2008 4x4 Of The Year Contestants

Nissan Pathfinder SE-V8

Nissan has a great reputation across the globe for its 4x4s and in the United States its history of 4x4s has long been the responsibility of the Pathfinder. Unfortunately, while the rest of the world gets the awesome Patrol, we started with the rugged Pathfinder which seems to have wained recently and let the Xterra take its place off road. The Nissan Pathfinder has been reintroduced for 2008 with a 5.6L 310hp V-8 engine and plenty of interior and exterior upgrades. For those of you looking for a midsized SUV with a healthy powerplant, we would recommend this 4x4. From the moment we pulled out of the parking lot for our weeklong test, the judges noticed the newfound power of the Pathfinder, and in the types of terrain that power is needed, such as sand and high-speed desert tracks, the Pathfinder was a reputable machine. Unfortunately our 4x4 of the Year must also excel in other terrains.

The interior was redesigned for '08, and though it has plenty of amenities such as navigation, heated seats, a backup camera, and a 7-inch color "multi-information" display screen, to actually use all of this stuff was excruciatingly difficult. Knobs and dials aren't in logical positions, and it took judges a long time just to find the radio controls because they weren't near the radio display!

During the road testing we found the steering to be heavy and the wind noise noticeable, which is tolerable. But when we headed toward the dirt for some hillclimbing and rockcrawling, the Pathfinder found its way to the bottom of the pack. In fact this grocery-getter was referred to as the penalty box by judges trying to get it up the loose rockclimbs and rocky trails. The lack of ground clearance and skidplates made trail riding more like work than fun. But even more annoying and dangerous was the horrible traction-control system that had tires spinning on every corner while none found traction. In fact, the velocity of tire spin required to even begin activating the traction control resulted in the 265/60/R18 tires being shredded to bits.

The Pathfinder has a good engine and comfortable interior with remarkable storage for such a small vehicle, but when it comes to off-road prowess, Nissan seems to have lost the path and found the pavement.

Likes
* Fun, responsive V-8
* Good for high-speed roads and sand
* At home in the city

Dislikes
* Confusing dash center stack
* Traction control requires excessive tire spin
* Running boards

Verdict
* Nissan loses the Path