Price: $30,890
MPG / LPG: 14 city; 20 highway
Though the sun is shining and our eyes are wide open, we may as well be driving blind. It’s our first time in the Nissan Pathfinder, and the only view out the front windscreen is sky -- bright, beautiful, clear blue sky and not one pebble of ground in sight. We’re climbing what may best be described as a steep, rocky set of stairs, only the stairs are boulders, and if one should come loose, it would crush us like a bug.
Not being able to see where we’re going is terrifying enough, but the terrain, what we can feel of it anyway, is about as forgiving as a golf club-wielding Elin Nordegren. Our forward progress is slow, and for each foot we move forward, we’re rewarded with multiple loud, frame-rattling crashes. Fillings start to work their way out of our teeth and we’re certain that, not only are we about to wreck a brand-new Nissan Pathfinder, we’re about to be stranded in the middle of a boulder field.
But Nissan had the confidence to send us out here. Well, actually, Nissan had confidence in its SUV. ThisNot being able to see where we’re going is terrifying enough, but the terrain, what we can feel of it anyway, is about as forgiving as a golf club-wielding Elin Nordegren. Our forward progress is slow, and for each foot we move forward, we’re rewarded with multiple loud, frame-rattling crashes. Fillings start to work their way out of our teeth and we’re certain that, not only are we about to wreck a brand-new Nissan Pathfinder, we’re about to be stranded in the middle of a boulder field.
off-road excursion was put together by Nissan to show the robustness of the Pathfinder’s F-Alpha truck platform. With the F-Alpha, Nissan tucks all the mechanical bits up above the frame rails so that the truck can withstand abuses such as those we threw at it. As we made it through our off-road escapade unscathed, the F-Alpha did its job well.But let’s be honest: few people will drive a Nissan Pathfinder over anything more extreme than a speed bump, so we decided to see how the somewhat-large SUV handles paved roads. With a 400-plus-mile round-trip from Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo planned for the Nissan, we were sure to see if the SUV handled the road as well as it did a field of boulders.
Performance
Though a V8 is available for the Pathfinder, our tester was equipped with the 4.0-liter V6. On paper, it seems like the six-cylinder’s 266 horsepower isn’t enough to move the 3-ton SUV, but in real life, the 266 ponies prove to be more than adequate. This engine sounds a bit coarse at times, but it does deliver acceleration that is brisk for a truck. This Pathfinder won’t hang with something like a BMW X6 (though we tried…), but it can capably do everyday things, such as merge onto highways and pass slower traffic without any drama.
Nissan’s Pathfinder handles pretty well for a truck, too. It delivers a slightly stiff ride, which is to be expected from a truck-based SUV, but things never become uncomfortable. This 2.3-ton SUV proved to be quite capable on twistier mountain roads, staying flat and tracking well through the corners. Steering feedback is a bit heavy, which we happen to like, and communicative.
Though a V8 is available for the Pathfinder, our tester was equipped with the 4.0-liter V6. On paper, it seems like the six-cylinder’s 266 horsepower isn’t enough to move the 3-ton SUV, but in real life, the 266 ponies prove to be more than adequate. This engine sounds a bit coarse at times, but it does deliver acceleration that is brisk for a truck. This Pathfinder won’t hang with something like a BMW X6 (though we tried…), but it can capably do everyday things, such as merge onto highways and pass slower traffic without any drama.
Nissan’s Pathfinder handles pretty well for a truck, too. It delivers a slightly stiff ride, which is to be expected from a truck-based SUV, but things never become uncomfortable. This 2.3-ton SUV proved to be quite capable on twistier mountain roads, staying flat and tracking well through the corners. Steering feedback is a bit heavy, which we happen to like, and communicative.
Design
We’re fans of the Nissan Pathfinder’s blocky, hard-edged shape. It’s utilitarian and in no way does the SUV even try to be trendy, stylish or pretty. We love it, and we can’t help but feel a bit more manly just being in the thing. Our specific Nissan Pathfinder tester was the SE, a more bare-bones version of the SUV, further cementing that utilitarian feel.
We’re fans of the Nissan Pathfinder’s blocky, hard-edged shape. It’s utilitarian and in no way does the SUV even try to be trendy, stylish or pretty. We love it, and we can’t help but feel a bit more manly just being in the thing. Our specific Nissan Pathfinder tester was the SE, a more bare-bones version of the SUV, further cementing that utilitarian feel.
0 comments:
Post a Comment