Review: The All New Nissan Pathfinder by Ammar Eid

Nissan introduced the Pathfinder back in 1985 and it was a Hard Core Off Roader SUV. It was built on chassis of a truck, or in other words body on frame vehicle, however it seems it had an identity crises; as it fluctuated between unibody and body on frame from one generation to the other throughout  the years. 

Apparently in the year 2013 Nissan has sent the Pathfinder to the spa for a complete makeover; the new Pathfinder lost 227 KG of its weight, got rid of the boxy look, got new engine, new transmission gear (CVT), and a wheels management system to shift between 2 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive. In other words, a totally new Pathfinder, a Pathfinder that that no longer can be nicknamed a"truck" but simply a mid size SUV.  

1985 - 1995 Pathfinder              1996 - 2004 Pathfinder              2005 - 2012 Pathfinder

The Internal

Nissan had a lot of hits and misses in their interior designs, but when it comes to the new Pathfinder it’s a major hit. Simple, spacious, comfortable and luxurious, everything seems to be in its right spot , soft material everywhere you reach, wood and chrome finishing, along with  top of the line features such as 8-inch display, a navigation system , Bose audio system ,Bluetooth capability ,DVD players  ,hard disk of 9GB, cruse controls and tri climate zones and much more.

Seats of the new Pathfinder are cozy. Nissan has surpassed itself and other SUV's in making the access of the 3^rd row easy, just by click and slide the 2^nd row and the 3^rd row is all yours, while the 3^rd row provides good head room and OK leg room, but in my opinion it’s not recommend for anyone who is over 180cm tall, and it’s the most suitable place for your misbehaving children or your mother in law!

On the other hand both 2^nd and 3^rd can be fully folded and you will end up an enormous cargo space.

The external look

The old Pathfinder had that look of "house of pain" and the  attitude of a truck not to mention its big appetite of petrol consumption. This all was altered and lines were softened up making the car more aerodynamic. It seems that  Nissan has shifted the Pathfinder into more family  perspective. This is more like a soccer mom car now, or big families vehicle. Its no longer that hard core off road vehicle, you would be happy to take the new Pathfinder to the mall or to a nice family beach trip.

Performance

Under the hood of the new Pathfinder you find a v6 engine with 3500 liter capacity capable of producing 254hp at 240 lb .ft toque  and its mated  to new generation  of CVT (continues vibrant transmission ),and to be honest this may sound a little under powered but there is one way to find out.

0 - 100 km speed test

Now most car testers scores in the new Pathfinder results  varied between 7.7- 8 sec in the 0 to 100km speed test and these are impressive results ;  in fact it is close or even better than other similar SUV`s.

Driving the Pathfinder experience is great. It's strong, smooth, well balanced but you get the feeling the steering wheel is over boosted or over responding, overall I think passengers will be very comfortable in it.

According to Nissan the petrol consumption is reduced by 30% compared to the old Pathfinder thanks goes to the smaller engine and the new CVT noting that the average petrol consumption  of the new Pathfinder is 9 liters per 100KM which is best in class (mixed driving city and high way )

Towing capability took a hit downgrading from over 3000 KG  in the old model to 2300 KG , however it is still considered very efficient, noting the most consumers in UAE  towing average needs is 1000 - 2000 KG “The average size of small speed boat “.

Bottom line

Even though the new Pathfinder does not look like a Pathfinder anymore and no longer considered that hard core adventures off road driving vehicle, It’s now a very economical SUV that can seat 7 persons comfortably and impresses them with tones of features included. My only concern is the new CVT transamtion performance that make the speeding up feels a little droopy along with high engine sound.

If you are more involved in desert safari, the new Pathfinder is not a choice to consider, The Toyota FJ or Nissan Xterra would be a better choice.

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