Inside the corporate suites in Nashville, they call the program Nissan NEXT. It’s an ambitious plan that saw the automaker roll out 10 new models for the U.S. market in a span of just 20 months. Especially when you consider the pandemic-partnered global economic mess, that’s a very robust arrangement of reveals, even when you factor in the industry’s shorter product lifecycles than were common in the relatively recent past. Nissan’s latest debuts are a pair of workaday vehicles that represent a lot of buttered bread in the company’s business plan. The Frontier midsize pickup and Pathfinder midsize SUV are a couple of iconic Nissan nameplates, and they’re new from the wheels up for 2022.
Let’s start with the Frontier. Its hugely aggressive frontal sheetmetal cloaks mechanicals that demonstrate this truck can back up its abundant attitude. The powertrain is described as best in class, the standard 3.8-liter V-6 with direct injection rated at 310 horsepower. Both the standard and optional information touchscreens are also described as being the largest in this vehicle class. The Pathfinder is fully new inside and out. The standard 3.5-liter direct-injection V-6 produces 284 horsepower and is paired with a new nine-speed automatic transmission. Intelligent 4WD with seven driving modes is on the option list. The all-new passenger cabin has seating for up to eight and a new captain’s chairs option. Nissan NEXT isn’t done yet, either: Up next, to complete the new-model blitz, are the coming all-electric Ariya crossover and the production version of Nissan’s Z Proto sports car.
Jim Donnelly On Wheels 