- 2015 Nissan Pathfinder
- Interior / Exterior »
Inside, the 2015 Pathfinder leans toward functional, rather than over-designed. The hard, smooth, textured plastic surfaces of the interior will no doubt clean easily and prove durable. But a glossier dashboard top surface meets semi-matte, soft-touch door panel material in a way that just doesn’t feel quite right–and catches the driver’s eye time and again. While buyers can choose from several paint colors, there are just two interior tones: the inevitable Charcoal, and then the lighter Almond.
The exterior stance is swept back, with a fairly long hood and a steeply raked windshield. Its metamorphosis into a family-focused crossover with seven seats already seems entirely natural. But it will be sold in more than 70 countries, and it’s obviously a Nissan product when you stack it up against the Chevrolet Traverse, Ford Explorer, Toyota Highlander, and Honda Pilot it competes with in the U.S. The side accents, upswept third window, and chrome-trimmed grille all echo the themes found in passenger cars, the smaller, higher-volume Nissan crossovers–including the newer Rogue–and even the truly large Armada SUV.
Those contour lines appear to “flow” up around the fenders in the front, then dip below the window line, and flare again to arch up over the wheel wells at the rear. The aggressive creases on the hood and over the front wheel wells actually start at the thick chrome bars on either side of the grille, giving the Pathfinder a bolder look than the same effect on some of Nissan’s smaller sedans. It gives the Pathfinder “pop,” as the fashion shows say. The only missing element would be either high-intensity discharge headlamps or LED running lights.
- Performance »
There are two available powertrains–a traditional V-6, and a more efficient hybrid. With either powertrain, the Pathfinder droves more like a softly sprung sedan than a large utility vehicle–and it’s easy to forget how much metal is following behind you. It’s lighter than some competitors, so there’s less sense of heft behind the wheel. We did notice some torque steer in front-wheel-drive models, but not in the all-wheel-drive versions, which send most of the power to the front wheels until it’s needed in back for traction or stability. The driver can select a 2WD mode for front-wheel drive only, maximizing fuel efficiency, or a 4WD Lock mode to distribute power equally front and rear (the system still modulates power delivery side to side).
The response of the Pathfinder’s hydraulic-electric power steering is quick, it’s well-weighted, and it has decent on-center feel. Throw the Pathfinder quickly back and forth on choppy roads, and you’ll get better control than some more inept competitors (the last generation of Toyota Highlander stands out there). The one drawback is that the low-rolling-resistance tires fitted to most models don’t offer nearly as much grip as you’d expect from the well-controlled body. The problem occurs with both the standard 18-inch and optional 20-inch wheels.
The optional tow package gives the V-6 Pathfinder towing capability up to 5,000 pounds, or 3,500 for the Hybrid, with different programming for the CVT when the loads on the transmission are heavier. Most family buyers will never test the limits of the Pathfinder’s all-wheel drive; while the crossover has less ground clearance than, say, a Subaru Outback, it handles rutted surfaces with assurance.
The standard powertrain in all Pathfinders is the familiar Nissan 3.5-liter V-6, which appears in products from the 370Z sports car (which receives a bored-out version) to the Maxima sedan. In this use, it’s rated at 260 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque, with updates to reduce friction and provide maximum power on regular gasoline. It’s paired to Nissan’s familiar Xtronic continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). It has a wider range between the lowest and highest ratios, which improves acceleration and lowers engine speed during highway cruising. But responsiveness can suffer, and the Pathfinder sometimes has quite a delay as the engine speed spools up to deliver more power if it’s been loafing along at low revs.
There’s a second powertrain option, the Pathfinder Hybrid. This pairs a supercharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with a 15-kilowatt (22-hp) electric motor sandwiched between the engine and a modified version of the CVT, with a clutch on either end. The combination of engine and motor is rated at 250 hp, just 10 hp shy of the V-6 output.
The hybrid Pathfinder suffers from the same transmission lag, and occasionally feels underpowered. But its oddest feature is that the engine stop/start function appears not to work–at least in our prototype Pathfinder Hybrid–when the air conditioning is on, presumably so the engine can keep the compressor running. It’s a problem Ford fixed on its Escape Hybrid back in 2009, but to keep costs down, Nissan hasn’t fitted electric air conditioning. That means that in hot weather, the hybrid system forgoes the fuel-saving benefits of shutting down the engine when the car has stopped.
With a small single electric motor in a large, heavy vehicle, the Pathfinder Hybrid also has no ability to propel itself on electricity alone. Like Honda’s mild-hybrid IMA system, the electric motor is strictly there to help out a smaller gasoline engine, a solution that ultimately doesn’t net major fuel-economy gains.
