Funkmaster Flex was spinning his "'90s at 9" on the radio as I motored up the Garden State Parkway in the Nissan Pathfinder, and the music couldn't have been more appropriate. Not so much the song selections, but the era: The Pathfinder emerged from its latest redesign in 2005, but thematically, this Nissan is a throwback to previous decade and the golden age of SUVs.
An off-road warrior with plenty of ground clearance and a low-range transfer case for its four-wheel-drive system, the Pathfinder sits on a hefty frame (adapted from that of the full-size Armada) and feels high and heavy behind the wheel. Its big tires, with their tall sidewalls, smoother bumps in a manner that's reassuring to those who travel over a crumbling urban infrastructure. But the downside is a bobbing, bouncing ride and woefully imprecise steering that's no fun along narrow, winding parkways and construction-squeezed lanes.
Nissan's smooth, optional 5.6-liter V-8 has 300 hp and 380 lb-ft or torque that provides plenty of punch; unfortunately it comes at considerable cost. The Pathfinder's 12 mpg (!) EPA city rating definitely requires a '90s mindset, when gas was under $2 a gallon and few people gave a thought to the price of filling up. Read full article