Used 1995 Nissan Pathfinder 4 Dr XE SUV for SaleNationwide

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Reviewed a 1995 Nissan 4 Dr XE SUV on Mar 23, 2014

Bought this vehicle used with 96,000 miles on it, owned it for 11 years as my sole vehicle. It had about about 235,000 miles when I sold it. Although it was the base model XE 2WD, it had most of the features of the flagship LE model, including leather seats. The only option missing was the seat warmers. It came with a big grille guard and an aftermarket ASC moonroof. It was quite a fun vehicle to drive around, especially on dirt roads and down by the beach. Handling was very good, the power steering worked great. Air conditioning never needed servicing in the 11 years that I owned this vehicle. Brakes were not adequate, transmission was weak and was replaced at 140,000 miles. My mechanic was pretty sure that the transmission had already been replaced before, which would have made it the third transmission on this vehicle. The infamous 'exhaust manifold studs' problem was fixed at about 120,000 miles. This vehicle is very heavy for its size, and the engine seemed underpowered, especially with the equally underpowered transmission. The engine occasionally ran on the hot side with the air conditioner on, especially in the hot Southern California summers. Gas mileage was horrible, and only got worse as time went on. It got around 16 MPG when I bought it, and when I sold it 11 years later, it was getting 13 MPG on a good day. When gas hit $4 a gallon, filling up this old Pathy became quite a painful experience, and I knew that it was time to sell. Overall, it was a blast to drive this vehicle, but I'm not sure if I would recommend it in 2014 being that it is severely out of style, and at nearly 20 years old, you're going to be lucky to find one is decent condition.