Ok work takes me on the road very often and as a result I spend alot of time in Rental cars.
Well work is sending out again for about a week and I called the trusty Enterprise office for my usual Chevy Malibu or some like it. For some reason they were out of smaller cars and my two choices were 2006 Town and Country mini van or a 2006 Pathfinder just off the truck. Well with the upgrades I get as a corporate account I chose the Nissian. This thing is Burgandy and still had the plastic protectors on the doors etc. and 8 miles on the OD.
In true ARfCOM fashion a review is in order, I will over the next week post my thoughts and opinions on this vehicle for the benifit of ARFCOMers who maybe looking at this SUV.
My post may take sometime as not all places I go have internet access.
Here is the Start:
2006 Pathfinder SE Premium
MSRP as tested $32.623
4.0L V-6 273 hp
All the bells buttons including the Bosse sound system
Size compairs to the Explorer/ Trail Blazer/Durango
Styling ok I like the look of the Explorer/ Trail Blazer better not to sure about wheel opening flairs.
Fit and finish appear good location of assembly was marked on the sticker a Symrna TN.
Seated in the drivers seat the first thing I notice is the view in the rear mirror, the rear window is much to small, you see a lot of the rear door in the mirror.
Head room is less then a Malibu for someone my height (6'2")
The drivers seat is a 8 way adjustible but no lumbar adj.
Pedals are adj. which can be nice for shorter drivers
I have to get on the road now I will post back as soon as I can and will post Pics. if I get a new cam.

The first pic is front 3/4 view
3/4 view 2006 Nissian pathfinder

Second view is of the hated rear view mirror
Rear view mirror

Third is of the dash and stearing wheel obstruction
Dash view

Forth is of the drivers side interior with door panel that hurt my leg
Door open

The last view is of the  Cargo area Third seat folded down
Cargo area

Hope this helps you all, I am currently driving a 2006 Trail Blazer and I will compare the two soon

tag for further review and pix.  

I test drove one of those last fall and I thought it was very nice. I would get one, but I'm looking for a truck now. I'm looking at getting a Frontier, the truck version of the Pathfinder.

is it  4wd ?

tag for updates

Yes this is a 4wd Pathfinder
Ok leg one of the trip is over at just about 400 miles. Route traveled was from near Evansville IN. to Gallipolis OH. Most was done on I-64 at speed limit (plus 5) . The engine had no trouble at the 70-75mph I was driving most of the time the RPMs stayed in the 2200-2500 range, that is a little higher then my 2003 Escape on the same trip as it stayes at about 2000 RPMs most of the time. The Pathfinder does not come out of OD as fast as the Escape on the longer hills, and there are some long hills on I-64. This is in part , I think, do to the Escape being a 3.0 and 2wd, different gearing, and the smaller tires.
After my first post  I will say again the view thru the rear view mirror (inside ) sucks. This mirror is huge, yes it's got the compass and temp. shit built into it, but you get to much interior view. While that may be good for Mom hauling the kids around it stinks on the road. The large mirror blocks the view out of a large part of the windshield, It can block the view of a intersection in urban/city driving, NOT GOOD AT ALL. I almost got a Dodge Neon at a gas station outside of Lexinton KY. because of this. The view from the outside mirrors is good and they have Elec. adj. mirrors are not to big, not to small overall good.
The next point is the seat (drivers), while it has good support, it does not have enough adjustment, this SUV haqs the 8 way adj.(so they say) seat. For someone my size it is way to high, for someone of smaller stature this would give them a good view, not for me, I am a former LEO and weight lifter, and now I am a fat ass, my sight picture out of the windshield takes in the shading at the top not good for night driving.
Looking at the insterment panel, the seating height comes into play again. The stearing wheel is thick and generous and has a good feel. But the damn thing blocks part of the gauges. I don't like this.
Next we will come to the ride and the steering.
First the ride is tight as it should be brand freeking new. but the steering takes more effort then my modified Ranger running 33x12.50x15 tires and a PS pump modified to match. I checked the fluid thinking that the factory may have missed the fluid level, no right on the recomended line. At slow speed I should not have to muscle this thing around for 32K.
On the interstate this thing has desire to "track" the groves or crown of the roadway, you must maintain a good grip or the 'wheel. This was not what I expected, as many US marketed vehicles are much more forgiving. Yes they have less road feel but there is less stress while driving not fighting the 'wheel. Overall I did not like the "feel".
On other points of the "ride" Adjusting the seat while riding is not a easy task, the door protrudes into the driver area making it a chore reaching between the edge of the seat and the door to reach the controls. If you are of close to my height you may not like the leg room, a door protusion hits my left knee at the area between the cap and side that in bounching around hurts the knee.
The entry with the attached "running boards" is a pain in the ass, with the height of the seat and the steering wheel it's just not right, I bang a knee every time.
Now for the "comfort"
I have a bad back, screwed in a ambulance rollover a few years back. I started the drive with a flare up so this can be very biased.
Ok the firm seats were not bad, but to reach the controls, maintain the proper grip on the steering wheel did not make for a comfortable ride. The combination of leg room, angle to maintain proper grip, sight pictures of the mirrors (ok view for those less inclined to shooting) and the head room were not as good as I have had in the various Ford and Chevy products that I have driven.
This is not a "slam" on a "NON AMERICAN" vehicle. As I stated if was assembled in TN. no it is more on the engineering that to me points that they are building them as grocery getters for our wife or SO.
Oh I did get to test the 4wd and VXD as they call the power transfer to non spinning wheels, the night before pickup we had about 2" of snow and ice. In a empty parking lot , VXD off it acted like a standard grocery getter 4wd. One wheel in front, one in back spining. VXD on computer takes over the 4wd, wheel spins, brake applied power transfers to non spinning wheel. Works better then the auto lockers I have in the ranger.
Oh and the fuel mileage so far with a new engine on the highway between 21 and 23 mpg at the speeds mentioned.
Pic.s will be added when I get a new cam.
for the spelling Nazi's 30 e-mails in the morning, 400 miles and PIE before I left, bite me

