Here it is, the 2020 Nissan Frontier. It’s the old chassis and body, but underneath beats an all-new heart. The new truck is powered by a 3.8-liter gas V6 which is mated to a new 9-speed automatic transmission. We put it on the track (at IMI Motorsports) to get a 0-60 MPH acceleration and run it on our highway MPG loop to get the real-world efficiency on the new engine. Here it goes!
2020 Nissan Frontier
This is now the most powerful midsize truck on the market. Nissan says the 3.8-liter V6 has 93% new parts. This engine is specifically meant for the U.S. market for this Frontier. It is also the engine for the upcoming all-new 2021 Nissan Frontier. The power rating is 310 hp and the torque is at 281 lb-ft.
The engine is mated to a 9-speed automatic transmission that is very similar to the one in the new 2020 Nissan Titan and Titan XD.
The old 4.0-liter V6, the 2.5-liter I4 base engine, and the manual transmission options are all discontinued. The 2020 Frontier will have just one engine/transmission combination.
I run the 0-60 MPH test several times in different modes and way. I had the traction control disabled. I tried brake-torquing just a bit, and I tried without it. The best time I got is 9.43 seconds. I expected a quicker time, but this is the real world.
Next, I go to the truck scales to get the weight on the new truck. It came out to 4,660 lbs of curb weight with a full tank of fuel and nobody inside the truck. The new GVWR for the truck is 6,012 lbs. The actual maximum payload calculates to 1,352 lbs. This is good and highly competitive in the class for a 4×4 crew cab midsize truck.
Next is the highway MPG test. I top off at the truck stop and set the cruise control at (GPS-verified) 70 mph for a total distance of 66 miles. In the end, the truck gets 22.5 MPG on the highway confirmed by the fuel used at the pump.
Check out the video with all of the information below!
