Thinking of buying a Nissan Pathfinder 2011. Any thoughts on them??

They are not a bad car, but if you want to go offroad and don't want the size ( or price of the large 4x4's ), why not look around at the opposition ??......I know there isn't much in the medium size market, and thats why I chose a Challenger....

Maybe not as refined to drive every day, but offroad makes it a no brainer.....more ground clearance and departure angles, difflock etc etc>>>>.....have a look at a few of the rightups in the 4x4 magazines !!



The Nissan will go offroad OK most places, it's just not my choice..for the money of a ST-L, you could almost get into a Prado, which would be nearly as good as a Challenger offroad ( I'm not joking !! )

Hi Matt. I have a 2009 ST auto 2.5 turbo diesel and I absolutely love it.
I have a 2.5t fully loaded caravan and it pulls it with no problems. Admittedly I have only done 35k so can't comment on longlivety but I took out Nissan extra warranty so I'm good for 150,000ks'.
I have put in a "CHIP" for more grunt and it has improved the performance especially going up hills.
2011 model has already been upgraded with a more powerful engine so I think it would be a fantastic vehicle.
Good luck with whatever u buy.
Steve

Mattd,

I have owned a Pathfinder R51 model TI for about three years.

Great car off road not a problem there, however there are a few issues you should be aware of, I am not sure if this just related to the TI model or not, but you would need to check the accuracy of the fuel gauge, it was a huge issue on my vehicle, and many others, and it took nearly two and a half years for Nissan to come up with a fix.

If the vehicle has three rows of seating it is almost impossible to get a rear cargo barrier fitted, people like Jaram etc wont touch it,in fact there is very little aftermarket product available for these models, no one seems to have off the shelf products available, they all seem to have to be specially made.

Thirdly the brake pedal seems to travel a fair distance before it starts to slow down the car, Nissan say it is within specs, I have my doubts.

Apart from that as I said it is more then capable off road, and it is a very good towing vehicle, I tow a Challenge Off Road CT and never had an issue. (touch wood)

Regards

Barry H

Hi Matt,
Have you asked when the new V6 T/D Pathfinder is is on sale? With 170KWs of power you won't need to chip it. It won't be as cheap as the 2.5 T/D.
Col

Matt

Good car in many ways but have some real issues off road which can be readily measured.

Ran a 4yr old petrol R51 up on our ramp the other day - it was a bit sad , Patrols and Prado's have an RTI articulation of over 500 standard whereas the R51 struggled to match our falcon ute at just 320.

To be good a car needs 600 in the bush.

This limit was quite noticeable in practise during a run up Collingwod spur recently.

Its not easy to improve articulation either, as its a bit of a trade off with up/dowm movement on the front suspension in particular , you can get about 30-40mm in practise which also helps a little with its soft underbelly.

I have an 07 ti and love it. As mentioned before articulation is not so great but i take my d22 navara for the serious work. Maybe difflocks would help overcome lack of travel. If you can afford it get the ti the rear aircon is great! I have travelled in the rear of my brother inlaws on a hot day and it was not pleasent. Very functional car the way the seats all fold down flat not like a prado where you loose heaps of space with the seats folded to the side. I dont think you will be dissapointed. Cheers marn