Nissan has finally launched the all-new 2023 Nissan Pathfinder in Australia. The next generation Pathfinder launches with the option of seven or eight seats and Paul Maric tests out the top-specification Pathfinder Ti-L version.
Hardness tester, noise and lane keeping results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/121Auf6HGvaBqRToYcuAz94alin7Sw55SpOPECBDlnKE
More Nissan news: https://www.carexpert.com.au/nissan
More Nissan Pathfinder news: https://www.carexpert.com.au/nissan/pathfinder
Skip Ahead:
Intro: 00:00
Exterior 00:57
Interior 03:09
Infotainment 04:24
Safety Tech 05:30
Practicality 06:14
On the Road 11:12
0 - 100 km/h 15:39
Verdict 18:32
We review every new car on the market, bust car myths, cover the latest car tech and answer your burning questions.
Whether you need new car advice, purchase validation or simply love learning more about new cars and technology, we are your car experts.
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#nissan #pathfinder #review
Hardness tester, noise and lane keeping results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/121Auf6HGvaBqRToYcuAz94alin7Sw55SpOPECBDlnKE
More Nissan news: https://www.carexpert.com.au/nissan
More Nissan Pathfinder news: https://www.carexpert.com.au/nissan/pathfinder
Skip Ahead:
Intro: 00:00
Exterior 00:57
Interior 03:09
Infotainment 04:24
Safety Tech 05:30
Practicality 06:14
On the Road 11:12
0 - 100 km/h 15:39
Verdict 18:32
We review every new car on the market, bust car myths, cover the latest car tech and answer your burning questions.
Whether you need new car advice, purchase validation or simply love learning more about new cars and technology, we are your car experts.
Subscribe to Car Expert: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7DvMhvy3H7ntEgn9n3xQcQ?sub_confirmation=1
You'll find us dropping new video content three times a week. If you'd like to ask a question about one of our videos, simply leave us a comment. If you'd like to give us any feedback on our content, feel free to email us, or alternatively, hit us up on social media.
Finally, we want this channel to grow with your support and feedback. If there's anything you don't like or would like to see us change, we'd love to hear from you!
Follow us on social media to see what we're up to and to ask any questions!
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Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/CarExpertAus
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Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/PaulMaric
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PaulMaric
#nissan #pathfinder #review
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00 G'day, I'm Paul. It has been a very, very long time between drinks for the Nissan Pathfinder here in Australia.
00:07 I actually kind of still like the previous generation because it was big and comfy and, you know,
00:12 just a nice family bus. This kind of expands on that with more technology, more room, more space, all that sort of stuff.
00:17 So the new Pathfinder, this one here is the top spec TIL version. It's priced at just over
00:23 $80,000. If that's too expensive, the whole range kicks off at just under
00:28 55 grand with the same engine across the entire range. This competes with things like the Toyota Kluger, the Hyundai Palisade.
00:34 It is a big SUV that's available in either seven or eight seats, so it kind of caters for that big set.
00:39 Today we're going to do a detailed review of this car,
00:42 so if you do want to skip ahead to other parts of the review,
00:44 you can use the time codes on the screen or if you're on YouTube,
00:47 you can scroll down and use the chapters below. If you haven't done so already, subscribe to our channel and press the bell icon
00:52 so you can find out every single time we drive a new Nissan.
00:57 Let's chat exterior. You've got seven colors to pick from. All but black and white are going to cost you a little over $700,
01:04 or if you go the two-tone, it is more expensive than that. Again,
01:07 I really like the look of this and you'll see at the back, I think that's my favorite part,
01:11 but here at the front, it actually looks really nice and resolved. It doesn't look as sort of bloated as the old one.
01:17 It's, yeah, it's just got a nice stance to it.
01:19 So down the front here, big piano black there on the grille, big Nissan logo as well. Camera here for the 360 camera.
01:26 Chrome around the edges of the grille there.
01:28 Radar sensor down the bottom here with a little fog light tucked into there. In terms of your headlights, full LED headlights.
01:35 This sort of design here kind of reminds me of the Patrol, the way that it's split up there.
01:39 It's got that sort of family look to it. Whip around to the side. Now down here,
01:44 you've got a set of 20-inch alloy wheels,
01:46 machined finish on the outside and a graphite finish on the inside there. Now it does look like it has off-road
01:52 intentions with all the wheel arch cladding and stuff like that, but grand clearance of under 200 mil.
