The 2024 Nissan Pathfinder Platinum has an off-road swagger and a cavernous inside — good causes to contemplate placing one in your driveway if you might want to haul folks, stuff and issues with 4 legs and a tail. The ’21 refresh introduced the Pathfinder into the trendy period. It’s stable, however not one of the best in school. Right here’s why.
It’s an excellent SUV — however others are a bit higher
I want the Ford Explorer, Kia Telluride, Honda Pilot, Mazda CX-90 and several other others on this extremely aggressive section. Autoblog editors rated the Pathfinder a 7 out of 10, which is an honest rating although we declined to offer it an Editors’ Choose designation, as there are a number of SUVs that we predict are higher total (this is the way it stacks up vs. the Pilot).
That’s not essentially a knock on the Pathfinder. This new era is a serious step ahead from the dinosaur Nissan offered for years. Although it launched in 2021, it nonetheless feels contemporary. I examined the Platinum mannequin with all-wheel drive, and I favored the styling and roomy inside.
It has a presence
The Pathfinder is perhaps the appropriate SUV for you when you like massive SUVs with character. You may get different issues with three rows which have extra of a crossover really feel. That’s not what Nissan goes for right here. The design has a blocky vibe, with massive wheels and a outstanding grille framed by LED headlights. It nearly feels extra pure to measure it in opposition to issues just like the truck-based Chevy Tahoe. That’s what Nissan goes for right here, leaning into the Pathfinder’s historical past and off-road pedigree. The model even goes as far as to promote it as “four-wheel drive,” when it’s actually all-wheel drive. Alternatively, you may not need this dynamic. The Hyundai Palisade, for instance, is big but drives smaller. Or when you really need off-road perspective, you may at all times purchase a Jeep.
The Rock Creek version is the good
Talking of character, the Pathfinder I discovered most attention-grabbing was the Rock Creek version (see above), which I drove beforehand. Though this Platinum mannequin is well-equipped, the Rock Creek has extra perspective with 18-inch beadlock aluminum alloy wheels, a roof rack, an off-road suspension and inside badging. It jogged my memory of the previous Nissan Xterra’s vibe.
I like the inside
I imply, it’s the Platinum trim, so it’s fairly good. But it surely’s not simply leather-based and heated the whole lot. The Pathfinder has an intuitive format. There’s a pleasant mixture of knobs and buttons. The 12-inch digital dashboard and 9-inch touchscreen are straightforward to learn and attain. The moonroof allows loads of mild, which I appreciated on a dark winter day. This Pathfinder seats seven and has second-row captain’s chairs, which my household prefers, and the console is detachable, just like the Honda Pilot’s console, which we favored throughout our 2023 Know-how of the 12 months testing. The captain’s chairs and detachable console are a $550 possibility on the Platinum.
This Pathfinder had a charcoal and brown colour scheme, which is subtler than your different selection, with is usually mild tan. Nissan did a pleasant job utilizing massive shapes for type and performance. The middle stack protrudes out simply sufficient to make it simpler to make use of, and the armrests are vast sufficient to create a cushty place for the drive. Naturally, the Pathfinder affords a commanding view of the street. And value noting, the Bose sound system with 13 audio system is stable. It’s the second straight Nissan I’ve pushed with Bose audio system (I drove the Altima the week earlier than) that’s dialed up a terrific sound.
It’s good within the snow
That should not be stunning, because it’s a heavy SUV with all-wheel drive. Nonetheless, when a winter storm dumped 4 inches of snow, the Pathfinder, effectively, discovered me a path. There’s a snow mode, which appeared to assist by calibrating energy supply. That mentioned, typically it overcompensated, making Pathfinder really feel sandbagged as I made my method by way of the slush. My answer: Cue up regular mode and revel in somewhat slip and sliding by way of corners.