipment, it offers an extensive list of performance-oriented parts, including off-road tuned Bilstein performance shocks, skid plates and 16-inch aluminum-alloy wheels with aggressive BFGoodrich Rugged Trail T/A P265/75R16 off-road tires.

In Texas, we drove all versions of the Frontier under a wide variety of conditions, from the freeway to dry riverbeds, up and down steep, rocky hills and in city traffic. I came away impressed by the performance of the new V6 as well as the off-road capabilities of the improved 4WD system.There aren’t too many places the new Frontier won’t go — and more timpostant, get back from.

On the highway, it was exceptionally quiet for a pickup this size — even at speeds in excess of 100 mph. The longer wheelbase, wider track and heavier, Titan frame give it an added measure of stability at those speeds. Handling was sure with steering that didn’t over compensate, or feel too heavy.

Whines: With so many configuration and option choices available, it’s easy to run the price of a Frontier up pretty quickly.

 Bottom Line: The 2005 Nissan Frontier is a huge improvement, offering excellent on road and vastly improved off road capabilities, plus exceptional comfort, above average quietness and terrific handling for a truck this size. Being built on the same platform as the Titan gives it a lot of attributes of its full-size sibling. In short, it’s one of the very best, and most capable trucks available in this segment — one I may personally buy when it’s time for my Ford F250 4X4 to belong to someone else.