This year, a few of its options packages have been reorganized, but the big news is the addition of the ‘D-Step’ logic to the CVT, which now makes the Pathfinder feel like it’s shifting through a traditional transmission, rather than revving endlessly through a continuously-variable one. That doesn’t get in the way of the fact that it remains one of the most useful vehicles in the segment, with seating for seven, and more interior space than the Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, or Ford Explorer.
The Pathfinder looks well-proportioned, thanks to its newly-found curves that hide its enormous bulk and height. It requires standing side-by-side with it to truly appreciate its immensity, and even then, it wouldn’t be a stretch to call it ‘rakish,’ even as a tall wagon. It’s otherwise a familiar design–and one that we’ve seen on the rest of recent Nissan lineup–with its bold, chromed grilled, sculpted fenders, and curves that definitely draw the family line between today’s Nissan’s and the current lineup of Infinitis.
Nissan has carefully crafted its options packages to reflect what families actually order. With the available Nissan Navigation System, you also get traffic information, Bluetooth streaming audio, and voice recognition. A tri-zone entertainment system that lets you play separate programming for each of the two seven-inch rear screens (DVD, gaming input, or photos), all while front-seat occupants can listen to their own programming.
The top-of-the-line Pathfinder Platinum, at a bottom-line price of about $42,000 for the all-wheel-drive model, will give you get the tow package, cooled front seats, the Bose audio system, navigation, and an Around View Monitor, all with a higher-resolution eight-inch WVGA display. Only the high-tech convenience features—like adaptive cruise control, or a blind-spot system—that are starting to jump from luxury brands down to the mainstream are missing from the Pathfinder.
Inside the Pathfinder, there’s some influence from the Infiniti luxury division, but the cabin still feels conservative due to a limited selection of just two colors and otherwise unremarkable fabrics and plastic surfaces. Behind the wheel, though, drivers will likely forget they’re driving a seven-seat crossover utility vehicle. The Pathfinder has clearly been designed to prioritize elbow room and comfort for passengers. While it has the cross-section of its competitors, more or less, it’s considerably longer than the Ford Explorer, Honda Pilot, or Toyota Highlander–about the length of a Mazda CX-9. The bulk of the added metal goes into the cabin, which gives the Pathfinder not only two usable rows of seating, but a more accessible and useful third row than any of its competition.
The bench seat in the second row slides back and forth, giving more legroom if the third row is empty. It also has a complex sliding-and-folding mechanism for access to the back row that lets parents leave their child seats locked in place even while the seat partially collapses–truly a parent-friendly feature. That third row has short, flat, van-like cushions that sit surprisingly low. That’s good for headroom for growing teens, but it’s still marginal for an adult. That nonetheless actually makes it roomier than most third rows, which are really kids-only accommodations.
Handling and cornering are more sedan-like than reminiscent of an SUV, and its heft is never apparent at the wheel. The Pathfinder is lighter than the full-size crossovers from General Motors, including the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave, and its hydraulic-electric steering is particularly well tuned for comfortable driving. However many passengers you have, the Pathfinder will give them a pleasant, smooth, refined ride. Nissan spent a lot of time tracking down and muffling road noise and coarseness through the suspension, and it shows, even at highway speeds.
The standard 260-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 engine and continuously variable transmission (CVT) is offered alongside a hybrid model that pairs supercharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with a 15-kilowatt (22-hp) electric motor sandwiched between engine and CVT, with a clutch on either end. Power output from the combined system is 250 hp, just 10 hp shy of the V-6 output.
The big news for last year was the hybrid model, the first in the Pathfinder’s history, which puts the Toyota Highlander Hybrid squarely in the Pathfinder’s cross-hairs, although we don’t think Nissan’s mild hybrid system is as satisfying as the full hybrid offered up by Toyota in its own seven-seat crossover. But today’s reinvented Pathfinder offers front-wheel drive as standard, and happily sacrifices some of its previous towing and rough-terrain abilities for family-friendly comfort features that center it squarely in the mid-size utility vehicle segment.
The standard engine and CVT combination offers a wider range of engine-to-transmission ratios than the earlier Nissan units—and a sturdy chain instead of a belt—giving both strong, smooth acceleration and lower revs when cruising. It’s all in the name of fuel economy, although we note that there’s quite a delay for quick bursts of power for passing. This engine runs on standard gasoline.
Fuel efficiency of the new hybrid model is estimated at 26 mpg combined (25 mpg city, 27 mpg highway), and the Pathfinder Hybrid can be ordered with optional all-wheel drive. The lithium-ion battery pack fits under the rear deck, there’s no compromise in storage space or packaging. It has the same 19.5-gallon gas tank as the V-6 Pathfinder, giving it a total range of more than 500 miles–or far longer than most families with small kids can travel before a rest stop is required.
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