It started with a backroom carpet, one that my wife, taking a break from computer work, decided was too dingy to continue covering the floor. Before I knew it, which is to say before I was beckoned with a “Honey, I need some help,” it was coming up in chunks. And, for anybody who has been married for any length of time knows, it didn’t stop there. After completely denuding that room of its deep pile, she convinced me — damn, she’s good — that our bedroom’s carpet was also in need of removal. Now, what to do with 90-odd kilograms of carpet, underpad and those wooden strips with the really sharp, pointy things in them.
Fortunately, I had access to Nissan’s new Frontier Pro-4X Crew Cab pickup, an updated, yet familiar redesign of the venerable — a much politer word than “ancient” — work truck. With its five-foot-long box, the Pro-4X Crew Cab might not be the most appropriate of pickups to work with — I like to think of it more as a sport, or lifestyle, truck — but it got the job done. With the bed literally filled to the top with the remnants, held down with a 50-pound barbell weight, I trundled off to the local recycling centre to dump the lot.
Naturally, it didn’t end there. Looking at the now-bare hardwood floors, in need of some sort of reconditioning after 60 years of wear and tear, the missus, googling on the Internet, discovered that laminate can be directly laid over the hardwood. Heading to the local home improvement centre — just to look at what’s available, mind you — the Frontier’s box was soon loaded down with 24 boxes of laminate, four boxes of floor insulation and about 120 feet of trim, the last slotted through the sliding rear window of the cab.
2022 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X Crew Cab Photo by Nissan
2022 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X Crew Cab Photo by Nissan
2022 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X Crew Cab Photo by Nissan
2022 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X Crew Cab Photo by Nissan
2022 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X Crew Cab Photo by Nissan
2022 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X Crew Cab Photo by Nissan
2022 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X Crew Cab Photo by Nissan
2022 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X Crew Cab Photo by Nissan
Of course, that wasn’t all. After an evening of persuasion, I was talked into believing the sliding rear doors of the two closets had to go. Another trip to the centre and two sets of new bi-fold doors were purchased and dropped into the box.
Here’s the thing. I don’t test a lot of pickups, not because I dislike them — just the opposite, really, I’ve had great respect for their workaday abilities ever since my father came home with a very utilitarian, pumpkin-coloured, 1967 Fargo Sweptline — but because I seldom have need to use one in any capacity other than as a daily driver. Though Nissan’s advertising campaign clearly shows the new Frontier Pro-4X is intended for off-road adventuresome activities, hauling dirt bikes, kicking up dust and such, our winter-time home reno project was a more accurate portrayal of intended use — at least in my household.
And after putting it to work, I had a few days of puttering about town, getting familiar with this good-looking crew cab, especially in its Tactical Green Metallic paint job. Driving the $47,498 Pro-4X was genuinely fun, with a rough-and-tumble quality to it (albeit completely modernized) that reminded me not of the old Frontier, but the more familiar — to me — Xterra sport-ute, an equally rough-and-tumble model that was replaced by the more civil, mainstream Rogue a half-dozen years ago (and yes, I know the Xterra was based off the Frontier pickup). There was an honest quality to the Xterra; it was as unpretentious as it was capable. The redesigned Frontier, in its muscular Pro-4X form and fitted with Bilstein off-road shock absorbers and underbody skid plates, is more of the same.
Which is not to say its ride is harsh or choppy — at least on pavement. The truck’s suspension has been completely reworked, with improved damping for a smoother ride. A larger front stabilizer bar as well as the rear stabilizer bar reduce body roll. New hydraulic cab mounts significantly reduce road vibration.
2022 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X Crew Cab Photo by Nissan
2022 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X Crew Cab Photo by Nissan
2022 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X Crew Cab Photo by Nissan
2022 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X Crew Cab Photo by Nissan
Nissan says the 2022 pickup is built “on a proven chassis and frame,” which essentially means the company has updated the old setup to take the new-in-2020 powertrain, consisting of a 310-horsepower 3.8-litre V6 hooked up to a nine-speed automatic. With 281 pound-feet of torque at 4,400 rpm, the Pro-4X has more than enough grunt to keep up with traffic as well as cruise contentedly along at highway speeds with far less noise intrusion into the cabin than its predecessor.
Weighing in at a stocky 2,141 kilograms, the Pro-4X impresses with a solid, planted feel, no matter the road conditions, which admittedly were dry enough that it was never necessary to use its four-wheel drive system. All Frontiers sold in Canada feature shift-on-the-fly 4WD with 2WD/4Hi/4Lo modes operated by an electronically controlled part-time transfer case. There’s also four-wheel limited-slip and, on the Pro-4X, an electronic locking differential.
I also found the Frontier’s hydraulic rack-and-pinion steering, which was retuned for the 2022 model, had a solid weight to it. I’ve heard complaints that it’s heavy and slow — all I have to say is “wimps!” Nissan notes that the steering gear ratio has been increased by 16 per cent, leading to a faster response with less effort.
The cabin’s interior is as straightforward and functional as they come, with no luxury pretense at all, albeit fully wired up for today’s communication needs. The dash area is dominated by a nine-inch touchscreen with standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Also standard on Pro-4X models is wireless smartphone charging and NissanConnect with WiFi hotspot, as are two 110-volt outlets with 400-watt capability — one in the rear, one in the bed — allowing users to power a wide variety of indoor and outdoor accessories. Standard on all models are two front USB ports (one Type-A, one Type-C), two front 12V outlets and Siri Eyes Free.
2022 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X Crew Cab Photo by Nissan
Yet, as fun as the Pro-4X was, it’s a pricey rig. Anyone liking the looks and intent of this topline Frontier should well consider spec’ing the Chevy Colorado ZR2, its corporate twin, the GMC Canyon AT4, Ford’s Ranger FX4 or even Toyota’s Double Cab Tacoma TRD Sport. All of them deliver a similar macho vibe for about the same price if not less. More to the point, in reminding me of the Xterra, the Frontier clearly has a dated quality to it, which might not dissuade the Nissan faithful, but could be an issue amongst the greater pickup-owning crowd.
Then again, if you’re a serious off-road adventurer, it’s worth noting that “after weeks of real-world testing,” the Pro-4X was named “Best Off-Road Truck” by the editors of the U.S. website TFLtruck.com. The pickup was evaluated against three other new 2022 model pickups in categories including off-road prowess, technology, performance, trailer towing, and efficiency.
The site should have included a home reno category. It’s pretty capable there, as well.
Keyword: Pickup Review: 2022 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X Crew Cab