FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9 February 2005
NISSAN PATHFINDER: 4x4x6x7
Think again if you reckon all MPVs are boring buses and all 4x4s are road-hogging monsters. The new Nissan Pathfinder combines the best elements of both in a Tardis-like body – compact on the outside, spacious inside – to mix family car comfort with mountain goat agility.
Best of all, being nowhere near as tall as a typical SUV, it has a lower centre of gravity and so handles like a road car, providing the best of all worlds. Yet it seats seven.
And the fact that prices start at just £24,000 means Pathfinder is set to take the ‘Discovery sector’ of the 4x4 market by storm when it goes on sale at the end of March. In fact just as the Nissan X‑TRAIL has done with the ‘Freelander sector’.
It was engineered in Cranfield, Bedfordshire and will be built at Nissan’s NMISA factory in Spain. Pathfinder is a seven-model range aimed squarely at the active, get-up-and-go family, and becomes the sixth offering in Nissan’s expanding 4x4 portfolio. Hence 4x4x6x7.
Its rugged styling – derived from the 2003 Dunehawk show car – is both practical and good-looking. So Pathfinder will be a superb tool for adventurous families keen on outdoor hobbies such as sailing, mountain biking, rock climbing, trekking, paragliding, riding, skiing, furniture collecting… Oh, and it’s equally adept on the school run.
Nissan Pathfinder: 4x4x6x7…2
ALL-MODE electronic four-wheel drive and traction control
Pathfinder’s key features underline its rich four-wheel drive heritage. It features a robust body-on-frame design with the latest version of Nissan’s acclaimed ALL-MODE electronic four-wheel drive technology, a system that’s as easy to use as it is sophisticated. As well as incorporating ESP and traction control, the new system in Pathfinder has added dexterity thanks to a low ratio mode for added grip and manoeuvrability in mud or snow.
One reason for ALL-MODE’s success is its simplicity (at least as far as the user is concerned). With grip and stability constantly being monitored electronically, it’s a fit-and-forget system that gets you out of trouble before you know you’re in it.
But despite its authentic SUV credentials, Pathfinder is not a huge off-roader. At 4.74m long, it is shorter than a typical seven-seat MPV (Chrysler Voyager, 4.8m) and is shorter even than a family estate such as the 4.82m long Vauxhall Vectra. And at 1763mm in height, it’s shorter than a Land Rover Discovery (1832mm).
Simple access to third row seating
Simplicity and ease of use are themes running through Pathfinder’s design. For example, though the entry-level S version has five seats, most Pathfinders will be sold with seven seats in three forward-facing rows.
In most seven seaters, getting to the rearmost set of seats is something best undertaken by people with a maths degree. Or the average 10 year old. In the Pathfinder, however, it’s a simple matter of folding and flipping the middle row forwards – a one-handed, single action – to create ample space in which to access the rear. The same goes for exiting. In addition, the rear side doors open to an unusually wide angle of 85 degrees.
Naturally,
both middle and rear seats fold completely to provide a flat load area and,
again, practicality is the key – it takes just one action to fold the third row
of seats to increase luggage space, an operation that needs up to 10 actions in
some rivals. Folding
Nissan Pathfinder: 4x4x6x7…3
the third row of seats can also be undertaken from outside the vehicle. Each seat has a simple release handle which when pulled allows the backrest to be folded forwards onto the seat squab.
The front passenger seat also folds, giving a 2.8m long uninterrupted load area. Nissan would like to apologise in advance to Pathfinder-owning husbands who now have no excuse not to spend weekends at flat-packed furniture stores. When the football’s on.
Indeed, so practical is the interior that during its development, engineers were assigned the task of finding out just how many different seat/cargo configurations there were. They gave up when they reached 64…
A rear view camera, DVD satnav, Bluetooth, MP3…
When it comes to equipment, Pathfinder is in the luxury car league. Alloy wheels, climate control, CD audio and a full set of airbags – front, side and curtain – are standard on all versions. Move up the range and you can add privacy glass, Bluetooth phone compatibility, trip computer, leather upholstery, electric front seats, rear heating controls, Intelligent Key, xenon headlamps, DVD satellite navigation and a colour rear view parking camera.
Most Pathfinders will be powered by a new version of the turbocharged and intercooled common rail diesel that powers X‑TRAIL. For Pathfinder, the displacement of the four-cylinder unit has been increased to 2.5-litres (up from 2.2-litres) with power and torque rising to 174PS and an awesome 403Nm respectively.
The
result is an exceptional combination of drivability with economy. Pathfinder
has a top speed of 109mph, takes 11.7 seconds to reach 60mph from rest and yet
returns
31.4mpg over the combined cycle. For
that thank a ‘waistline’ rather trimmer than some rivals.
