2009 Nissan Pathfinder LE

2009 Nissan Pathfinder LE is nowhere near as smooth as the 3.5-liter in other Nissan products; it’s really loud and buzzy. It sort of matched the overall ride, which is pretty harsh, crashing over all the frost heaves in the road. And the door seals are terrible, with strong winds making sucking sounds on the windows.

Powertrain refinement is this vehicle's biggest downfall. Nissan just cannot seem to engineer its V-6 so it's not noisy and coarse. There's sufficient power and torque here, but this vehicle weighs nearly 5000 pounds, and I was driving it with just my 180-lb self and my 8-lb briefcase on board.

The most delightful thing about our Pathfinder was that it was equipped with a heated steering wheel! This was nice to find on a cold winter's night. I stumbled across the switch for it when I was searching for a way to turn up the instrument panel lighting, which someone had set to the dimmest setting. I had to consult the owners manual to figure that one out.

Nissan Pathfinder is a nice mid-size SUV with a real, live four-wheel-drive system with automatic mode and low range, and its third-row seat increases capacity to the all-important seven. If you're in the market for a vehicle in this class, the Pathfinder is certainly worth considering alongside the Toyota 4Runner, the Ford Explorer, and the Jeep Commander.

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