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Nissan Pathfinder Terrano 4x4 SUV 

Vehicle: Nissan Pathfinder Terrano
Type: 4 door wagon, 2 door wagon
Years: 1986-present
Toughness: 8.1/10
Availability: 8.6/10
Capability: 7.3/10
Price: 7.8/10

"A great people and cargo hauler, but not much of a trail rig"

The Nissan Pathfinder and Terrano (same 4x4, different world markets) is one of the best built and most reliable 4x4 vehicles on the market--and it has been pretty much since its debut in 1986.

The first two generations of Nissan Pathfinder and Terrano were stellar automobiles overall--reliable, nimble, powerful, and stylish. They had a few small problems, but they held up well, were able to rack up plenty of miles, and made great all-around family cars. 

But on this site, we review 4x4s, not cars. And while the Nissan Pathfinder and Terrano is certainly a rock solid four wheel drive automobile, it's not as much of a truck--or real world 4x4--as the ads might suggest.

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What the Nissan Pathfinder and Terrano has in car-like qualities, it unfortunately lacks in 4x4 trail cred--which is often the way it goes.

While the first generation was box-like, truck derived, and solidly body-on-ladder-frame, the second generation was redesigned from the ground up, rounded, and converted to the dreaded (to four wheelers at least) unibody construction. Yes, unibody is supposed to be as good as a frame, but those on the trails know it's not the case.

It was still a solid vehicle, but from the second generation onward the Nissan Pathfinder and Terrano was clearly geared to the asphalt set, not off road types.

It's not that the first and second generation Nissan Pathfinders were terrible off road, because they're not. The components are tough, ground clearance is adequate, most came with limited slip rear differentials, and the part time, and later full time, four wheel drive systems were proven and reliable.

But the focus on car-like qualities--while doing wonders for Nissan Pathfinder sales--meant fewer and fewer were bought and used for the purpose purported in the commercials. And because of that, there were fewer off road accessories for the Pathfinder, fewer mods, and fewer fans.

When Nissan unveiled the once again all new and completely redesigned Nissan Pathfinder and Terrano in 2005, the vehicle was taken a step back toward its truck roots by going back to a body-on-ladder frame design.

This is due to the shared platform with other Made-in-America Nissan pickup trucks (all previous Pathfinders were made in Japan). But independent tests in South Africa have shown the new Pathfinder suffers in the traction department and can have difficulty negotiating moderate trail obstacles. The older Nissan Pathfinders, even with their unibody chassis, made better trail rigs thanks to solid axle rear ends.  

Given Nissan's track record with reliability and performance, the all new Pathfinder and Terrano will no doubt be a great car--just perhaps not a great trail conquering 4x4.

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Nissan Pathfinder Photos:

Nissan still makes some of the most capable, purpose built trucks and 4x4s out there, but the Pathfinder and Terrano are today more suited to on road driving than off road adventure.