Nissan Pathfinder (2005 - 2011) Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Purchased this 2 years ago, put about 20k miles on it, including many road trips (Pittsburgh to Florida, Virginia, Niagara Falls New York, Washington DC...). Used to pull my dirtbike on a trailer and a rail, no issues. I would say the biggest disappointment is the gas mileage...Highway is 18.4 at best, and in town can dip into the 11's...horrible. On the plus side, it's been very reliable, stops very well, packs a ton of stuff (3rd row down or up), and has a nice sound system.Dec 01, 2014

Likes-Handling and speed, excellent cargo area, 3rd row seating, instrumentation, Dislike-Feul economy, An excellent family car with 3rd row seating, an all round good but very poor fuel economy asa result of the massive 5.6 liter V8 engine. With this engine size you get a remarkable low 0-60 mph for those who care to appreciate the enormous power locked inside.And the price to pay for that is gasJun 22, 2013

While it is quirky, overall excellent. Handling in snow/ice and off road (yes - a lot!) is superb. It is a truck, and tows wonderfully. Stereo is very good, nav package is OK - mostly because it is quirky. But it beats the heck out of the one in my wife's Cadillac. Third row seat is useless, but back is great! Two hunting dogs, guns, and gear for South Dakota and drive. No real problems other than climate control system. 45,000 miles in it, and at 115,000 it is holding up very well.Sep 13, 2012

New ride quality is pretty firm, and nicely solid, but it seems to have softened up some around 2,000 miles. I like Nissan's powerful V6 in my base model. Only dislike about the engine itself is that it starts up its 24 valves noisily until the oil gets up onto the cams at a very fast 2,000 RPM start (normal among others on the lot as well, me and the salesman checked) before it finally drops back to normal idle 600-750 rpm. Engine runs very smooth though after a quick warm up. I do like the soft touch surfaces, except the top of the door panels are showing a little texture wear already if you have a habit of putting your arm on the top of the door panel rather than the arm rest. Be careful of placing your knees on the lift panel in the back floor storage area. Its waffled web like plastic design underneath does not hold up to knees while trying to climb in the back for cargo, etc. Little disappointed that I cracked it on the back side already while vacuuming it out for the first time. The base, non-Bose option stereo sounds pretty good if you boost the treble and set the bass flat. This Pathfinder is compact and solid with a fully boxed frame and a lot of steel crammed closely together underneath, so the density is high giving it a very solid and quality feel. It does not feel like a big, airy, boxy, plastic-like, future rattle box like the domestic types. You can clearly see that it is not a car chassis underneath. No exhaust hanging down, and wall to wall steel not sheet metal from one component to another densely packed. If you’re going to tow, or do much real off-road driving this true SUV has to be about the best bang for the buck you can buy, unless you need to save a couple bucks and go with a little choppier ride quality, less the 3rd row seating for an X-terra. I traded a 2005 Silverado, Ext Cab with 5.3L V-8, and I like the Pathfinder better! It has a more sporty drive, and the V-6 power and acceleration feels just as strong for its class and size if not better. The V-8 option, I’d imagine would make this thing feel hyperactive like driving an “SUV sports car”. A suggestion for Nissan would be to use an electric radiator fan rather than keeping old-school with the classic mechanical fan. I think it would save an mpg and only add even more to the already smooth engine and driving experience. I can get 20 mpg if I stay around 65-70 mph and baby the throttle. If your foot heavy and exceeding 70 mpg on the highway, mileage drops to around 18-18.5 mpg on 87 octane. She can be a little hard on gas, somewhat typical from prior experience with a Nissan or two, but this Pathfinder is a tight, quality package with strong power, even with the V-6 so it’s worth it. The Ethanol in the gas doesn’t help mileage either because the more alcohol, the lower the mpg. Good time to buy now at the end of the 2009 year with Cash for Clunkers dead. MSRP on mine was $30K, and I negotiated to $25K on the road.Sep 12, 2009

Performance - Good acceleration for a big vehicle, braking is not too sound but maybe because of the body mass, handling is fair. Build quality - Strong and robust. Good off-road vehicle for the whole family Appearance - Aggresive lines outside with a well finished look and trim. Canteen Green colour compliments the type of vehicle Cost of ownership - Heavy on Juice and the 60 000 km service. Fun factor - Great open road vehicle with amples of space for packing, camping and transporting up to 7 passengers with a good off-road capabilitySep 10, 2009

Performance - Heavy duty and smooth handling Build Quality - Hard and strong body Appearance - Masculine Cost / Week - AED 300 Fun Factor - Just Love it Fuel Consumption - Above Average Highway - Smooth and easy driving Parking - Due to the size a bit difficult to find an appropriate parking space Classification - Full Option The thing i love the most - Sun roof Jul 17, 2008