Pathfinder is back to its old roots

The current Nissan Pathfinder has the Toyota Prado well and truly in its sights. Nissan has upped the ante bringing some life back into a model that has been on a gradual sales decline over its 11 year lifespan.

Nissan has brought to the market a vehicle with the ability to carry seven occupants, to perform with ease, to go off-road, tow a heavy load and do all those other things expected of a good all-rounder.

The seven seat Pathfinder gives you the choice of a powerful 126kW common rail turbo diesel or a 198kW 4.0 litre V6 petrol engine.  Our test vehicle was the Ti Turbo Diesel, which once you stepped into the cabin, felt, sounded and drove anything but like driving a truck.

In the automatic transmission ST-L and Ti models, Pathfinder now provides Hill Descent Control and Hill Start Assist which offers great advantages for serious offroaders. This together with the low range option, on the all mode 4 X 4 of the Ti, allows you to navigate those serious inclines and declines, with safety and ease, on those camping trips away.

Safety is also high on the agenda with the Ti model fitted with front, side and curtain airbags, rear parking sensors ( and believe me you need them with Pathfinder’s big butt), ABS and Vehicle Dynamic Control.

Inside the Pathfinder Ti, the seats are covered in leather, the driver and passenger seats are heated and the adjustments are power driven. The glass tilt / slide sunroof is also standard. The rear passenger seats, and this includes the third row, all come with their own air conditioning controls. And a must for all those queer parents, or maybe just your friends, the ultimate pacifier, Nissan’s Rear Seat Entertainment System (NRSE). The NRSE has a DVD player and screen that flips down from the centre of the roof, behind the driver’s seat, and together with 2 infrared-controlled, cordless headphones keeps sound and vision from distracting the front occupants.

The new Pathfinder is longer and taller than the previous model, but despite this there isn’t a generous amount of legroom in either rear seat, especially for anyone who has sat in something like Ford’s Territory. There isn’t a lack of headroom in the second row of seats, but low seating that leaves nowhere for taller passengers to put their feet. The third row of seats suffers from paltry legroom and scant headroom for adults, so they’re really only good for children, and not large ones either.

Nissan claims the Pathfinder features 64 different seating and load configurations (we’ve taken their word for it) including second and third row seats that fold completely flat, combined with a fold-forward from passenger’s seat, giving you a 2.8-metre long load area.

You’ll find that whatever your lifestyle, the spacious and versatile Pathfinder is fully equipped for real adventures. This much faster, tougher and plainly more useful new Pathfinder isn’t just the evolution expected of its predecessor, but represents a move in a whole new direction.