Nissan has taken a soft approach – both in the release of information about its new NISSAN PATHFINDER, and in the general scope of the vehicle itself. Sharing its architecture with the Infiniti JX, it is less luxurious and doesn’t ride as high. Is that important? Maybe – because in this guise, the Pathfinder looks more like a bloated wagon, rather than a crossover. Maybe that is just splitting hairs. But the wagon reference means I should like it, right? … Maybe. To me the verdict is still out – I will need to see it out on the road to be sure. One thing for sure is, I have a love/ hate relationship with the front end. I like the angular headlights and the clean expanse, but the two wide silver bars that constitute the grill are a little heavy handed. It’s really hard to tell if Nissan’s designers want you the think “rugged” or “sophisticated”. It is a mixed message that very few auto makers can combine. Glarringly obvious though, is the absence of some of the go-anywhere-butch stance of the out going model. Hello taking the kids to the soccer field. Which is all the older one was ever used for, but at least you could sort of pretend that you were heading into the wilds. This one? Not so much…
The Vehiclist
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