Supposedly the more muscular styling for Pathfinder (and others) insinuates it is more off-road rugged and certainly I splashed around some sloppy tall grass and muck in a field to assure the Nissan was up to it. Yes, Sport firms the steering effort some and mildly aids acceleration. Pathfinder touts seven drive modes from Mud/Rut and Snow, to Eco and Sport. Nissan, wisely, is fond of flat-bottom steering wheels which are good at creating more room for a driver’s knees when exiting and also look sportier, a double win.Īnd many drive modes, here controlled on the console by a rotating dial, are as necessary as giant wheels and tires these days. Both are standard on the Platinum model, the stereo being a Bose premium model with dual subwoofers. Other interior trends include dual-pane panoramic sunroofs and fancy stereos. That creates four very comfy seats, which is how many folks populate most vehicles, including midsize and large SUVs. Practically speaking, most folks will opt for captain’s chairs in row two and limit seating to seven. That’s appreciated.Īlso a trend, a bench seat is optional for row two, which would allow a family to haul eight, one more than a minivan. More good news, these row two seats are one-touch, meaning punch a button on the back and the second row seats backs fold forward and the entire seat slides forward for easier access to row three. Leg and knee room is tight unless the second row seats are moved as far forward as possible. Nissan proudly states this third row has more legroom than some competitors, but let’s be realistic, nearly all third rows are meant for kids younger than eight. That’s easier now too due to the trend of adding a third-row seat to every SUV beyond compact status. The better news is that these seats are well formed and supportive and as hinted at before, the butt pockets are much softer than the pre-pro model, so fine for long drives with the fam aboard. Downside to the gloss finish? It’s very reflective on sunny days. The Pathfinder really looks posh with its quilted leather all around and brushed metal look trim on the outer air vents, door armrests faces and then piano gloss black trim around the various screens and as console trim. So make it as comfy and lounge-like as possible. I mean, where do you spend hours and hours? Inside your vehicle, naturally. Nissan’s are semi-aniline leather and were a handsome medium brown with black trim on seats, doors and dash. That means leather with various names taken from Italian fishing villages to California wine country counties. Luxury interiors, often even in the $35,000-$40,000 price range (that’s about $10,000 short of the average vehicle price now) are trendy too. So engine noise is modest and the cabin remains quiet, so as not to disturb the family’s social media experiences. That helps keep the 3.5-liter V6 calmed even as the 4,672-pound SUV runs up to highway speeds. Nissan’s is a nine-speed and silky smooth. This counteracts the more streamlined styling with rounded edges of recent years, although I’d argue SUVs nearly all look pretty boxy, always have.Īnother trend? To improve fuel economy and smooth shifts for a more luxurious feel, carmakers have moved to eight- to 10-speed automatic transmissions. It’s what carmakers call “muscular” and means wheel wells are more pronounced, hoods flatter and fenders squared. Funny though, the trendy two-tone paint scheme costs $350 extra.īoxy styling is back for SUVs too. That’s another trend, blah gray paint like a battleship, jet fighter or a utility truck. In this case, the roof was black and the body a destroyer gray. The trend is giving the roof a different paint scheme than the body. Now I also see the trends that Pathfinder exhibits that I wasn’t as aware of previously.įirst, two-tone SUVs and crossovers are now a thing, a good thing I might add. Plus it was a top-end Platinum 4WD version, same as I’d tested last fall.įor the most part, all was the same, save for a better driver’s seat butt pocket that was not as hard as last time. That was the case with Nissan’s new 2022 Pathfinder. Sometimes too I test a vehicle as a pre-production model, then get the standard production model a few months later. Part of that is because trends develop fast in the car world and once one manufacturer does something for style, color, features, the others soon fall in line. Sometimes when I write my reviews I feel like a broken record (remember those?) repeating the same info over and over.
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