2023 Nissan Pathfinder Drive and Review – The SUV Nissan Needed

Large SUVs mark the grave where the corpses of their passenger car siblings are buried, so it is no surprise the 2023 Nissan Pathfinder fills the large family car void with grace and dignity.

From that you may gather I rather liked 2023 Nissan Pathfinder on the road, and you’d be right. Sure, sales had flagged, and an absence of Nissan’s large SUV sent buyers scampering into Toyota Klugers, or Jeeps.

But, Pathfinder is back and bad, baby.

We previewed 2023 Nissan Pathfinder early in the year but had to wait for the drive. The Pathfinder specifications and pricing have been available for a while

In person, Pathfinder is even sexier than in the headshots. It is festooned with technology, and the cabin feels posh and extremely comfortable. It is gym-fit in a way that makes twinks swoon.

To prove it, Nisan hitched up some very sexy SeaDoos (or whatever brand they were) weighing in at a hefty750kg. We towed at highway speed, and on rubbish secondary roads. Both were pitted with the swiss-cheese results of the filthy weather which has lashed the East Coast of Australia for years. There is no time to repair the damage before the next disaster befalls us. The only thing missing are the locusts and the rivers running red.

Pathfinder pulled like a steam train, as if the jet ski was a mere trifle.

The only clue there was junk behind the trunk was the occasional “thunk” as it moved about on the hitch. In Tow Mode, Pathfinder kept the arse-end nice and tidy. The shiny side stayed upright, with no hint of fanny-wiggle.

The electronic rear-view mirror was as blocked as the normal reflective mirror was, much to my distress. A camera on the rear of the trailer is a business opportunity just waiting to happen.

Video Review: all new 2023 Nissan Pathfinder with TOWING and DIRT ROAD Driving – Review

Video Review: All-New Nissan X-Trail, Better in Almost Every Way.

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ABOVE: 2023 All New Nissan Pathfinder (top 2 rows), 2019 Nissan Pathfinder (bottom row for comparrison)

Once the big, manly, boy-magnet was unhitched, Pathfinder raced into the beyond like the Queen’s favourite at Epson.

Nissan knows Pathfinder will be used for big families, or singles and couples who enjoy the great outdoors. With 2-up, the V6 was silky, and the 9-speed automatic faultless. 202kw isn’t a huge number, and that becomes obvious in overtaking. Pathfinder is built for cruising, but didn’t mind the odd bit of gravel. It saw off the wet roads like a cat-on-carpet, feeling far friskier than an SUV has any right to.

The cabin is deliciously quiet and the top model feels limo-esque in all ways, even on the nasty stuff. There is no hiding that 80k is many, many shekels, but if you want a posh space that looks good on the outside and comes fully loaded, the choice is not as broad as you’d think.

First, things that are common among Pathfinder’s peers, like digital dashes, HUDs, and generous centre screens are must-haves. Drive modes, excellent audio, and fully formed driver and safety aids are impossible to live without. In fact, Pathfinder scored 5-Star safety on ANCAP.

See specifications here:Nissan Pathfinder Spec Sheet

Keep in mind Pathfinder is an American car, designed and built in the USA, for big butch, all-Americans who “love ‘em them-thar cars big n bold” (sic). They love big spaces, big meals, and big cars. I love it. There are some who will pooh-pooh the V6 petrol, citing the diesels in other brands. It is perhaps timely to remind you all that BMW, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, and the VW have all been accused of cheating to achieve pollution goals. Diesels are dying slow deaths, and good riddance to them.

That dealt with, we come to city driving, where I see Pathfinder doing double duty as a spacious commuter, and family taxi. Normally that spells certain death to desire, but I rather fancy it.

Everything was easy to use, and for such a biggun, Pathfinder was easy to park. There were plenty of cameras, including that fabulous interior rearview mirror/camera.

It would be churlish not to mention Pro Pilot+, especially after Nissan banging on about it relentlessly. For some reason, every car maker thinks their safety and semi-autonomous assistants are unique. It is simply a marketing name for a suite of goodies activated by a button, and programmed through the infotainment system.

Out on the open road, it minds its P’s and Q’s by keeping a respectful distance from other traffic, as well as trying to avoid sundry unexpected obstacles. It even manages slow traffic with minimal interjection from the bloke in the big pew. It is smart enough to know if there are no hands on the steering wheel, so don’t get it into your head to YouTube yourself as the only occupant, driving from the passenger seat. That won’t fly. Autonomous trips are still a very long way off, if not technologically, than certainly legally.

Conclusion:

Others will disagree, but they are wrong, Pathfinder is fabulously excessive in a world obsessed by batteries. So, in the dying days of burning bits of old dinosaur, Pathfinder provides a safe oasis from which to watch the world glide by.

As the days of cramped sports car slip from my grasp, I yearn for a place that feels luxurious and quiet. I want subtlety of the kind a gentlemen’s club gives. I want inconspicuous assistants to tend to my whims, and to be able to take me pretty much wherever I want.

When asked if a hybrid drive was coming for Pathfinder, GayCarBoys was given a firmish, “No” from the man at the helm. That’s a shame, even a mild hybrid option would have been nice.

Pathfinder is the most handsome of the Nissan SUV brothers. It can’t go the places that the plucky Patrol can, and it dwarfs both X-Trail and Qashqai, but Pathfinder will find favour with fellas fancying a filly that can frolic in the fields, then take your mates club-crawling in comfort.

You won’t mind being the responsible driver as long as someone doesn’t yak-up in the back seat.

Pricing and details at a glance