Driven: Nissan bolsters Pathfinder’s safety credentials
BY ROBBIE WALLIS | 8th Apr 2019
SINCE first launching in late 2013, Nissan has given its fourth-generation Pathfinder seven-seat large SUV a second update for its lifecycle, this time introducing a new variant and extra active safety equipment across the range.
While the outgoing Pathfinder range contained three core variants – ST, ST-L and Ti – the updated range has introduced a new grade called the ST+, which will sit between the entry-level ST and mid-spec ST-L.
With the update, Nissan has given the Pathfinder range an incremental price increase ranging from $15 in the ST-L V6 AWD and ST-L Hybrid, up to $1900 for the ST Hybrid.
The range now opens from $43,390 plus on-road costs for the front-drive ST V6, and tops out at $69,390 for the Ti Hybrid.
Justifying the price increase is an update to specification, starting with active safety equipment which has been standardised across the Pathfinder range.
The entry-level ST now scores autonomous emergency braking, forward collision warning, blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert and active cruise control as standard, as well as a USB Type C port in the second row.
Stepping up to the brand-new ST+ grade adds a surround-view monitor and satellite navigation, and will only be offered with the V6 powertrain in either front- or all-wheel-drive guise.
Nissan expects the ST+ to take about a quarter of the ST’s volume, which has previously been the best-selling Pathfinder variant with 42 per cent of overall sales.
Stepping up to the mid-spec ST-L, which accounts of 40 per cent of overall volume, adds auto-levelling headlights, while the range-topping Ti, which makes up the remaining 18 per cent of sales, scores heated rear seats and rear door alert.
No changes have been made to the two powertrains underpinning the Pathfinder, the first of which is a 3.5-litre V6 producing 202kW at 6400rpm and 340Nm of torque at 4800 rpm, mated to a continuously-variable transmission (CVT).
The V6 is available with either front-wheel drive or selectable all-wheel-drive with locking function.
While 99 per cent of Pathfinder sales are of the V6, a hybrid version is available on all variants bar the ST+, consisting of a supercharged 2.5-litre petrol four-cylinder engine paired with a 15kW electric motor for a combined output of 188kW at 5600rpm and 330Nm at 3600rpm.
In 2018, Nissan recorded 3825 sales of the Pathfinder, representing a 15.0 per cent skid on its 4502 registrations in 2017 and trailing key rivals such as the Toyota Kluger (14,743), Mazda CX-9 (8094), Hyundai Santa Fe (7523) and Kia Sorento (4385).
Through the first three months of 2019 it has recorded 596 sales, a significant 43.8 per cent drop year-on-year.
2019 Nissan Pathfinder pricing*
2019 Nissan Pathfinder pricing*
| ST V6 2WD (a) | $43,390 |
| ST V6 AWD (a) | $46,890 |
| ST Hybrid 2WD (a) | $46,390 |
| ST+ V6 2WD (a) | $44,590 |
| ST+ V6 AWD (a) | $48,090 |
| ST-L V6 2WD (a) | $54,890 |
| ST-L V6 AWD (a) | $58,390 |
| ST-L Hybrid AWD (a) | $61,390 |
| Ti V6 2WD (a) | $62,890 |
| Ti V6 AWD (a) | $66,390 |
| Ti Hybrid AWD (a) | $69,390 |
*Excludes on-road costs
