Hey, all. It’s been so long since I’ve been active on this site I figured I might as well start from the beginning. The last time I was here I was slowly outfitting a Ford Explorer, but unfortunately it was totaled during a snow storm and I found myself in need of another vehicle. With a baby due any day we needed something right now and we ended up with a Chevy Traverse. With only FWD and zero aftermarket I wasn’t doing anything with that, and with the baby expenses and other stuff to deal with I wasn’t going to have the funds to buy another suitable vehicle to outfit, either. Fast forward four years, one pandemic, two job promotions, and a second kid later, I had racked up a ton of miles on the Traverse and I wanted to move on to something else.
That something else ended up being a 2015 Nissan Pathfinder SL 4WD. I know, this isn’t the amazing Frontier-based R51 or even the R50. This is an R52, which shares the same platform as the Maxima, Altima, and Murano. It’s basically a station wagon. But I actually like it, like, a lot. Certainly a lot more than I ever expected. It’s got plenty of power, gets great gas mileage, it’s quiet and comfortable, and the VQ35 has been around for so long Nissan pretty much has that engine dialed. The weak point is the CVT but I got a drivetrain warranty for the life of the loan so I’m not too worried. Plus I used to turn wrenches at Nissan and my brother in law still does, so between the two of us if anything breaks we can fix it.
So what’s the plan? Well given that the R52 is a glorified station wagon, it’ll never be a true off roader no matter what, but I’m ok with that. I feel like it can make for a respectable soft roader that should be plenty capable of tackling light trails, forest service roads, etc. We’re in Iowa so we have the TWAT to the northeast, the Badlands and the Black Hills to the northwest, and Mark Twain and Ouichita National Forests to the south. Those are pretty much the places we plan to visit over the next few years, and I think the plans I have for the Pathfinder will get us there just fine.
That something else ended up being a 2015 Nissan Pathfinder SL 4WD. I know, this isn’t the amazing Frontier-based R51 or even the R50. This is an R52, which shares the same platform as the Maxima, Altima, and Murano. It’s basically a station wagon. But I actually like it, like, a lot. Certainly a lot more than I ever expected. It’s got plenty of power, gets great gas mileage, it’s quiet and comfortable, and the VQ35 has been around for so long Nissan pretty much has that engine dialed. The weak point is the CVT but I got a drivetrain warranty for the life of the loan so I’m not too worried. Plus I used to turn wrenches at Nissan and my brother in law still does, so between the two of us if anything breaks we can fix it.
So what’s the plan? Well given that the R52 is a glorified station wagon, it’ll never be a true off roader no matter what, but I’m ok with that. I feel like it can make for a respectable soft roader that should be plenty capable of tackling light trails, forest service roads, etc. We’re in Iowa so we have the TWAT to the northeast, the Badlands and the Black Hills to the northwest, and Mark Twain and Ouichita National Forests to the south. Those are pretty much the places we plan to visit over the next few years, and I think the plans I have for the Pathfinder will get us there just fine.
