Judging by the design (and, as you know, they are greeted by clothes, especially in Russia, where one of the criteria for choosing a new car is “whether they will be respected on the road”), then everything is in order with the image of the new Pathfinder! Particularly impressive progress in comparison with the somewhat vague and spineless car of the previous generation.
The new Nissan Pathfinder arrived in Russia
Pathfinder-V has become not only larger, but also more solid, in addition, solidity has appeared in its appearance: at first glance it seems that no matter where the road leads, the car will not let you down.
According to representatives of the manufacturing company, the new Pathfinder after 35 years “returned to the roots.” This, in particular, was announced last year by Jared Haslem, vice president of product and service for Nissan in North America, when he presented the new product to the press.
“Today, owners of large SUVs want a car that combines masculine design and power, but at the same time equipped with the latest technology and complete with all the systems to make everyday trips comfortable and safe for all family members. The new Pathfinder is ready to take on this challenge! – said the vice president of the North American division of Nissan.
The frame did not return to the Pathfinder design with the change of generations of the model, but at the present time this can hardly be considered a significant drawback. More importantly, the platform on which the car is built has been significantly modernized and strengthened, and the power unit is a balm for the hearts of connoisseurs of time-tested solutions and Japanese reliability.
The Pathfinder is powered by a 3.5-liter atmospheric V-shaped “six”, paired with a 9-speed “automatic”. On the American version of the crossover, the engine develops 284 hp. With. and maximum torque of 352 Nm. In the version for Russia, the engine is derated to 275 hp. With. and 340 Nm.
The “automatic” selector of the new Pathfinder is fully electronic (Shift-by-Wire type), with non-fixed positions. It is quite convenient and informative in work. There are also paddle shifters for manual gear shifting.
Torque is transmitted to the wheels through the proprietary “intelligent” All-Mode 4×4-i all-wheel drive transmission based on a hydraulic clutch with two main modes: Drive and Terrain. The car also received a driving mode selection system with seven “presets”: Standard (“standard”), Sport (“sport”), Eco (“eco”), Snow (“snow”), Sand (“sand”), Mud / Rut (“dirt”) and Tow (“Towing”). By the way, the new Pathfinder can tow a trailer weighing over one and a half tons: up to 1587.5 kg. As Nissan assures, this is quite enough for the car to be able to transport a boat, ATV, ATV or a medium-sized “mobile home” where necessary. The list of standard equipment includes an electronic trailer skid prevention system (Trailer Sway Control).
Traction capabilities of the new Pathfinder are enough for ordinary everyday tasks: the car accelerates more than confidently and willingly follows the gas pedal both in the city and on the highway, both with a minimum load and with four passengers on board and a full trunk of boxes with all sorts of dacha “treasury”. Sometimes there is even a feeling that Nissan deformed the motor only on paper.
With a 9-speed “automatic” engine 3.5 V6 is very, very good friends. The box shifts smoothly and quickly, it does not get confused in gears, and if necessary, vigorously accelerate, it drops a step or two exactly at the moment when you expect it. When overtaking trucks on a two-lane highway, as a result, there was no stress: I saw a gap in the oncoming traffic, pressed the pedal and bypassed the passing slow-moving vehicle with minimal “hanging” in the oncoming lane.
At the same time, the new Pathfinder does not suffer from excessive appetite: outside the city, we easily managed to fit the average fuel consumption into the passport 8.9 liters per 100 km. And on the way from the Northern capital to the administrative car, I consumed an average of about 9.5–9.7 liters per “hundred”, and our route to the press park included the painfully familiar M10 highway with its countless settlements (and therefore permanent acceleration and deceleration), and paid M11, and traditional Moscow traffic jams. Here in the city, a car “drinks” gasoline willingly: in a metropolis crowded with cars, consumption rarely drops below 14–15 l / 100 km …
The new Pathfinder handles in the way that befits a modern family crossover: a curb weight of two tons (2080 kg, to be exact) and an overall length of 5 meters (5004 mm) in corners, of course, are felt, but the feeling of “fighting the car” is not arises. The car does not “rest” at all at the entrance to the turn and tenaciously holds the trajectory, and if it comes to slips, then they remain predictable – the crossover does not throw up any surprises. The steering wheel at low speed seems unnecessarily light, but with increasing speed it fills with quite informative effort; in addition, it has a clear zero position. Together with the long wheelbase, this creates a feeling of unshakable stability in a straight line. On a free toll highway, you can not hold the steering wheel, but hold it even at cruising 130-140 km / h.
