Can the 2025 Nissan Frontier’s More Appealing Equipment Help It Stay Relevant Against Newer Competition?

The refreshed 2025 Nissan Frontier offers a bit more than before—key in a segment that’s ever newer.


We are just a few short weeks away from the release of the 2025 Nissan Frontier, which is set to hit dealerships before the end of the summer. This new model year brings more of a subtle refresh with some equipment upgrades rather than a page-one rewrite, but it’s certainly worth a look.

We’ll forgive you if you’ve forgotten about the Frontier amidst the recent blast of new or revised small and midsize trucks. Ford has been setting the truck world on fire with the Maverick, which is joined by another all-new entrant, the Hyundai Santa Cruz, in the re-emerging small truck segment. The mid-size class, specifically, has seen an explosion in redesigns, from the recently redone Chevrolet Colorado (our 2024 Truck of the Year) to its sibling, the GMC Canyon, to the latest Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma. The Frontier is easily lost amongst all this newness, having seen its last big update for 2022, just before the latest wave of new-ified competitors landed; Nissan also is on the verge of killing off its only full-size truck, the Titan.

Our brushes with the newest 2024 Nissan Frontier have left us impressed with its rugged styling and solid towing ability but less than enamored by its mediocre fuel economy and its lack of some standard driving assist features, and the driving experience is decidedly old-school. Can the 2025 Nissan Frontier turn things around? Let’s see what it’s revised equipment levels has to offer.

New Coat of Paint
The 2025 Nissan Frontier has some subtle styling changes over the outgoing model. The front fascia has been revised with a more “squared-off appearance” according to Nissan, and there’s a new tailgate finisher for the Pro-X and Pro-4X trims. All trims will also now come with a sliding rear window standard.

There is a new 17-inch wheel design along with the returning designs. The wheels will be standard on trims starting with the SV. However, the most noticeable visual change is the new “Afterburner Orange” paint which is louder than the jet engine component it’s named after.

Interior Upgrades
The 2025 Nissan Frontier gets some interior quality-of-life functional revisions that the automaker says are a result of customer feedback. A telescopic-adjustable steering column will now be standard on all 2025 trims. The Pro-X, Pro-4X, and SL trims will all come standard with a four-way power adjustable front passenger seat. On SV trims and higher the power driver seat will also get two-way power lumbar support.

SV trims and higher will get a new 12.3-inch touchscreen display to manage the infotainment system which is also getting wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. SL grades get a wireless smartphone charger and Nissan’s “Intelligent view” 360-degree parking monitor.

More Choices Are Always Good
In another effort to respond to customer feedback, the 2025 Nissan Frontier is more flexible with its offerings across the trim line. The Crew-Cab long wheelbase with the 6-foot bed configuration is now available on SV, Pro-X, Pro-4X, and SL trims.

For those who choose the Pro-4X for off-road excursions, they will now have an “Off-Road Mode” for use with the Nissan Intelligent Around monitor at speeds up to 12 mph. This upgrade should help drivers spot obstacles more easily when off-roading, as it keeps the cameras available at higher speeds than before.

More Standard Driver Assist Features
As we’ve already mentioned, one of the biggest flaws with the current Nissan Frontier is the lack of standard driver assist features. Nissan is wisely addressing that in the 2025 model. Lane departure warning, blind spot warning, rear cross traffic alert, rear parking sensors, high beam assist and intelligent cruise control are now standard across all 2025 Frontier trims. The SL trim will get traffic sign recognition. That is a big step in the right direction, but it doesn’t address all of our gripes.

No Mechanical Upgrades
Previously, the Frontier’s transmission struggled to find the right gear next to suffering lousy fuel economy, a noisy V-6 engine, heavy steering, and clumsy handling. With no mechanical upgrades for 2025, it looks like none of those issues will be improved in the new model, though fans of a yesteryear-style driving experience still have the Nissan to look forward to. Obviously, there’s always the chance that those problems have been quietly addressed, but on paper the new Frontier looks to drive much the same as before.

Obviously, pricing will be a big factor in updating our take on Nissan’s mid-size truck, but the automaker isn’t ready to provide that information yet. Stay tuned for those numbers—which will go a long way toward orienting the 2025 model-year changes as value-added—and for our first shot behind the wheel of the new Nissan Frontier.