2022 Nissan Pathfinder debuts with edgy styling and a real gearbox

The Pathfinder sport utility vehicle is one of the best cars from Nissan and is very important for the brand. However, it is also one of the oldest vehicles in the stable that has been requiring a significant overhaul for at least a few years. Well, the wait is over – the 2022 Nissan Pathfinder is here, bringing the techno-chic curb of the redesigned Rogue and face-lit Armada in mid-size, three-row cross shape.

Aside from edgy styling, the Pathfinder also adds a long list of safety and connectivity equipment to its grid, with family-friendly interior packaging and reasonable performance. The 2022 sport utility vehicle should also be more pleasant to drive, as Nissan throws the old model’s rumbling continuous transmission into the rubbish heap, replacing it with a conventional nine-speed automatic transmission. Although still a crossbody SUV with a front-wheel drive or four-wheel drive unibody, the new Pathfinder offers seven different off-road modes, as well as a towing capacity of up to £ 6,000.

Obesity trust

The outgoing Nissan Pathfinder is attractive enough, but it does not have personality. No one can blame his successor for that, thanks to headlights with wild eyebrows, a truncated grille (which for some reason the company still calls ‘V-motion’) and a flat hood that is less of a minibus. such as the current Pathfinder. The weakened A-, B- and D-pillars in some models join a C-pillar of body color, giving the SUV a floating roof effect that is more interesting than other versions of the exaggerated styling.

Slim LED taillights make the crossover at the rear look wider and more planted, and the convex hatch, dazzling with a silver “PATHFINDER” wordmark, is said to be reminiscent of the first-generation SUV. We do not quite see the link at the back, but the three post slots of the front grille near the hood are a good throwback to the Pathfinders of the 1980s and 1990s. This is in the 2022 model’s daring, bladder-shaped wheel arches – they are completely radical. Apart from cheap nostalgia, the Pathfinder looks much more muscular and planted than before thanks to the torches.

The lounge

Most three-row crossovers live and die through their interiors. The 2022 Pathfinder looks set to succeed in this regard, thanks to a revised technology suite featuring an available 9.0-inch center touch screen, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a headphone jack contains 10.8-inch up screen. An 8.0-inch screen is standard, as is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. We expect the trim loop to reflect that of the Rogue – the smaller screen on the S, SV and SL grades, with the 9.0-inch screen optional on the SL and standard on the Platinum.

Bold style is also the order of the day, with the infotainment, climate control and instrument cluster living in a driver-oriented nacelle. The HVAC outlets live in metal-finished finishes that intertwine with the dash, enhancing the Pathfinder’s technological advancement. Nissan will offer quilted leather, leather or semi-aniline quilted leather on the Pathfinder, which can finally be reserved for the Platinum model.

Unlike its predecessor with seven passengers, the 2022 Pathfinder gets a three-position rear seat, bringing the standard seat to eight. For families who want more comfort (at the expense of one seat), there are optional second-row captain’s chairs with a center console that are easily removable. The standard second-row bench retains the current SUV’s fold-and-slide function (though it is improved with access to the driver and to the driver), making it easier to climb into the third-row, even when a child seat is installed.

Nissan has not yet announced all interior dimensions, but the new Pathfinder offers 16.6 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third row, a marginal improvement of 0.4 feet. With the rear seats folded flat, the SUV can accommodate a 4×8 layer of plywood within its 80.5 cubic foot space (a single cube in 2021). The Pathfinder’s inner grains and insides will be more convincing daily. A Rogue-like electronic shifter opens up space under the console for open storage, ideal for tablets, small bags or face masks.

Better living through technology

Even the basic Pathfinder S will get the Nissan Safety Shield 360 suite, which combines automatic emergency braking, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, automatic big lights and automatic rear brake. The mid-range SV and SL models also offer ProPilot Assist as an option, adding customizable cruise control and track centering to the grid. At the top of the heap is the Platinum’s ProPilot Assist with Navi-Link, which uses built-in navigation data to predictively slow for upcoming road bends, highway exits and interchanges.

If all this works as well as in the Rogue, the Pathfinder should be an impressive stress-free place to explore a long journey. The feeling of tranquility will contribute to acoustic laminated front door glass, thicker back door glass and extra insulation door and floor. This is good because one complaint about the current Pathfinder is a feeling of bending at highway speeds.

Crisp performance

The reduction of noise, vibration and hardness is the decision to abandon the outgoing Pathfinder’s somewhat rumbling, continuous volatility. Although the 2022 model retains its predecessor’s 3.5-liter V6 with 284 horsepower (212 kilowatts) and 351 newton-meters (259 pounds), injected directly, the mill is now mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission. Maximum towing capacity remains an impressive £ 6,000, but we would have been nervous to pull on such a heavy trailer behind a rubber tire CVT. The automatic should be much more reliable.

Nissan claims the best drag of the Pathfinder, but he chooses the Dodge Durango comfortably in a different category. The well-equipped Durango V6 can carry up to 6,200 pounds, while certain models with the V8 can tow an 8,700-pound Suburban shaming. Regardless, the Pathfinder pulls out the Ford Explorer (5,600 pounds towing capacity) and Toyota Highlander, Kia Telluride and Honda Pilot (5,000 pounds).

Make it cents

We still do not know exactly how much you will have to spend on a Pathfinder in 2022 if you have to draw time on the dotted line. It probably won’t be much more expensive than the current crossover, which starts at $ 31,980 for the S 2WD or $ 44,910 in Platinum 4WD form. Each Pathfinder finish – S, SV, SL and Platinum – will have front- or four-wheel drive available.

If it goes on sale this summer, the Pathfinder 2022 will be just one of the many new or recently refreshed models in the company’s range. Between the Kicks, Rogue, Pathfinder and Armada, Nissan has perhaps the most comprehensive and modern vehicle range in the industry – only the Rogue Sport is the only archaism. Whether that will be enough to help the Pathfinder achieve big sales remains to be seen.