Andy Stonehouse / Image Courtesy
Just as my recent drive in the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee revealed a series of positive incremental changes, other long-standing fixtures in the SUV landscape have also received a serious change – with largely positive results.
The 2022 Nissan Pathfinder has evolved into what looks like a significantly larger, three-row, eight-passenger, all-weather machine, but that’s the result of a sleek, futuristic boxy design and no real changes to the car’s dimensions.
Perhaps this is the effect of the floating roof, with black glass, roof rails and dark window frames. Or maybe it’s the bold panels under the doors or the wide wheel arches. Or even the big 20-inch wheels I owned in a pre-production model, followed by a week in the Platinum AWD version, each priced at $48,090 (or $51,395 with two-tone paint, aforementioned running boards and lighting package).
Whatever the case, it doesn’t feel or drive like it’s an armada-sized beast, which is a relief. You could certainly load an entire family in the back — or just provide some extra-wide second-row seating, as this row slips a lot if you don’t need a child-sized room in the third row — and the reconfigured interior gains 10 cubic feet. The entrance height also comfortably resembles a car, not an awkward truck.
On the road, it’s not heavy, heavy (4,625 pounds) or clumsy (except, perhaps, when it’s outfitted with the lightest all-season tires possible and driven in Glenwood Springs after 60 inches of snow). Improved stiffness is sometimes evident in uneven pavement sections, part of a series of drivetrain and suspension improvements that make it responsive and not as fuzzy as the larger options. The 284-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 allowed me to easily pass angry Tacoma drivers on their way into the tunnel. It’s also reasonably efficient, getting an EPA-proposed 25 highway mpg, and capable of towing up to 6,000 pounds.
Like the new Nissan Frontier — or much like the new Infiniti QX60 — the Pathfinder gains plenty of interesting interior design features and a 12-inch digital dashboard. It’s also available with Nissan’s comprehensive ProPilot Assist and front, rear, side, blind spot and lane safety features. Those like me who don’t appreciate trail-maintaining jolts can simply opt for the lighter-impact wheel buzzer feature; If you have to drive all the way to Chicago in the summer, the other assistance features are perfect for light, independent highway trips.
The wide, flat instrument panel and the extremely bright display provide good visibility on the road. There’s a glossy black center console with a relatively low-profile AV display, navigation screen, separate air vents, and a few handy solid control buttons underneath. There’s a forward-tilted phone charging pad, korean-style open cup holders, and a very inquisitive back-and-forth sliding control (press it too much and you’ll end up in manual shift mode). There’s also a seven-step motor and a terrain mode selector, where the snow setting completely nullifies acceleration. You also get a flat-bottomed racing wheel and an open storage area under the console.
At the rear of the cabin, there are four roof-mounted air vents which are a nice touch, with full HVAC controls in the rear cabin and manual shades for the rear doors. As mentioned, there’s plenty of sliding into those seats, which also do a bouncy dance in and out to allow access to the tiny third row. Captain’s chairs and a removable console box in the second row are also another build option.
If you want to hide the world of angry drivers behind you, the tall and rectangular headrests definitely do the job; It can be dropped, as well as the seats themselves, revealing 79.8 cubic feet of storage space that’s 33 inches behind the first row. There is also a huge 54-liter storage bay under the cargo deck.
Andy Stonehouse’s “Mountain Wheels” column appears on Saturdays in the Summit Daily News. Stonehouse has worked as an editor and writer in Colorado since 1998, focusing on automobile coverage since 2004. He lives in Golden. Contact him at Summitmountainwheels@gmail.com.