More as I can.

tag for the pics

Nice report so far... How do you like the Pathfinder compared to your Escape?   If they were comparable equiped, which one would you choose?    

The Escape is much more comfortable to me. My Escape has all the options you can get execpt moonroof. It is a "Limited" without the extra 4 grand a purchase. So far The Escape wins but they are not in the same class with the Pathfinders/Trail Blazers/ Explorer. Location of controls, Visability and seating comfort to me are much better in the Escape. While I have only driven the Pathfinder for 400 miles I was as tired as when I drove the Escape 1000 miles in a single day. Much of that was the seating height and steering effort required. The Pathfinder has much less leg room then I expected for a vehicle of this size. Also there is less support for the thigh before the knees. In my opinion the seats were designed for a small framed person, and that I am not.

tag for second update.

tag for the update #2.

It'll be interesting to see how it stacks up to the TrailBlazer.

My mom has an '05 TrailBlazer LT.  

I rented and Escape a while back and for this 6'2" guy, I was impressed.  VERY nice vehicle.

CMOS

I test drove a '92 Pathfinder the other day, it had 267K miles.  I remember when it had 8 like it was yesterday.

Ok I drove this thing for 1000 miles in one week
I still hate the seats on the road, for a shorter person not a bad SUV.
I had the sun roof cover open during the trip for the extra headroom.
Fuel milage on this was right at 18mpg running 70-75 mph on the interstate.
The lack of lumbar support gave me fits and my legs were numb when I got to my destination.
My left knee hurt from the door panel intrusion into the passenger area, and hit my knee at the knee cap (patella).
With the seat at the rear most and lowest setting my knees were about 2 inches from the dash. Now I am only 6-2/6-3  (measure before or after major wreck) my inseam is only 32 inches, not long legs.
Controls were very easy to reach, duh I was sittting on the dash. My height made seeing all of the dash gauges impossible as the stearing wheel blocked the upper most sections.
The seat position and the console arm rest made my arm over reach the first cup holder, and placed my wrist on top of the shift lever instead of in my hand. I had to move my arm back to rest it on the shifter, again not comfortable.
I have mentioned before about the rear view mirror, granted it has the built in electronics/ compass/ garage door openers for up to three seperate systems, but the damn thing is too damn big. I came real close to nailing a Dodge Neon in a parking lot because I could not see it.
The rear view is much to small thru the rear window is limited as the large mirror and small window don't work together. I spent much more time using the outside mirrors.
That comes to the controls for the mirrors, they were at knee level on the left side of the dash, rach past the knee and down to adjust. Almost impossible to get it right while driving as you lean forward to adjust.
Cargo area I don't have a bitch about, as driven this had the third row seating which folded flat and out of the way. I had a very large suitcase one smaller flight sized carry on, one brief case, and a laptop backpack, in addition to to large "mega duffles" of EMS gear. Those were all down behind the second seat and did not impead vision.
One of the things that pissed me off was about 350 miles into the trip a rattle developed on the passenger sidenear the second seat/ door area.
I checked all cargo and seat latching and seatbelts and could not find. The seatbelts were still plastic wrapped from the factory and all cargo was secured. I removed all cargo and the rattle was still there. Not happy
As tested I have the sticker I removed from the window and could post it all if you wish, but here is a brief of the info
MSRP for the base model  $28,500
Body side moldings           $     140.
SE Comfort Package         $ 1,550
Floor mats                          $    140
SE Premium PKG               $ 1,700
Destination charge            $605
Total MSRP as tested       $32,635
All in all this would not be a bad SUV for the wife or if you are shorter then my height,overall quality seems good as nothing fell apart in my hand.
Better fuel economy most likely would have been had with a V-8 on the road due to the size and weight.
Oh and BTW if you are tall and forget when you get into one of these "DUCK" entry height is low.
I have Pics but have forgot how to post them here.

