Nissan Pathfinder ST-L AWD 2025 Review

In late 2024 Nissan juggled the Pathfinder range – which had been cut back to the high-spec Ti and Ti-L models – by firing a price-cutting salvo and reintroducing the once-familiar ST-L variant.

This brought the Pathfinder’s entry-level pre-on-road-costs price down significantly, from $71,490 for the previously entry-level all-wheel-drive (AWD) Ti to $59,670 for the front-drive ST-L. The AWD version of the Pathfinder ST-L, as reviewed here, is $64,170.

At the same time, also with price-cutting in mind, Nissan ushered in a front-drive option for the once AWD-only Ti, saving buyers without a need for AWD a handy $4500.

Upper-spec AWD Ti and Ti-L Pathfinders increased slightly in price and are now listed at $72,490 and $82,490 respectively, which places them among top-end Toyota Kluger, Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe competitors.

If the Pathfinder Ti and Ti-L seem unabashed about their ambitiously high pricing, the ST-L, either in front-drive or AWD guise, is equally unabashed about the surprising amount of standard equipment it carries.

Both ST-Ls have heating for both front seats – with eight-way power-adjustment for the driver – along with tri-zone climate control, plenty of soft-touch surfacing, privacy glass for the rear side and back windows, a sunroof and a power tailgate. This all helps compensate for the fact that the seats are cloth-trimmed, although the fabric is of a high quality, seemingly durable and contrast-stitched to complement the leather-look trim seen elsewhere throughout the cabin. There’s also enough piano black to help raise the ambience.

Also helpful is that the Pathfinder’s engine can be remote started for pre-cooling or heating the cabin, while the standard, integrated roof rails are a prerequisite for a family-oriented SUV.

Once a trailblazer in extended new-car warranties, Nissan is today in the mainstream of normal after-purchase customer care with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre cover and five years of roadside assist.

Service intervals are set at 12 months or 15,000km and there’s a choice of capped pricing for each individual service, or a pre-paid package that works out slightly cheaper. Capped-price servicing over five years adds up to a total of $2592, while the pre-paid package costs $2333 for the same period.

In its fifth generation the Nissan Pathfinder is not left wanting for safety tech.

The rollout extends from a predictive forward-collision warning system to autonomous emergency braking in forward and reverse (low speed only when moving forward), junction assist, pedestrian and cyclist avoidance, actively assisted blind-spot monitoring, driver-attention detection, lane-departure warning with lane-keep assist and active rear cross-traffic alert.

Self-dipping LED headlights, LED fog lights, daytime running lights and heated and folding rearview mirrors are also factored in

The Pathfinder’s nine airbags include a driver/front passenger-protecting front centre bag (also known as a far-side bag, with no reference to cartoonist Gary Larson) to contribute to its five-star ANCAP safety score in 2022.

Although the Pathfinder’s dash has an old-school look about it, those who are tech-dependent are adequately looked after.

There’s an integrated tablet-style nine-inch touchscreen with GPS at the dash centre, four USB charging ports, wireless Apple CarPlay with wired Android Auto, a 10.8-inch head-up display and a seven-inch digital TFT display ahead of the driver that is flanked by analogue dials for road speed and engine rpm.

All a bit previous-generation maybe, but there’s no arguing that the ST-L Pathfinder is cosy and easily acclimatised to.

Nissan’s all-alloy VQ-series V6 engine has been used, in various capacities and various vehicles, since the early 1990s and was good enough through the early 2000s to rate a spot among American organization Ward’s listing of the world’s 10-best engines.

Today, in 3.5-litre normally aspirated 202kW/340Nm form, the V6 is the Pathfinder’s only powerplant, although it’s also seen, in 298kW twin-turbo 3.0-litre form, in the current Nissan Z coupe.

