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| 2006 Nissan Pathfinder Review | |||
| Whether you're about to spend $40K on a brand new car, or half that on a used car, it is always important to learn as much as you can about the used car. Read these car reviews to learn about all aspects of the vehicle. Each of the usedcar reviews cover interior and exterior features, options, road tests, and more. | |||
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Introduction
| Road Test
| Inside & Out
| Other Thoughts
| Last Word
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| Other Thoughts | |||
The redesigned Pathfinder expanded to four trim lines: the XE, SE, SE Off-Road, and LE models, all in 2WD or 4WD. For 2006, Nissan realized that a 2WD Off-Road model was a walking contradiction and killed it. They also added one color: the Majestic Blue shade adorning our sparkling sample.Even the $25,830 XE has core features like power everything, cruise control, keyless entry, alloy wheels, antilock brakes, and traction and stability control. The $1,250-higher SE ($27,080) adds a power seat, folding passenger's seat, roof rack, running boards, fog lights, body-color mirrors, front tow hook, Easy Clean cargo area, and first-aid kit. After the 4WD SE, the $2,800-higher SE Off-Road ($31,880) gets the Rancho off-road shocks, Hill Descent Control, Hill Start Assist, skid plates, exclusive alloy wheels and tires, dual-zone climate control, rear A/C controls, auto-dimming mirror, leather steering wheel and shifter, aluminum trim, and power adjustable pedals. And starting from the SE again, the $6,850-higher LE ($33,930) adds the SE Off-Road's luxury content (but not the hardware) plus 17-inch wheels, sunroof, Bose stereo, driver memory, heated leather seats, power passenger seat, wood interior trim, and side and side-curtain airbags. 4-wheel-drive runs $2,000 on the XE and SE, $2,200 on the LE. The Comfort, Premium, and Leather Packages can add much of these items to lesser models, while DVD, navigation, and side air bags remain the major options. Many competitors have some kind of leg-up on the Pathfinder. Jeep and Volkswagen have advanced 4-wheel-drive systems and the unibody construction Nissan abandoned, the TrailBlazer has a little more power and a little less price, and available V8 engines in several SUVs satisfy people's heavy-duty needs, real or perceived. But the Pathfinder's the only one with no serious flaws, like the TrailBlazer's back-killer seats and lousy interior or the borderline laughable acceleration of the Touareg, Montero, Explorer, and Jeeps. The Pathfinder's V6 tops the class for power, technology, and feel, it delivers the best on-road driving experience (partly thanks to the best on-road suspension), has probably the nicest interior, and its sticker price makes the 4Runner, Montero, and Touareg look like rip-offs. Another best-in-class entry from Nissan? Sure looks that way. But while we're being rational, do you really need a trucky SUV like this? The answer is yes if you must: A. haul a 6,000-pound trailer and B. go off road. If all you need are a ton of seats and space, a Quest, Sienna, or Odyssey would work better for both tasks while getting better mileage than our pathetic 14 MPG. For the vanphobic, so would Ford's Freestyle. And if you can get by with five chairs but are too gullible to be reasoned out of an SUV, check out Nissan's Murano. Even while matching the Pathfinder inch for inch (literally: 187.6 for both), the Murano's Altima-based chassis shaves off 700 pounds of vehicular obesity. It, too, holds more cargo and gives greater comfort to passengers 3, 4, and 5, holds the road more skillfully, and its 3.5-liter V6 is just as fast yet ekes out more mileage. If a more casual AWD system and 3,500 pounds of towing will do, this is a gain with few losses. And to get really smart, there are wagons of similar size: Mazda 6, Subaru Legacy, Volkswagen's upcoming Passat. Each can run circles around the Pathfinder in performance, save about $5,000 at the outset (except the Passat), then save another $5,000 after about six years of refuels. Kind of like earning $10,000 to treat yourself to a better time, isn't it? |
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