01:57 You're not going to be doing really any off-roading in this, especially on highway terrain tyres as well,
02:02 but you can get this in either two-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, depending on which spec you go for.
02:06 Up the top here, piano black on the wing mirror with an indicator built into there and then a camera there for the 360 camera.
02:13 Chrome lashings down the side there with Pathfinder written in there. Privacy glass. Have a look at these roof rails.
02:19 They're nice and big and chunky. Got a glass roof up there as well. And then come around to the back,
02:24 we have LED taillights, or partly LED.
02:27 There's still incandescent in there. Shark fin aerial up the top there. Little camera nestled into here for that rear vision.
02:34 Brake light in there. Have a look at this Pathfinder lettering. Runs all the way along the back there with four-wheel drive and then that
02:40 Nissan logo on that black strip. I really like that. This car has a tow bar fitted.
02:44 It actually has a 2,700 kilogram brake towing capacity.
02:47 So let us know if you want us to do a tow test of these big SUVs at some point to see how well they tow
02:54 with this kind of arrangement. But I really do like the look of this and I think the back is probably my favorite
03:00 element of it. It looks really nice and just has a lot of presence out on the road.
03:03 So let me know what you reckon in the comments section.
03:05 Do you like the look of the Pathfinder now or do you prefer the old one? So we are inside the Pathfinder.
03:11 Let's start off with the keys. So you've got the Nissan logo up the top there, the remote start function, lock,
03:18 unlock, boot and then it's blank on the back. This is a proximity sensing key.
03:23 So you can leave that in your pocket and then you have a push button start just here.
03:26 Yeah, this is a big step forward over the previous generation of Pathfinder on a number of fronts, but mainly technology,
03:33 which I really like. There is a lot of piano black around here though.
03:35 And unfortunately, this doesn't get the big screen that you get in the X-Trail, which is a little bit disappointing.
03:41 But just looking at the amount of space here, I think it's probably something I might upgrade down the track.
03:45 But yeah, in terms of the surfaces and the materials, this all feels really nice and premium.
03:50 And look, to be honest, it should. If you're asking $80,000 for this, it really does need to fill the part.
03:56 And I think this definitely does, which is good news. In terms of your touch points though,
04:00 it's not too bad there and very soft on the door, which matches the old Pathfinder. How soft are they?
04:06 Well, we've got our durometer.
04:07 We've tested the main surfaces in this cabin.
04:10 If you want to see how this car compares to others that we've tested before,
04:13 have a look at the link in the description below. Build quality,
04:16 that all feels nice and solid. And our door test,
04:20 sounds good.
04:24 Moving on to infotainment. So I mentioned that the X-Trail has a big infotainment screen here,
04:29 whereas Pathfinder gets this much smaller 9-inch version.
04:32 It's a shame though, because it is a really good infotainment system.
04:34 So it comes with all your standard inbuilt functions, AM/FM, DAB, digital radio,
04:40 and it's all plumbed through a 13-speaker Bose-branded sound system. Really good sound system. You have inbuilt satellite
04:47 navigation, and then in addition to that on the smartphone mirroring front, you have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Apple CarPlay is wireless.
04:54 I'll show you what that looks like. So full screen integration there. It actually works really well in wireless mode as well.
04:59 No dramas there. And this is what Android Auto looks like. Same story, full screen integration.
05:04 No issues with that. Over in front of the driver here, you have a bigger display, and I love this.
05:09 It is high resolution, and it gives you all of the car's critical information.
05:14 It is just loaded with menus here as well,
05:16 so you can pull out all of the information that you need and also change the way that looks as well,
05:20 which is pretty cool.
05:22 So I love that this has stepped hugely forward into the tech age, and in addition to all of that stuff,
05:27 you have a heads-up display as well. In terms of safety, you have autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection.
05:35 It works both in forwards and reverse as well.
05:38 You have rear cross-traffic alert. You have blind spot monitoring built into the wing mirror over there.
05:43 You have radar cruise control with a lane centering assistant.
05:47 We're going to test that out later on to see how well it works.
05:49 And in addition to that, you have front and rear parking sensors with the 360 camera. I'll show you what that looks like.
05:55 So the quality is okay. Not amazing. It's kind of pretty grainy over here.
06:01 You can hit that button again, and it will then give you different views. So that's the front tire.
