Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. Best Ofs

Nissan and Cummins unveil a diesel-powered Frontier pickup ‘project’

By

In the automotive world, Cummins is known for the hulking diesel engines it installs in massive Ram pickup trucks, so Sam Elliott can talk about them in a voice as rough as their exhaust notes.

However, at the 2014 Chicago Auto Show, a Cummins engine was found under the hood of a different kind of truck.

The “Frontier Diesel Runner Powered By Cummins” is a Nissan Frontier pickup that’s gone over to the compression-ignition side. Nissan calls it a “project”, not a concept, and says it hopes to gauge consumer interest regarding a diesel engine for the next-generation Frontier.

So there won’t be a diesel in this generation of Frontier, which is due to be replaced soon, and the truck sitting on the Chicago show floor doesn’t foreshadow its replacement in any way. That’s why it’s a project.

The engine itself is a 2.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that produces an estimated 200 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque. It’s coupled to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

However, the really important numbers here involve fuel economy, which would be the main advantage of a diesel-powered small truck. Replacing a gasoline engine with a smaller diesel certainly worked for the full-size Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, which gets an impressive 28 mpg highway.

In fact, the collaboration between Nissan and Cummins started out under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy. As part of the ongoing Advanced Technology Light Automotive Systems (ATLAS) program, Cummins put four-cylinder diesels in Nissan Titan trucks, which serve as testbeds for future small diesel engines like the one in the Frontier project truck.

So while it may look like it crashed into a Pep Boys, this Frontier could give Nissan an edge in the compact-truck segment, which has come a long way from the Datsun 720 King Cab. The arrival of the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado (which sports a diesel engine of its own) means Nissan can’t rest on its laurels anymore.

Topics
Stephen Edelstein
Stephen Edelstein
Contributing Editor
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
Mini’s infotainment system is very charming, but still needs work
Main screen of the Mini infotainment system

When you think Mini, you probably don’t think of infotainment. Personally, I think of the British flag taillights, the distinct exterior, and the surprising room on the inside. But after driving the Mini John Cooper Works Countryman over the past week, infotainment might well be something I think of more often when it comes to Mini. It’s charming.

It also, however, suffers from all the traps that other legacy automakers fall into when it comes to software design. Mini has something on its hands here — but it still needs some work.
Bringing the charm
The first thing that stood out to me about the system when I got in the car was how fun it was. That all starts with the display. It’s round! No, it’s not curved — the screen is a big, round display sits in at 9.4 inches, and I found it plenty large enough for day-to-day use.

Read more
Plug-in hybrids are becoming more popular. Why? And will it continue?
Kia Niro EV Charging Port

There's a lot of talk about the idea that the growth in electric car sales has kind of slowed a little. It's not all that surprising -- EVs are still expensive, early adopters all have one by now, and they're still new enough to where there aren't too many ultra-affordable used EVs available. But plenty of people still want a greener vehicle, and that has given rise to an explosion in hybrid vehicle sales.

That's especially true of plug-in hybrid vehicles, which can be charged like an EV and driven in all-electric mode for short distances, and have a gas engine as a backup for longer distances or to be used in combination with electric mode for more efficient driving.

Read more
EV drivers are not going back to gas cars, global survey says
ev drivers are not going back to gas cars global survey says screenshot

Nearly all current owners of electric vehicles (EVs) are either satisfied or very satisfied with the experience, and 92% of them plan to buy another EV, according to a survey by the Global EV Drivers Alliance.

The survey of 23,000 EV drivers worldwide found that only 1% would return to a petrol or diesel car, while 4% would opt for a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) if they had to replace their car.

Read more