As a rule, we generally don’t assign our writers the same press vehicles two model years in a row. This keeps perspectives fresh, and means I don’t have to get stuck in the trap of having to make up 1,000-ish new words about the same, or same-ish vehicle again. But when this 2025 Nissan Frontier PRO-4X Luxury started making the rounds, some six months after I covered the Hardbody, I deliberately broke that rule and snapped it up immediately. Rules are made to be broken.

What’s new with the 2025 Frontier?

I wasn’t even aware the rest of the Frontier lineup gets the same, subtle tweaks for 2025 as the Hardbody, like a slightly more squared-off front fascia, or the new Afterburn Orange paint on this tester. Inside, I was greeted to a subtly tweaked dashboard, a 12.3-inch widescreen centre display in lieu of the eight-incher on last year’s model, and F-R-O-N-T-I-E-R lettering emblazoned along the bottom. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are now standard, too.

Beyond that, Nissan fixed nothing that wasn’t broken, including the widespread of cabin and box configurations that set the Frontier apart from all of its mid-size competitors. Almost all are of the crew cab/short bed variety, but the Frontier is the only midsizer that still offers the classic King Cab body with rearward-opening doors and folding jump seats. Hey, some people still like that! There are dozens of us! Bed sizes include not-quite-five and just-over-six-foot options, with very little restriction in the way of what body and box can be ordered with what trim.

Powertrain, performance, and driving impressions

Similarly, the less-antiquated-than-you’d-think 3.8-litre naturally aspirated V6 engine remains unchanged, paired to the same ZF-sourced nine-speed automatic transmission as before. Only Ford offers V6 power in this class, but that’s a bit of a different animal with a pair of turbos feeding it, along with added complexity and cost. This relatively old-fashioned workhorse motor produces 310 horsepower and 281 pound-feet of torque, which might look modest on paper, but it’s more than enough to get the job done and have some fun along the way.

Save for the start-stop function, it’s a smooth operator. The powerband feels linear and the exhaust note sounds suitably though wihout overcompensating or sounding overly coarse, unlike some of its turbo-four-powered competitors. The nine-speed automatic pairs well with the V6, offering slick shifts, healthy responses, no awkward habits or erratic behaviours of any kind, and ratios that are well-chosen for a good blend of low-speed punch and efficient highway cruising. I observed 12.6 L/100 km in my week with it, over a pretty even split of urban and open traffic.

On the road, the 2025 Nissan Frontier PRO-4X Luxury rides and handles itself exceptionally well. The Bilstein shocks that come with this off-road-oriented package works some impressive magic on the chassis. All chassis calibration in every vehicle ever built is a careful game of compromise, trying to strike a tightrope balance of body control and comfort that best suits the vehicle. This particular Frontier is pretty masterful work, made all the better by steering feel that actually, you know, has feel as a trade-off for it being relatively heavy. It would be unacceptably heavy in anything other than a truck, but it works here for that very reason. It all feels right.

It didn’t have a chance to test any of this PRO-4X model’s off-road prowess. Frankly, I don’t really care all that much; if it were my money, I’d pick the PRO-4X regardless for its sublime chassis—relatively, at least, for a truck—and macho details in and out. Having said that, it does offer some meaningful hardware enabling it to venture off the beaten path pretty effectively, like the aforementioned Bilstein dampers, along with larger all-terrain tires, an electronically locking rear differential, and skid plates to protect the truck’s vital organs. It’s no Ranger Raptor or Tacoma Trailhunter, but more in-line with the FX4 or TRD Off-Road trims, respectively. All that is to say, the 2025 Nissan Frontier PRO-4X Luxury is more than capable of handling 99 per cent of the situations you’d come across.

Interior comfort and practicality

In case you’re wondering, Hill Descent Control and the electronically actuated four-wheel-drive transfer case are standard on all Frontiers in Canada—the latter of which is controlled by a big, chunky dial on the dashboard. This alone is one of my favourite things about the Frontier’s cabin—the infotainment touchscreen is generally slick and easy enough to figure out, but it’s only responsible for information and entertainment.

Every other vital function—the four-wheel drive, volume and tuning knobs, climate controls, traction control, rear diff lockers, the surround-view camera system, bed lighting, A/C inverter—you name it, it’s all handled by large buttons and knobs that are dead-simple to find and figure out. Even the heated seats are powered by rocker switches that stay where you rocked them. Who cares it’s the same basic switch design as a 20-year-old car? It’s the best kind of brain-dead, dated-done-right design; a bastion of common sense in an era of frustrated wondering how digging through digital menus is progress.

Just because the Frontier PRO-4X Luxury is old-school doesn’t mean it’s outmoded. The nine-speaker Fender audio stands up well against Ford and Toyota’s respective Bang & Olufsen and JBL sound systems, with good clarity at all volumes and deep bass. Nissan’s signature Zero Gravity seats are trimmed in what feels like thick leather, with red stitching and embroidery. The cushy surfaces, contrast stitching, and red accents extend to the centre console and dashboard, too. The only missing feature I’d like to see on a loaded truck is ventilated seats. But otherwise, the PRO-4X Luxury is as well-equipped as any other truck, with impeccable build quality and an overall sense of solidity—which is a little unique in this segment at the moment.

Is the 2025 Nissan Frontier worth it?

It bears mentioning that Nissan doesn’t lock out the PRO-4X hardware behind the Luxury package. You can get into a truck that looks and performs just like this for $48,898 if you’re willing to forego some niceties like leather chairs and fancy speakers. This truck, with those niceties and more—plus the crew cab and long box configuration that actually has halfway decent space for said crew—rings in at $57,098 as-tested . Part of me still thinks the Ford Ranger is an objectively better better mid-sized truck for more people, but the 2025 Nissan Frontier PRO-4X Luxury might be my favourite in the category for appealing to the straight-up honesty I appreciate in a truck.