Published: Aug 06, 2012

Nissan Presents All-New Pathfinder

Nissan's benchmark SUV crosses over with all-new seven-seat unibody model.

There was a time when cars were cars and trucks were trucks. The defining trait? Cars were designed around unibody construction, and trucks were built body-on-frame. Those were the days of early sport-utes like the Ford Explorer and the Nissan Pathfinder. But the Explorer crossved over (so to speak) to a unibody platform for the latest generation. And now, so has the Pathfinder. After releasing a handful of images and few details on Facebook, Nissan has now officially revealed the full skinny on its new Pathfinder crossover.

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And by skinny, we do mean skinny. Or relatively so, anyway: at 4,149 lbs, it's hardly a featherweight, but it is a good 500 lbs lighter than the body-on-frame Pathfinder it replaces. The result is 20 mpg in the city and 26 on the highway for the front-drive model, or 19/25 with four-wheel drive. The new Pathfinder is based on the platform underpinning the Infiniti JX crossover, which means seven seats. The previous model's 266-horsepower 4.0-liter V6 is also replaced with the more economic 3.5-liter V6 with 260 hp and mated to a continuously variable transmission to deliver 30% better mileage than its predecessor.

The more refined interior also boasts heated and cooled seats and a full around-view camera system. And while it may not be as capable when the road turns to rubble, it will undoubtedly prove more stable and more comfortable on the road than Pathfinders passed.