Join MotorTrend’s Technical Director for a First Look at the 2022 Nissan Pathfinder. Will the new powertrain and styling bring back the desirability this SUV once had?
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00:00 I'm Frank Marcus with Motor Trend and I'm here in a studio with the 2022 Nissan Pathfinder
00:08 arriving in dealerships this summer.
00:17 Now we all fondly remember the original Pathfinder as basically an SUV body on the Nissan hardbody
00:23 pickup truck, square, burly, tough, and it stayed truck-based for the first three generations.
00:31 Then in 2013, Nissan followed the industry trend toward front-wheel drive-based crossovers
00:37 and moved the Pathfinder onto that type of architecture.
00:40 That's when the Motor Trend staff dubbed it the "Mall Finder."
00:45 Well for 2022, we are returning to the truck-based roots, square-jawed, broad-shouldered, burly
00:51 looking, and a lot of cues that pick up the look of a Nissan Armada.
00:55 Now that squared-off styling cuts about an inch and a half off the overall length while
01:00 increasing overall cargo room by one cubic foot.
01:04 Now the styling is truck-based, but the underpinnings retain their front-wheel drive crossover architecture.
01:11 Unchanged is the 3.5 liter direct-injected V6 engine, although it does now mount to a
01:18 proper nine-speed automatic instead of the continuously variable transmission that was
01:22 used in the fourth generation.
01:24 Similarly, the all-wheel drive system hardware is carried over, but new software gives it
01:31 one of those ubiquitous now terrain control adjusters so you can find paths on seven different
01:37 types of terrain, sand, mud, snow, highways, etc.
01:42 The new Pathfinder is also still capable of 6,000 pounds of towing with the proper equipment.
01:48 It is a leader in the class.
01:50 Big changes are also in store inside.
01:52 Let's take a look at those.
01:56 Inside the look is also a bit more squared-off and boxy and much more modern looking.
02:02 We've got a big nine-inch touchscreen here.
02:05 This is a platinum model, which also has a big fully digital instrument cluster.
02:11 We've gone to electronic shifter now, which freed up this storage space underneath the
02:16 console.
02:17 You also get electric parking brake, auto hold, all of that sort of thing.
02:23 The safety features have also stepped into the 2020s.
02:26 We've got the ProPILOT Assist option, which brings lane-keeping assist to the typical
02:33 adaptive cruise control, and a full suite of Safety Shield 360 pedestrian sensing and
02:41 collision prevention.
02:43 The design is also much more up-to-date with this elaborate stitching and perforation pattern
02:49 on the seats, bronze accents, all really dress up the platinum model.
02:54 There's even bigger news in the back seat.
02:56 Let's have a look back there.
03:01 A lot of things have changed in here.
03:03 Although the bodywork only gets six-tenths of an inch larger, there is seven inches more
03:08 hip room in the back, which allows them to put three seat belts in the third row.
03:13 I'm in the third one, and sure enough, it looks like there's room for another modest
03:17 size person on either side of me.
03:19 It's also nice to notice that there is a very easy pass-through with a one-button touch
03:25 that moves the seat forward like that.
03:28 And even a child can get an entrance to the third row by pressing that one single button.
03:34 Also new for 2022 is an option for captain's chairs in the middle row.
03:39 The captain's chairs come with a removable center console in case that's useful.
03:48 So that's it for this quick look at the 2022 Nissan Pathfinder.
03:51 We expect it in showrooms this summer, starting at a price probably around $35,000.
03:57 I'm Frank Marcus with Motor Trend.
03:59 Just keep it right here for more information about this and other new cars.
04:02 [music]
04:06 [end]