Quoted: Ok I drove this thing for 1000 miles in one week I still hate the seats on the road, for a shorter person not a bad SUV. I had the sun roof cover open during the trip for the extra headroom. Fuel milage on this was right at 18mpg running 70-75 mph on the interstate. The lack of lumbar support gave me fits and my legs were numb when I got to my destination. My left knee hurt from the door panel intrusion into the passenger area, and hit my knee at the knee cap (patella). With the seat at the rear most and lowest setting my knees were about 2 inches from the dash. Now I am only 6-2/6-3  (measure before or after major wreck) my inseam is only 32 inches, not long legs. Controls were very easy to reach, duh I was sittting on the dash. My height made seeing all of the dash gauges impossible as the stearing wheel blocked the upper most sections. The seat position and the console arm rest made my arm over reach the first cup holder, and placed my wrist on top of the shift lever instead of in my hand. I had to move my arm back to rest it on the shifter, again not comfortable. I have mentioned before about the rear view mirror, granted it has the built in electronics/ compass/ garage door openers for up to three seperate systems, but the damn thing is too damn big. I came real close to nailing a Dodge Neon in a parking lot because I could not see it. The rear view is much to small thru the rear window is limited as the large mirror and small window don't work together. I spent much more time using the outside mirrors. That comes to the controls for the mirrors, they were at knee level on the left side of the dash, rach past the knee and down to adjust. Almost impossible to get it right while driving as you lean forward to adjust. Cargo area I don't have a bitch about, as driven this had the third row seating which folded flat and out of the way. I had a very large suitcase one smaller flight sized carry on, one brief case, and a laptop backpack, in addition to to large "mega duffles" of EMS gear. Those were all down behind the second seat and did not impead vision. One of the things that pissed me off was about 350 miles into the trip a rattle developed on the passenger sidenear the second seat/ door area. I checked all cargo and seat latching and seatbelts and could not find. The seatbelts were still plastic wrapped from the factory and all cargo was secured. I removed all cargo and the rattle was still there. Not happy As tested I have the sticker I removed from the window and could post it all if you wish, but here is a brief of the info MSRP for the base model  $28,500 Body side moldings           $     140. SE Comfort Package         $ 1,550 Floor mats                          $    140 SE Premium PKG               $ 1,700 Destination charge            $605 Total MSRP as tested       $32,635 All in all this would not be a bad SUV for the wife or if you are shorter then my height,overall quality seems good as nothing fell apart in my hand. Better fuel economy most likely would have been had with a V-8 on the road due to the size and weight. Oh and BTW if you are tall and forget when you get into one of these "DUCK" entry height is low. I have Pics but have forgot how to post them here.

Do you have a photo server? Click on the pic, click on "Copy image location". Post in this thread but click on the tan box that looks like two triangles.  Then paste the URL into that.  Click "Submit" and volia.

Hey all I have updated this and added pics.

I test drove one in Nov and would up buying an Exploder

Quoted: The Escape is much more comfortable to me. My Escape has all the options you can get execpt moonroof. It is a "Limited" without the extra 4 grand a purchase. So far The Escape wins but they are not in the same class with the Pathfinders/Trail Blazers/ Explorer. Location of controls, Visability and seating comfort to me are much better in the Escape. While I have only driven the Pathfinder for 400 miles I was as tired as when I drove the Escape 1000 miles in a single day. Much of that was the seating height and steering effort required. The Pathfinder has much less leg room then I expected for a vehicle of this size. Also there is less support for the thigh before the knees. In my opinion the seats were designed for a small framed person, and that I am not.

I have a 2004 limited and it is a great vehicle.  Big enough to see around the Dallas traffic, but not so big that you can't drive it downtown.  Its also a pretty big vehicle for being the smallest SUV in the Ford lineup.  My brother has a '92 Explorer and it is only a little bit bigger.  The Escape is definitely not a CRV.    

I forgot to add that I drove the Nissian for 1000 miles and I will drive the Trail Blazer about the same amount