Nissan Pathfinder: 4x4x6x7…4
Later
in the year, a petrol model will be added to the range, powered by a 269PS,
4.0-litre version of the V6 engine that drives the mighty 350Z. Both diesel and
petrol models will have the choice of manual or automatic transmission (in the
case of the former, it’s a new six speed ’box).
The diesel range starts at £24,000 for the five-seater S and rises to £30,660 for the top-of-the-range T-Spec seven-seater. Automatic transmission, available on all versions except the S, adds £1,300 to the bill, so the top price to be paid for a Pathfinder is £31,960 for the T-Spec auto. Prices for the petrol models, which will only be available in T-Spec trim, will be announced when sales start in September.
S trim means ALL-MODE 4x4, 17 inch alloy wheels, dual zone climate control, front, side and curtain airbags, CD player, electric windows and heated door mirrors. The second row of seats (this is the five-seater remember) splits on a 40:20:40 basis.
Next up is SE trim. This adds £1,800 to the S price but embraces the following extra kit: front fog lamps, roof rails, rear privacy glass, height and lumbar adjustable driver seat, opening rear glass hatch and, of course, the third row of seats, which fold into the boot floor when not in use. It also has a compass, altimeter and trip computer as well as a CD autochanger with six speakers and steering wheel audio controls.
An extra £2,460 will buy you the luxury of SVE trim. This adds side steps, leather upholstery, electric front seat adjustment with memory, cruise control, rain-sensing wipers, automatic headlamps and automatic dimming rear view mirror. It also has separate air conditioning controls in the rear and Nissan’s Intelligent Key, which allows the driver to lock and unlock the doors and even start and stop the engine without having to fumble for a key.
Top-of-the-range Pathfinder is the T-Spec model, which adds £2,400 to the cost of the SVE, but adds equipment worth far more. As well as an electric tilt and slide sunroof and xenon headlamps with headlamp washers, T-Spec models have a full complement of advanced equipment led by a DVD satellite navigation system with new generation Birdview technology and a seven inch full colour screen.
Nissan Pathfinder: 4x4x6x7…5
There’s a colour rear view camera to simplify parking while the audio system has been upgraded with MP3 compatibility. Bluetooth® phone integration is also standard, as is voice operation for the navigation and phone systems.
With such full standard equipment lists, options are very limited. You can have metallic paint (£400) and, if you’re an SVE buyer, you can specify the £2,000 communications pack which incorporates DVD satnav, rear view camera, Bluetooth phone integration and MP3 compatibility. And that’s it.
The full model line-up is:
S five seats six speed manual £24,000
SE seven seats six speed manual £25,800
SE seven seats five speed automatic £27,100
SVE seven seats six speed manual £28,260
SVE seven seats five speed automatic £29,560
T-Spec seven seats six speed manual £30,660
T-Spec seven seats five speed automatic £31,960
A few sales facts and figures…
Pathfinder is aimed at the medium/large SUV sector of the market currently occupied by rivals such as the Land Rover Discovery, Mitsubishi Shogun, Volvo XC90 and Toyota Land Cruiser. Its arrival coincides with the demise of the long serving Nissan Terrano five-door, but Pathfinder is not a direct replacement. The Terrano three-door continues probably to outlive us all.
As the third new Nissan 4x4 in almost as many months, Pathfinder will have to fight for showroom space with two other new all-wheel drive models – Murano and Patrol – when UK sales start in the week beginning 21 March. If all goes according to plan, the trio will help to propel Nissan to third place in the UK 4x4 market by the end of 2005.
And
that’s just the beginning. Within two years, Nissan could have the widest 4x4 range
of any European manufacturer following the launch of a new crossover model
based on
Nissan Pathfinder: 4x4x6x7…6
the Qashqai concept shown at the 2004 Geneva motor show. Production of the new model will start at Nissan’s highly efficient factory in Sunderland at the end of 2006.
Last year, 2004, marked the third in a row that Nissan’s 4x4 sales rose spectacularly in the UK. In 2002, the company sold 9,871 units, a figure which rose by more than 60 per cent to 2003’s figure of 15,926.
In 2004, including Pickups, Nissan sold 21,292 4x4s – up more than 30 per cent compared with 2003 – to claim fourth slot in the UK market.
Nissan’s target for 2005 is 24,500 4x4s, a figure than includes 1,000 Muranos, 2,650 Pathfinders and 750 Patrols, with the ever popular X‑TRAIL, Pickup and Terrano accounting for the rest.
ends…
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Wayne Bruce Head of Press and PR 01923 899930
e-mail: wayne.bruce@nissan.co.uk
Gloria Maydew Press Relations Manager 01923 899937
Email: gloria.maydew@nissan.co.uk
All news releases and pictures can be downloaded from the Newspress website at www.newspress.co.uk
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