Nissan 2001 Pathfinder - I Love It!!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Smooth off road ride, spacious cargo area, sunroof, powerful engine

Cons: Premium gas, front recovery hooks

Handling And Control:

The Bottom Line: 
I am so spoiled with my Nissan Pathfinder that I don't think I could settle for anything less. I would highly recommend this vehicle.

Author's Review
Owning four 4-wheel drive SUVs is not a luxury to us but a must where we live. We live on the top of a mountain that has a 1 mile long uphill graveled driveway that you access from another primitive gravel/dirt road about 5 miles from a town with a population of 300, so I was looking for not only 4-wheel drive, but power, a smooth ride, and sizable cargo area. I never thought I would buy a foreign model SUV after always being a devoted Chevrolet customer, but I made a major mistake in buying a ZR2 Blazer which was really sporty looking but had a terrible off road ride due to the suspension. We have always owned 2 door SUVs, however, none were available so I started researching on other makes and models outside of the Chevrolet line. The Nissan Pathfinder kept coming up as great in crash tests, a new powerful engine, and everywhere I read, the Nissan Pathfinder was very reliable and held up its trade-in value more than an American-made vehicle. The four doors on it doesn't look as obvious as having 4 doors on a lot of the other makes and models I've seen, which I like because I like the 2-door styling. For a long time, I kept forgetting I had 4 doors.

I always like to own items for at least a few months before stating an opinion, so I can really get to know what the product does and doesn't do. We bought this one new this past August.

What It Has and What It Does:

Auto-Mode 4-wheel drive: It has an on-dash switch knob that gives you a choice of 2-wheel drive, Auto-mode, 4-Hi, and 4-Low. The Auto-mode determines when 4-wheel drive needs to kick in.

Bose Audio Sound System with 6 speakers and 6-CD Changer: I have never had a Bose or a 6-CD changer before and now I absolutely love it. This is one great system; the sound is outstanding!

Steering Wheel Stereo Controls: You can control the stereo from the tip of your finger on your steering wheel. You can change stations, the volume, and CD tracks.

Automatic Climate Air/Heat Control: Just set the temperature and it keeps it there! No more cold air blasting on you when you are shivering in the winter since the fan doesn't kick up until the temperature has been reached.

Overhead Console and Temperature Gauge: This was another must-have feature that I love since my other SUVs have it also. It's great to keep track of the outside temperature and direction you are heading.

Sliding Sunroof: I had to have this also since my other Blazers had them, and I got spoiled. Hey, I even hauled a tree down the highway; instead of laying the tree down in the cargo area, it stuck up through the sunroof.

Power Seats with drivers side having 2 memory controls: If you can't get comfortable with all the tilting and up and down it provides, nothing will please you. The memory controls is a feature I have never had; you just push the button and the seat goes back to where you set it.

Power Locks, Windows, Power Heated Seats and Heated Mirrors: Had all this before except for the heated seats. Never thought I would use this feature, but since the winters are so cold here, I use it all the time.

Other features include cruise control, in-cabin micro filter, limited slip differential, side air bags, dual folding rear seats that seat 3 with a foldup arm rest in the middle, remote keyless entry, theft security system, homelink transmitter buttons (3 buttons on sunvisor that you can program your garage door openers), running boards, luggage rack, foglights, and leather seats. There is also a little compartment in cargo area for storage and a small lift up compartment under the carpet in the cargo area. The full size spare tire is underbody mounted.

The rear seating is very comfortable and roomy for seating and foot area. The cargo area is very roomy, which is important to me since I have to do all my shopping once a month as we live an hour away from major shopping.

The Nissan 2001 Pathfinder has plenty of power with a 3.5 liter V6 engine; 240 HP and 265 lbs. of torque. If you need more power to climb terrain, you push a button to knock it out of overdrive, this is especially helpful during our winter months here when our driveway is snow and ice all winter; of course I have to run with studded tires.

The Nissan 2001 Pathfinder is very smooth, airtight, and quiet. I have never felt it try to tip to one side; it has only slid when our steep incline road is a sheet of ice. The driver's dash has a white background which is different and you have a choice for your headlights to manually turn them on or off or set it for automatic.

Before winter came, I was getting 21 mpg, however now I'm at 16-17 mpg due to having it in 4-wheel drive the majority of the time.

What I Don't Like:

The only negative items are it requires premium fuel, and I do not like the front recovery hooks that comes with it. The Chevy Blazer is an actual hook that sticks out away from the front bumper, however the Nissan is tucked behind the front bumper and is a loop instead of a hook, therefore using a chain with a hook to get unstuck in the snow and to help someone else getting unstuck is impossible. Instead you have to tie a recovery rope on instead of just throwing the loop of the rope or chain onto the recovery hook. So to yank someone from a stuck position, you know this SUV has to have enough power to be able to do that; not as much as our Tahoe has though, but the Tahoe is not a mid-sized SUV either.

So if you are looking for a smooth, quiet ride that doesn't sound like it is falling apart when you are off-road use and you need a sizable cargo area, then you should investigate the Nissan 2001 Pathfinder.