Can New Nissan Pathfinder Compete in a Modern Market?

Nissan recently released details of new Qashqai, X-Trail, and Pathfinder.

Buyers have been able to order in advance of the local launch with 5300 people putting down the readies without even having seen them. All have been delayed by the same supply chain issues currently dogging almost every aspect of our daily lives.

Reviews for X-Trail drop on the 1^st of December, with Pathfinder coming a week later, so watch for the videos.

Meanwhile, since we can’t talk about the drive impressions under pain of death, let’s chat about the design, pricing, specification, and the rather snazzy interior.

Where does it come from?

Our X-trail comes from the UK, but Pathfinder is as American as apple pie, so much so that it is sold in very few markets, with even fewer of them right hand drive. The big SUV isn’t even available in the land of the rising sun.

Pathfinder facts

The American-ness of Pathfinder is both a selling point, and a drawback, depending on your point of view. There is a single engine/transmission option with 4 trim levels: ST, ST-L, Ti and Ti-L. 4×4 is available from ST-L up, but for some mysterious reason known only to fast-talking men with pocket-protectors and crooked glasses, 4X4 is optional on the Ti. Go figure.

The engine is a peach, tried and tested. Some say it is a little long in the tooth, but as Nissan heads into the brave new world of electrification, why bother inventing a new ICE for a single generation of car, right? It has 202kw and 340Nm, so although that won’t set any new land speed records, it is more than sufficient. If there is a downside: even with the fabulous new 9-speed automatic, it drinks a little more juice than the old model.

Pathfinder has been out of the market for a while. The run-out was a big hit for those who couldn’t wait for the new model, and delays saw a blowout in local launch dates. Car nerds will know that Pathfinder has been out in the USA for a couple of years so it is a long time coming.

Nissan pointed out some references in design which harkened back to earlier models, but frankly, you have to be drunk to see them. So, forget all about that and concentrate on the fabulous monumentality of an SUV designed and built in the good ol’ U.S of A.

Like Patrol (Armada in the US), Pathfinder looks solid in the same way a block of flats does. Some don’t like those looks, but I adore, adore, adore. It looks exceptionally smart in the red/black combo that makes the roof look as if it delicately floats above the substantial body.

You will either like it or not, so judge for yourself from the pics. If you squint just right, there is just a smidge of Land Rover, especially from the back.

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Inside:

The cabin is a complete departure from the old model, thankfully. For the purposes of ease, we’re talking about the range topping Ti-L. With lower models scoring a little less techy goodness, check the specification page HERE for more.

It looks all butch and American. Pathfinder’s cabin is as chunky and substantial as the metalwork outside. There are just enough buttons and controls to make life easy, without the operator feeling like they need a degree to change the temperature.

Ti-L is the best equipped and has natty captain’s chairs in the second row. They have a lift-out console, enabling knackered adults to chuck the kids in the back without having to get granny to Circ du Soleil herself out of the way.

Although the chairs tumble forward, kids can scramble into the 3^rd row where the console once lived. There is nowhere to put it when you take it out, but you can toss said console into the cargo hold at a pinch.

There are 16 cupholders, ‘cos:- American.

There are a bunch of USBs too, up to 5 in all, in a mix of USB-A and C. There are 2 X 12V , one at either end of the cabin, to power life’s little extras. It has something to do with kids and long trips, so I’m told.

There are more storage options than you can poke a stick at, as well as Qi charging, and LED lighting inside and out.

The driver is probably the most spoilt PAX. He/she/they get a 9” centre screen, a 12.3” driver’s screen, and 10.8” HUD. Infotainment is helped by DAB+, wireless CarPlay/Android Auto, and a thumping 13-speaker Bose audiosystem. For 80 grand, it isn’t a bad package.

The digital rear view mirror is bright and clear but is blocked when towing something tallish, just like a normal mirror.

Seating is comfortable, but despite Nissan’s insistence that anyone can use the 3^rd row, I didn’t, and won’t.

We’ll talk more about the equipment and drive modes in the review, but there has been significant improvement in the safety and driver aid department, and is as good as any other brand.

Can Pathfinder Compete?

Pathfinder doesn’t have the electrified options coming in the smaller Nissan models. That’s a legacy of cheap yankee “gas”. Americans just don’t see the point.

The question is then, what else you can get for the price.

7 and 8-seaters are common in large SUVs so there is plenty of choice. Diesels are becoming less common, and if our government ever gets around to decent emissions legislation, will die completely.

We are in the dying days of ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles, but there are still a bunch of buyers in that space. Families will love it, and couples who camp will too.

Sales of the previous model had tanked, but the new car is handsome and well equipped. Other Japanese car makers have offerings in this space, as do the Koreans, so predictions are impossible.

I think there is a place for Pathfinder, and,pooh-poohers aside, it comes down to style. All things being equal, a buyer will sit in it, take it for a spin and compare it to the market.

I reckon it is a pearler.

FULL REVIEW 8^th December we take the old girl onto some dirt, some rubbish potholed roads, and smooth (ish) highways.

Pricing and details at a glance