2020 Nissan Frontier Base Price Up $7500 Due to Newly Standard V-6

From Car and Driver

• The 2020 Nissan Frontier, which has a new engine, sees a sizable price jump compared to last year's base model.

• The Frontier now comes standard with a 3.8-liter V-6 engine and a nine-speed automatic transmission to replace the old 4.0L and five-speed, and there's no more base four-cylinder model.

• The 2020 Frontier is expected to reach dealer lots in July, while an all-new model is slated to arrive for the 2021 model year.

For 2020, the Nissan Frontier has begun its transformation into the next generation. A new engine and transmission push the starting price up to $27,885, from $20,385 for the 2019 model. This big price hike is mostly due to the fact that the 2020 Frontier now comes standard with a V-6 engine and automatic transmission, while the cheapest version of the 2019 Frontier had a four-cylinder engine and a manual transmission. More comparable trim levels and configurations see smaller jumps in price.

Nissan has phased out the previously standard 2.5-liter inline-four engine, which came standard with a manual transmission, and the optional 4.0-liter V-6 which came with an outdated five-speed automatic transmission. All 2020 Frontiers come standard with a nine-speed automatic transmission and a new 3.8-liter V-6 with 310 horsepower and 281 lb-ft of torque. That's an increase of 49 horsepower compared with last year's V-6 model, while torque stays the same.