In the 3.5-litre Pathfinder the V6 hooks up with a nine-speed auto gearbox and, depending on variant, drives either the front wheels, or an on-demand ‘intelligent’ three-differential AWD system. Capable though it might be, the Pathfinder’s AWD system lacks the dual-speed transfer case that marks a ‘proper’ off-road 4x4.

An impressive powerplant the VQ series 3.5-litre Nissan V6 might be, but its fuel-management technology lags behind the times and it’s thirstier than its main Santa Fe/Sorento/Kluger rivals – with some allowance for the fact that, where the Pathfinder offers no alternative powerplants, the competition has other options available, such as turbo petrol, diesel and hybrid.

The official consumption claim for the AWD Pathfinder is 10.5L/100km (10.0L/100km for the front-drive version), which we bettered in our review car by averaging 10L/100km over three weeks of holiday driving, during which the 71-litre fuel tank proved to be a handy range-extending resource. The 245g/km CO2 output is pretty high though.

With a kerb weight of 2052kg and generally larger body dimensions, the AWD Pathfinder ST-L measures up as more substantial than its Santa Fe, Sorento and Kluger rivals – and tends to feel it.

Although at 3.8 turns from lock to lock it’s not exactly slow, the steering initially feels doughy and heavy by comparison with some of its contemporaries. But acclimatisation comes quickly enough.

In essence the Pathfinder is a happy highway cruiser with low cabin noise, an absorbent, independently suspended ride and with decent road grip provided by 255/60R18 tyres.

The sweetly smooth, quiet and powerful V6 continues to justify early accolades with an unfussed responsiveness that’s helped along by the nine-speed auto’s broad spread of ratios.

Nissan over the years has acquired plenty of off-road expertise and this filters through to its soft-road SUVs. The AWD Pathfinder is, up to point, confident and capable off the beaten track.

Its actual capabilities though, like most present-day occasional off-roaders, are defined more by its electronics than its innate functionality. Being able to select from various ‘off-road’ modes including mud, snow and sand (and hill-descent control) is all very well, but the lack of off-road prerequisites such as low-range gearing, high ground clearance and long suspension travel are limiting factors when there’s even the suggestion of a rutted, slippery and steep bush track.

The standard road tyres are an indicator of the Pathfinder’s actual off-road abilities. Take it off-road certainly, but not too far off-road.

The Pathfinder acquits itself well as a tow vehicle though, with a rated braked towing capacity of 2.7 tonnes, better by 700kg than Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento and Toyota Kluger but well in arrears of proper off-road 4x4s such as the Ford Everest, which is rated at 3.5 tonnes.

Although stepping into the cloth-trimmed Pathfinder ST-L is not exactly an eye-popping surprise, it doesn’t take long to find that the eight-seat cabin is a satisfyingly plush and spacious place to be.

The fact that it’s actually longer and wider overall than a Ford Everest reveals itself in the surprising amount of shoulder and legroom, while the seats are well-cushioned and supportive. Access to the 60/40 split three-passenger third row is a simple business of touching a button on top of the stadium-style second-row backrest to drop and slide the whole assembly forward. Once seated, rearmost passengers will need to negotiate for leg space, but that’s a common factor among SUVs of any size.

Boot space is quoted at a seats-up minimum of 205 litres, while the total is quoted at 782 litres, which doesn’t reflect the actuality. There’s lots of room for holiday gear in the Pathfinder, including a handy, covered storage space under the rear floor.

In a market segment as active and diverse as the large SUV class, there’s little hope of making a worthwhile impact without a worthwhile USP, or Unique Selling Proposition.

The Nissan Pathfinder’s charm comes not from a dazzling array of new features, standout looks and class-leading technology, but from its old-school familiarity.

It does what it needs to do, and does it well. But against some of its new, blatantly flamboyant competition, its actual qualities tend to exist in the shadows.

2024 Nissan Pathfinder ST-L AWD at a glance:
Price: $64,170 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.5-litre six-cylinder petrol
Output: 202kW/340Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel: 10.5L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 245g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2022)

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