Nissan’s all-new Pathfinder has been introduced to the media in North American ahead of Australian sales next year.
Apart from the altogether softer appearance, big news is the chassis – the all-new Nissan Pathfinder returning to a passenger car-based unibody design in place of the heavy-duty ladder-frame. Weight savings are substantial – 1182kgs all-up for the front-drive model and 1946kgs for the all-wheel-drive.
In fact, in pursuit of the more refined ride demanded by American SUV buyers, the all-new Pathfinder runs the same platform as the Infiniti JX35. How that will impact towing capacity (hitherto a strong point for Pathfinder in Australia) hasn’t been revealed.
In North America the all-new Nissan Pathfinder is powered by the well-known 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine delivering 195kW/336Nm. Expect a diesel powerplant to be included in the local lineup.
Automatic transmission in North America will be a CVT, but again, how Nissan Australia will spec the local model isn’t finalized.
Inside the American Pathfinder is a seven-seater and goes ‘luxo’ with leather seats (heated and cooled in the front row and heated in the second row) and a new ‘EZ Flex Seating System’ (when accessing the third row, you can fold the second row seats with a child safety seat still strapped in). Also included are rear-seat DVD screens, a reversing camera and Nissan’s camera-based ‘Around View’ system.