06:05 And that's sort of looking out the front there as well. So yeah, look, it's okay.
06:09 It just could be a little bit sharper, I reckon, especially as a brand new model.
06:13 Moving along to practicality, and I'll run you through connectivity.
06:17 You've got a USB-C port down here, a USB-A port, a 12 volts outlet.
06:21 You have a wireless charging pad for your phone down there, and in terms of storing your phone,
06:26 it can kind of live wherever. There's even like a little
06:28 phone nook just there, which is nice.
06:31 What about your coffee cup? If you enjoy little coffee cups like I do,
06:35 it fits in nicely and little chance of getting de-lidded on the bottle front. Fits into there as well.
06:42 You've got teeth to hold that into place. This easily fits inside the door. What about our big bottle? Let's give that a crack.
06:48 No dramas. Fits inside the door too.
06:50 What about storing your other stuff? So there is a lot of storage around here and also a lot of cup holders.
06:57 I think there's 16 in total. So big deep storage bin just there. You have a reasonably sized glove box down here,
07:04 although it is mainly consumed by the manual there. A little grippy area up the top here for storing odds and ends.
07:10 You have this whole storage space down here and finally a sunglasses holder up the top. Now, what about comfort?
07:16 So you have dual zone automatic climate control up the front here.
07:19 You then also have separate controls for your second and third row. In addition to that,
07:25 you have heated and cooled seats for the front row. Ten way electric seat adjustment for the driver.
07:30 So you can go forwards, backwards, backrest can go forwards, backwards. You can lift the front, you lift the back.
07:36 You also have lumbar adjustment there. These seats are very comfortable just like the old Pathfinder, which is great news.
07:42 On the steering front, you can go in and out.
07:45 It's electric up and down as well. And on the reach test, all of this stuff is easy to reach while you're driving.
07:50 So welcome to the second row. And before I run through all this cool stuff, have a look at this. The door opens
07:55 85 degrees. So it means if you are loading baby seats and stuff in, it is much easier to do with that massive aperture.
08:02 So basically the top spec version of this is a seven seater.
08:07 So you get your two front seats, two here and then three in the back there. So it is a pretty decent setup.
08:12 This is what they call captain's chairs because you sit like a captain with your little armrest down like that.
08:17 You've got this center section here.
08:19 This is actually removable too,
08:20 so you can get rid of that if you want kids to have easier access to the back through the center there,
08:25 which I love. In terms of other creature comforts, you have matte pockets in the back here, climate control zones here,
08:31 USB-C, USB-A and on room. I mean, I have stacks of room here, both leg, headroom,
08:37 toe room and I can slide this forwards and backwards if you do want to give your third row a little bit more space.
08:43 You have shades here. You have air vents up the top here, two cup holders here.
08:48 So this is two of the 16.
08:51 Then in addition to that you also have further cup holders down in the door there and in the center here as well.
08:56 They are literally everywhere. So it's a pretty awesome setup.
09:00 The other exciting thing as well is you have ISOFIX points in these two captain's chairs and then in one of those rear chairs as well.
09:07 So you can actually load a stack of kids in here if you need to. So it is a pretty awesome space. Now our window test.
09:13 Auto up and down.
09:17 Almost.
09:18 Now third row. This is a really cool setup. So all you do is push that button and
09:24 the whole seat tumbles forward and slides so then you can just climb on in.
09:28 Curious to see if this fits adults.
09:32 Let's bring that back.
09:35 Click that into position.
09:38 Not really. Igor, can I get you to move? Yeah, definitely not. Can I get you to move that seat forward for me?
09:45 Just so I don't have my knees around my ears. Okay, that's marginally better. Yeah, okay.
09:51 So this probably isn't a space for adults. My knees are like well and truly wedged into there.
09:55 My toes are wedged into there as well.
09:57 This will just be a space for kids.
09:59 But in saying that you do have USB charging on that side, four sets of cup holders, you have air vents,
10:05 you have airbag coverage across the entire side of the car as well.
10:08 So it is a pretty well equipped space here in terms of kids. But yeah for adults
10:14 it's probably just going to be a short trip,
10:17 especially if you want to try and fit three adults side by side here. Now cargo space typically with these
10:23 SUVs with three rows isn't great.
10:26 That on the other hand isn't too bad. So you have around 200 litres available here.
10:32 You've got a 12-volt outlet there, but this is pretty cool. You can hide your valuables under here.
