Nissan Pathfinder brings minivan comfort to SUV (pictures)
A new, radical update to Nissan's Pathfinder turns it into a comfortable family hauler with a good tow rating and a flexible four-wheel-drive system.
Wayne Cunningham
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
With an almost 30-year history, the Pathfinder has undergone more changes than most car models, going back and forth between body-on-frame and unibody construction. The latest iteration leaves behind the truck frame and adopts a modern crossover style.
Losing its trucklike styling, the new Pathfinder looks more like a minivan, especially at the front fenders. As a crossover, it combines a range of capabilities that should make it suitable for large families.
Nissan's engine is pretty standard stuff from the previous decade, a 3.5-liter V-6 making 260 horsepower. Its saving grace is the continuously variable transmission tying it to the wheels, which makes that power more usable than in many fixed-gear vehicles.
In Platinum trim, the Pathfinder gains a very nicely appointed cabin. The front seats, power-adjustable and covered in leather, also feature heating and cooling.
This dial controls the four-wheel-drive system. It takes the Pathfinder from economical two-wheel drive all the way to a differential-locked four-wheel drive.
This file and folder interface shows up when you plug a USB drive into the car. For music from the Pathfinder's own hard drive or an iOS device, it would show music categorized by album, artist, and genre.