Nissan Pathfinder Ti Diesel 2006 Review

7-day Test

Gone are the days when a seven seat capacity could automatically justify a heavy duty offroad purchase when there are now so many alternatives. Nissan introduced a big new range-topping Pathfinder Ti in July 2005 with a class-leading 198kW/385Nm V6 grunter of a petrol engine only to find the landscape changed, possibly forever. The efficient 2.5-litre turbo-diesel with its128kW/403Nm from lesser models has now been added to the Pathfinder Ti for the same price when most rivals demand an extra $2-3000 for a diesel. So exactly what is it we are testing here?

The full chassis construction and the front body section shared with the latest Navara twin-cab marked a return to the no-nonsense Toyota 4Runner approach, in total contrast to its tinselly Prado/Pajero opposition which look overstyled by comparison. Seen from above, the Pathfinder looks like a giant dog bone with wide track full steel wheelarch sections front and rear separated by a narrow cabin. Despite an 1850mm body width, the back seats and cargo area are as narrow as an old Pajero.

Because the Navara ute's cabin sets the height for the Pathfinder's extended roofline, the roof is much lower than expected leaving a shallow cabin as the separate chassis must raise the floor level by around 100mm. To allow room for the sunroof and all the air-cond plumbing in the roof, the rear seat cushions can only sit just above the floor. Unless you are short, this leaves the two bony points in your backside as the only contact point with the seat base. Add the flat military-style seating and the absence of footroom under the seats in front, you can forget about long distance comfort for tall passengers. In fact, the cabin is so tight that the driver's seat moves back and forwards automatically so you can get in and out. Yet the seats fold in such a way that the Pathfinder offers the most flexible and unobstructed cargo area for its type.

So if it can't provide decent seating for five full-size adults behind the front seats, why would you buy one over a twin-cab Navara? To find out, I filled the Pathfinder with three seniors in their 80s and 90s and several younger occupants to retrace several abandoned settlements in difficult mountain country. This is exactly where a Pathfinder must perform if it is to justify a $10,000 premium over equally rugged twin-cab utes or smoother soft-roaders.

Within two days of finishing the trip, my passengers had all called me saying they had expected a tough, hairshirted offroad trip that would leave them shaken and tired. Like me, they thought the Pathfinder's austere looks and firm feel around town would translate into an offroad ordeal. They were ringing because the opposite proved to be the case, all urging me to give the Pathfinder the thumbs-up from the passenger perspective. Happy passengers equal relaxed driver and the trip was much easier on me than the last time I did it in the top shelf Range Rover I once owned.

If you are not tall, the Pathfinder's second row seat is quite acceptable while my 84 year old passenger was happy to stretch his legs across the third row, remarking on the unexpected ride comfort over the rear axle. Where the marshmallow rides of my earlier Range Rover or today's Territory/Kluger softroaders can leave rear passengers queasy and irritable after endless mountain bends, the Pathfinder doesn't.

With most of its 2245kg located below the occupants who are seated low and well inside two wide track axles with little overhang, the Pathfinder doesn't generate the sitting on top of a flagpole effect of most four wheel drives. There is no fore and aft pitch and negligible sideways sway. This is a great starting point if you need to carry a boat or extra luggage on top which the low roof invites. The low waist line also affords maximum vision for occupants of any height, a big help in avoiding car sickness in tough conditions.

The ride has a heavy duty industrial quality but as soon as the road deteriorates or disappears, it impacts on the body in much the same way as walking, delivering a muffled thud that is strangely reassuring even over the worst washouts. When today's offroading often demands long highway cruises to get there, the ability to drive in rear drive without the heavy steering and understeer of a permanent four wheel drive system makes the Pathfinder very quick on sealed mountain roads. The diesel's strong torque, all wheel disc brakes, the auto's manual shift function and the absence of body roll allow you to dispatch dawdlers in passenger cars with consummate ease, even through long sweepers with six or seven onboard. You won't find this Pathfinder series holding up traffic as a diesel or petrol. The sophisticated multi-link independent rear end which you can't get in a twin-cab plays a big role in lifting its demeanour well beyond a commercial.

The compass set in the centre mirror was hugely popular as were the individual roof ventilation ducts for each row of rear seats. The self-dipping exterior mirrors and reverse parking sensors were helpful even in the bush when backing up in tight, nasty spots. Its dual zone air-cond is my most favourite feature in any vehicle when I always run hotter as a driver than my passengers. The ability to direct extra air-flow independent of the front to each rear seat was critical to long distance comfort for everyone. The sun-roof was noisy on the highway but perfect for enjoying the bush as the diesel quietly chugged through the worst you could throw at it. Fuel consumption varied from around 10litres/100km for gentle highway cruising to a worst of 13-14litres/100km slogging up a mountain so it won't break the bank while conceding little to petrol alternatives.

Drive a Pathfinder around a city block and like most Australians you will walk away. It is now so specialized and so far removed from a Toorak tractor that it can only win you over the tougher the going gets. If you don't intend to work it hard, don't waste your money. I am just envious of the mate who takes delivery of his shortly with winch, car fridge and chain saw on board then heads off with tin boat, camper trailer and mountain bikes attached.