10:36 That is a giant storage space. Love that. Okay, so let's see what it fits. Laptop bag goes in there.
10:43 We'll see if it fits our suitcase.
10:44 Yes, no dramas. Beautiful. So you can then expand the space if you don't want to have passengers in the second row.
10:52 So we'll just get rid of these headrests.
10:54 And then once that is out of the way you have around
10:59 550 litres of space there. And if you do want even more space than that, you can drop the second row as well.
11:06 And that gives you around 800 litres of cargo space.
11:12 We've just hit the road in the Pathfinder.
11:14 So this is powered by the same engine regardless of which spec you go for, which I think is good news.
11:20 So it's a naturally aspirated three and a half litre petrol V6.
11:24 202 kilowatts of power and 340 newton metres of torque.
11:29 The CVT in the old Pathfinder was a point of contention for some people because I don't think they were overly reliable.
11:36 They've ditched that entirely. It now uses a 9-speed gearbox.
11:40 It now uses a 9-speed automatic torque converter instead, which I think is ultimately the better option for something like this anyway.
11:48 It is really quiet. Like the engine is, yeah, it really is quite quiet at low speeds.
11:54 If you do get up it, it does make a bit of noise.
11:57 It isn't a huge amount of torque though. Being naturally aspirated, it really needs to have revs on board to be within that peak torque band.
12:05 For it to feel like it's actually doing anything. But in saying that, the gearbox is responsive enough and when it does sort of spark into action,
12:12 it does sort of get along okay for a vehicle this size being just over two tonnes.
12:17 And all of that is routed through an on-demand all-wheel drive system.
12:22 And if you flick through these little menus here, you do actually find one that gives you an idea of where that torque split's going.
12:28 So you can see at the moment there in front of us, it's 100% at the front.
12:32 As I roll onto the throttle, it sends more and more torque to the rear depending on what I'm doing.
12:37 So pretty decent setup and it seems quick enough as well.
12:40 If it does lose traction at the front end, it is able to pulse torque to the back there in rapid succession to get it all moving.
12:46 Now in terms of fuel economy, 10.5 litres per 100km is the claim.
12:51 We're currently sitting on 11.6. 11.6 I think is pretty good.
12:55 You've got to remember with these things, they're built for the US market, so where fuel is not that expensive.
13:01 So a petrol V6 makes a whole lot of sense.
13:03 Here in Australia, you just need to be prepared to be paying a little bit extra because a naturally aspirated V6 in a car that weighs two tonnes is going to sip through a little bit of fuel.
13:11 Now let's talk about the ride.
13:14 Look, probably a little firm and busy for my liking.
13:18 I don't know if it's just this top spec on the 20s, but it does feel like it's constantly doing stuff and I don't love that, especially in and around town.
13:26 I'd settle on the highway, but let's dial this up to 130 actually for our sine waves.
13:32 So they're coming up now. Let's see what it feels like.
13:34 Then when we go for a bit more of a punt, it'll give us an idea of whether that ride firmness actually helps in terms of handling.
13:41 So here's 130 on the sine waves.
13:45 That's actually really good.
13:48 So the firmness of the ride is offset by the fact that it brings you body control.
13:53 I guess that is a bit of a bonus and if you are towing, you're probably going to want a firmer ride as well just to be on the safer side.
14:00 Now let's talk about your drive modes.
14:02 So you have a little selector down here. You have mud ruts.
14:06 You've got a sand driving mode, snow, auto, eco, sport and towing as well.
14:12 So if you are towing with this, you'll slot it into that mode and it will then optimise your gear ratios to make sure you're not putting too much load on the engine.
14:20 So you're pretty well covered there. You have a hill descent control as well.
14:23 But like I said before, Grand Claris isn't huge so you don't want to do any major rock hopping.
14:27 But let's pop this over to sport.
14:30 Let's see what it feels like around our little circuit here.
14:34 I'll tip it in.
14:38 Yeah, look, it is big but it's big but predictable.
14:43 So I am having to sort of manage my inputs here to make sure I don't do anything too sudden.
14:50 But for such a big bus, it is moving with a bit of pace.
14:54 And with that engine, once it actually winds up a little bit and you get moving, everything gets along at a nice pace.
15:01 Decent brakes as well there.
15:04 Yeah, look, it actually doesn't sit. It doesn't roll around too much in the higher speed stuff either.
15:09 We'll see what it's like along the back here.