Another strong point of the new Pathfinder is noise isolation: more than decent, given that the crossover is not positioned as a premium car. It is difficult to single out any “soloist” source of noise: if they enter the salon, then they are in a very muffled form. Unless the tires sometimes overly zealously inform the riders about the change in the degree of roughness of the asphalt.
At first, the suspension seems noisy and harsh in the city and on the highway. She does not allow breakdowns, but she collects all sorts of small things and medium-sized irregularities in too much detail, and also she reacts too nervously to the technological joints of overpasses. However, the car holds strong blows more than adequately, and, as it turned out, speed bumps, as it turned out, are even more comfortable to overcome than “licking” artificial bumps at low speed.
And on off-road dirt roads, the new Pathfinder rides more than confidently! Of course, there is no feeling of absolute permissiveness that arises while driving cars of another Japanese brand, but the suspension smooths out a series of irregularities of various sizes quite adequately. On a rocky primer, you can easily keep a pretty decent cruising speed: the limiter is more likely to be fears of possible damage from stones flying out from under the wheels than doubts about the capabilities of the car.
But the main thing that, without a doubt, will bribe the new Pathfinder target audience is the salon. Moreover, both the space in it and the quality of the finish.
The front panel, central tunnel, door cards and steering wheel are sheathed in leather that is pleasant both in appearance and to the touch, and the quality of the plastic does not raise any questions; all keys and knobs are pressed and rotated with a pleasant and measured effort – premium class in less than five minutes! You can only find fault with the display of the multimedia system: it noticeably glares, besides, the response speed is not its strongest side. But the fully digital dashboard is “drawn” for five plus: the “tidy” is beautiful, modern and informative.
The front seats of the new Pathfinder have a more than sufficient range of adjustments: both a two-meter basketball player and a fragile ballerina will comfortably sit behind the wheel. Both the seats and the steering wheel are electrically adjustable; there is also a settings memory
Serious “battles and dramas” sometimes unfolded in the family of the editor-in-chief of the “Engine” for the honorable right to ride in separate captain’s chairs of the second row. Which is not at all surprising: it is comfortable and spacious here; “VIP passengers” have at their disposal not only comfortable armrests and a wide and roomy box with cup holders, but also a full-fledged third climate control zone (you can adjust the temperature and blowing speed or simply turn on the Auto mode), as well as a transparent roof over your head. Not to mention the USB ports for charging gadgets.
On the “gallery” there is a row of quite full-fledged seats, convenient not only for undersized teenagers: adults will also sit quite comfortably here. Although for distant (and long) voyages, the third row, of course, is hardly suitable
The trunk of the new Pathfinder is the dream of any summer resident! Even with all the seats installed, the car holds 470 liters of luggage if loaded “under the shelf”.
With the third row seats folded down, the volume of the cargo compartment increases to 1274 liters, and with the second row folded down, it exceeds two cubic meters, reaching an impressive 2280 liters! Not every trip to nature requires such cargo capabilities …
What is the bottom line?
Having changed generation for the fourth time, the Japanese “Pioneer” with American registration (the production of the new Pathfinder is deployed in the USA, at a plant in Tennessee) has finally found itself!
This, of course, is not the brutal “frame” of the first generation that very successfully participated in all kinds of off-road competitions up to trophy raids (and not in the most “light” classes), but there was not a trace left of the “toothless” model of the previous generation . The fifth Pathfinder is perceived rather as the younger brother of Patrol or Armada, rather than the “overgrown” X-Trail of the 2022 model year (which, by the way, never reached us).
As for consumer qualities, Pathfinder-V has everything in order here: in terms of the totality of parameters, it may well claim leadership in the class. The epithet “premium” is quite applicable to a car in a top-end configuration (this is exactly what we had on the test). At least the price tag of 6.5 million rubles does not seem too high. Especially when you consider that many “Chinese” have already overcome the mark of 4 million…
PS When this material was already prepared for publication, it became known that Nissan was selling Russian assets (a plant and a research and technology center in St. Petersburg and a sales and marketing division in Moscow) and leaving the Russian market. That is, deliveries of the new Pathfinder to the Russian Federation will not resume in the foreseeable future; in addition, the new Qashqai and X-Trail are unlikely to reach us. It’s a pity! Indeed, given that in the modern automotive industry, many technical solutions are gradually “migrating” from more expensive models to more and more affordable ones, one would expect that the “popular” Nissan crossovers are no less interesting on the go and inside than their “big brother” , clearly aiming at premium …
PPS The cost of the vehicle indicated in the material and table below is indicative and current at the time of the test (end of September 2022).
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