2022 Nissan Pathfinder: Checking out this smarter, better-looking 3-row SUV

Speaker 1: It's finally time for a new Nissan Pathfinder and this new one looks way tougher and smarter than the softy three road that came before it. And it's not just good looks. There's a new transmission inside hallelujah. Plus a boatload of added convenience and safety gear. This is our first chance to get at hands on. So let's dig in the story of Nissan's Pathfinder. SUV is a lot like the story of many of us. When we were young, we were carefree and let's face it. We were [00:00:30] simpler. Many of us were outdoorsy and adventuresome. And as we got older and had families, we got smarter, but we also got softer and way more practical. Eventually, maybe after looking a little too closely in the here, some of us went back to the gym. If we were really ambitious, we might have even tried to learn new skills or get comfortable with the latest tech that is this new fifth gen Pathfinder on sale. Speaker 1: This summer, the Pathfinder nameplate is now 35 years old, and it has the childbearing hips to prove it. But you'd never know without looking really [00:01:00] closely, this fresh, fresh here finally says SUV more than it says, tall wagon up front. There's a new three slat vMotion grill. That's designed to remind this middle aged crossover of a hard body outfit. It wore back in the eighties and these staple gun shaped L E D headlights, will they deliver a piercing stare. Even the body sides look different with tone fend and a shark like dorsal fin that contrasts with a blacked out greenhouse and Outback, the Pathfinder gets a much more planted look [00:01:30] featuring narrow four piece tail amps and billboard lettering to emphasize width. Even though this is fundamentally the same chassis as last year, most people won't have a clue what's underneath. If last generations look whispered mall finder, this 2022 says, yeah, man, I'm up for camping. Speaker 1: If anything, this interior transformation is even more dramatic. The dashboard is all new and far more modern than its button. Heavy, small screened predecessor. [00:02:00] There's a new nine inch infotainment display and it's mounted like a tab lit to keep this IP low so that the interior feels significantly air. This is a pre-production model. So I can't show you everything, but I can tell you that the new display here is a lot CRISPR. I can't show you the heads up display, but it's great that it has one. And you can check out the all digital gauge cluster. I'm guessing you've already noticed this smaller electronic shifter borrowed from the rogue. I didn't love its kind of weird spring loaded return to center feel in that vehicle. [00:02:30] And the same is true here, but it does save space and you do get used to it on the redesigned, better feeling steering wheel. You'll find a new blue button that's for prot assist with nav link. This level two hands-on system combines adaptive cruise control with lane centering and it uses map data to know when to slow down for corners and exits don't worry. The kids are looked after better too. The Pathfinder comes standard with seating for eight, including a second row bench with a smarter one touch sliding mechanism or there's this Speaker 2: Setup, which features [00:03:00] a pair of captain's chairs with a middles console that can be removed without tools. Nissan says the 2022 Pathfinder is quieter inside too. Thanks to more sound insulation in the doors and floor plus new laminated front glass and thicker second row glass. The company claims that engine noise is down 60%. Heck you wanna even have to listen to the CVTs wine when you put your foot in the throttle anymore because it's not there. The old continuously vari transmission made by Jaco did help with fuel economy, but even though Nissan's engineers did their best, [00:03:30] it still didn't make for a great driving experience. Plus early last gen Pathfinders had a history of costly transmission problems. So good riddens in the CVT places, a conventional nine speed automatic, which can still tow a class leading 6,000 pounds. I'm guessing this new gear box might be the Pathfinder's biggest quality of life. Speaker 2: Upgrade that or maybe the retune electric power steering or maybe the new seven mode drive selector on all wheel drive models. I'm not really sure. There's just a lot of new stuff in here. Now we've [00:04:00] come all this way and we haven't even talked about the engine that's because it's so familiar. It's the same three and a half liter V6 with the same 284 horsepower in 259 pound feet of torque. Thus you can probably expect similar performance and fuel economy. All right. So this new Pathfinder is smarter and more comfortable than before. It looks a lot tougher, even though it probably isn't actually any more capable offroad. So is it finally as good as Hyundai's Palisade Kia's Telluride or the Toyota Highlander? [00:04:30] Well, I'm gonna let you know when I get my hands on the wheel and get the chance to drive this Tennessee built SUV later this year.