15:12 Decent feel through the steering as well.
15:15 Gearbox is doing a good enough job there.
15:18 Back straight, roll onto that.
15:20 Actually does a good job managing torque between the front and rear as well, which is good.
15:26 Yeah, there you go. And it's hoofing along.
15:28 Not bad. Yeah, look, the naturally aspirated V6 really just gets up and moves once it's in that peak torque band.
15:35 So, yeah, it's actually not too bad.
15:39 We don't have an official 0-100km/h time from Nissan, but we've got our V-Box hooked up.
15:44 Also going to have a look at 80-120km/h for overtaking as well, which is important for a vehicle this size.
15:49 So here we go.
15:51 Feel pretty quick there. It's not bad.
16:00 All right. There's 100. We'll just get to 120.
16:07 All right. Yeah, pull that up.
16:09 OK, so 0-100km/h in 8.1 seconds and our 80-120km/h overtake, 5.4 seconds.
16:17 So some pretty sort of healthy numbers there for what is a family SUV.
16:22 And I know you're wondering, how quick does it go in reverse?
16:25 Well, let's find out.
16:27 Lift it in sport mode. Pop that into reverse. Here we go.
16:31 [ENGINE REVVING]
16:34 Bit of torque there. All right. So it's limited there to 33km/h.
16:41 What's your road noise like? It's actually pretty good.
16:47 So on course-chip roads, you do notice a bit of tyre noise coming into the cabin,
16:51 but for the most part, there is a decent amount of insulation,
16:54 so you don't get a whole bunch of engine roar and tyre noise is sort of kept to a minimum
16:59 and about on par with where you'd expect a vehicle in this segment.
17:02 Now, what about your visibility? So I can see clearly down the front there.
17:05 This is a big vehicle, but it's got big wing mirrors,
17:08 you have a decent camera, blind spot monitor, the digital mirror out the back there as well.
17:13 So if you do have all of your passengers in the car,
17:16 you won't have people's heads getting in the way of things.
17:19 Now it's time to test our lane support system.
17:22 So I'm going to get this up to 70.
17:24 And then once we get there, set the cruise, you can see that little symbol just there with the steering wheel.
17:31 That means it is semi-autonomously steering the car for us.
17:34 So we're going to test the three outer lanes here to see how well that system works
17:38 and how well it holds the car in position.
17:40 So the first lane is great. You do have to hold the steering wheel if you're driving on a public road.
17:45 I'm just going to be holding it really lightly here to just make sure it goes around without any assistance.
17:51 So that's fine there. We'll jump over to our next lane, which is slightly banked.
17:55 This will be a good test of a sharper turn on a freeway or something like that.
17:59 So there it is there.
18:01 It's holding it well. It's keeping away from that line too, which is good.
18:06 All right, the real test is our outermost lane.
18:09 This is going to be the hardest for it to lock and hold on to.
18:14 And we tested the X-Trail here the other day.
18:16 It didn't want to lock in in this lane.
18:18 So we'll see if the Pathfinder is any different.
18:22 Doesn't look like it. It's not letting us get any steering lock there at all.
18:27 So it's a pass in the first two lanes and a fail in the third lane.
18:31 So the Nissan Pathfinder.
18:38 This is a quantum leap ahead of the previous generation.
18:43 It really just fixes all the problems the previous gen had.
18:45 Gone is the CVT, much newer infotainment and technology,
18:49 and a better resolved space inside with much more premium materials.
18:53 So all that stuff is great.
18:55 Look, I think the engine could use a bit more pep.
18:57 Like it is good once it gets up and moves, but it could probably use just a little bit more.
19:02 Outside of that, it really is hard to fault this.
19:04 It really does tick all those boxes.
19:06 I think probably the ride needs to be a little softer.
19:08 I think if you go further down the range there with the smaller wheels, that's going to help that.
19:12 Regardless of where you land, this is a really good family SUV,
19:16 and I'm keen to put it head-to-head up against its competitors.
19:18 So let us know if you want to see a comparison, and if so, which ones you want it to go up against.
19:22 And let us know if you've bought one as well and how it's going for you so far.
19:26 Let me know down there, and let me know why you have so many kids.
19:28 If you did enjoy this video, please make sure you like it and you share it with your mates.
19:32 And if you haven't done so already, subscribe to our channel and press the bell icon.
19:35 But until next time, take it easy.