Yahoo Autos 2022 Nissan Pathfinder First Drive Review | Automatically better; still not the best
The 2022 Nissan Pathfinder wades into a hot three-row SUV market with a much-needed redesign and a few neat tricks up its sleeve. This is the first major overhaul for Pathfinder since it became a full-fledged crossover, going from body-on-frame to unibody construction in 2012. To say a redesign was past due is a bit of an understatement.
At first glance, though, the specs might be discouraging; they really haven't changed much. The 3.5-liter V6 is still the only engine available, and it makes a very average 284 horsepower and 259 pound-feet of torque. You have a choice of front- or all-wheel drive, and Nissan says it has improved the performance and responsiveness of its AWD system with no additional detriment to fuel economy.
That’s underselling it slightly, as it turns out. FWD models are rated at 21 mpg city, 26 mpg highway and 23 mpg combined. The S, SV and SL AWD models are rated at 21/27/23 (yes, the AWD model is better on the highway thanks to some of its aero features) and the Platinum AWD at 20/25/22.
The bit in between the engine and axles is new for 2022, and it's a surprising development. Instead of a continuously variable transmission as the last Pathfinder had (and virtually every other Nissan still does), the 2022 Pathfinder has a conventional nine-speed automatic transmission. Though new to Nissan, it’s the same ZF gearbox that we grumbled about in some older applications, but that has been improved in recent years to the point of being acceptable, including in one of the Pathfinder's chief competitors, the Honda Pilot.
It's definitely not one of the best automatics available, but it's still better than a CVT (even if Nissan's is a good one) and we found it to be perfectly smooth and responsive enough for this sort of duty. It's also quicker to downshift than the eight-speed auto found in the Hyundai Palisade. As an added bonus, Nissan says it will be much better suited to towing, too, where it’s rated at a healthy-for-the-segment 6,000 pounds when properly equipped.
Nissan’s drive loop took us all over the Detroit suburbs, giving us a taste of just about every routine scenario a crossover driver may encounter. Highways, narrow two-lanes, and broken suburban surface streets were the main course. Through it all, the 2022 Pathfinder remained quiet and composed.
The steering feels appropriately weighted and the nose tracks dutifully straight on the freeway, while the ride is comfortable without feeling completely isolated. Nissan’s revisions to the Pathfinder’s chassis are welcome here. The V6 is punchy enough to keep merges from being scary, and, again, the nine-speed is competent in its role.
On backroads, the Pathfinder feels as big as its spec sheet suggests. Hustling along on rural 45- and 55-mph two-lanes is trivial so long as they’re straight, but once you get into twisting bits, that heft becomes apparent. A Mazda CX-9 this is not, but it never feels obviously tippy, and the chassis is communicative enough that you’re never left wondering what’s happening underneath you. It’s just a lot of car.
