Nissan Pathfinder (05 on) - Review

Review by David Ross on
Last Updated: 21 May 2010
Believe it or not, not everyone buys a big 4x4 to climb kerbs at Tesco. Some people actually need a big strong 4x4. The Nissan Pathfinder is made especially for those people. Built on tough unsophisticated ‘ladderframe’ underpinnings the Pathfinder has been designed, developed and built to effortlessly shrug off mighty tow weights and cope well with the slipperiest, stickiest, harshest conditions nature can throw at it. It used to go head-to-head with the likes of Land Rover’s Discovery, but that car is now priced in a class above. Now the Nissan compete with cars like the equally strong Mitsubishi Shogun and brutish Toyota Landcruiser. In 2010 the big Nissan received a more powerful 190bhp 2.5 dCi diesel to help it compete. Despite being 11% more powerful, emissions dropped by 15%. Later on in 2010 a range–topping 231bhp 3.0-litre V6 diesel will be added to the range. Find out if this is enough to give it the Pathfinder an edge over its competition.
3 out of 5

Other Nissan reviews

3 out of 5

Running costs

You'll get an average fuel consumption figure of around 31mpg from the diesel but only 24mpg in town. From late 2006 the diesel engine was modified to ensure it met the latest emissions rules which made it slightly thirstier. Insurance ranges from group 13 for S and SE trim levels (also for the later Trek and Sport models) and group 14 for SVE and T-Spec (and later Aventura diesel). V6 engines have group 16 insurance. Servicing at Nissan dealers is good value but maintenance intervals of 9,000 miles are quite short. From the 2010 model year changes, the Pathfinder averages 33.2mpg and emits 224g/km of CO2. That means it slips into VED Band K. Opt for the auto though fuel consumption climbs to 31.4mpg and 238g/km of CO2. That means the pricy VED Band L. Both cars attract the maximum 35% rate of company car tax. So how does that compare with some its competition? Not too well. The automatic-only Land Cruiser averages a few miles more per gallon at 34.9mpg while emitting 214g/km of CO2. That means it's eligible for the same road tax banding but it slips into the lower 34% company car tax banding.

* based on most recent data

Estimated fuel cost for 10,000 miles per year

Unleaded

£3,069 - £3,069 *

Diesel

£1,942 - £2,374 *

The estimated fuel cost figure is a guide to how much this model will cost to fuel each year, so you can compare between cars. It's calculated by using the model's average mpg (calculated from both town centre and motorway driving) and the average fuel price. It's based on the following cost-per-litre: petrol 135p and diesel 141p. Prices are updated daily.

Summary Running Costs

Servicing period

9,000 miles.

Warranty

Three years/60,000 miles.

Road tax (12 months)

£270.00 - £475.00

Vehicle excise duty (VED) varies according to the CO2 emissions and the fuel type of the vehicle. For cars registered after March 1st 2001 VED or road tax is based on the car's CO2 emissions. For cars registered before March 1st 2001 it is based on engine size.

Full running costs data

2 out of 5

Green credentials

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
    224
  • L
  • M
    327

CO2 emission figure (g/km)

Fuel economy rating

The arrows indicate the best and worst CO2 bands for this model.

Emissions summary

The Pathfinder may now only come with a diesel engine but it is still a polluting model. The dCi unit emits 264g/km of CO2 and averages 29mpg. Opting for the automatic sees CO2 rise to 276g/km and economy fall to 28mpg.

Find the exact engine and CO2