Nissan has hit a homerun.

First, let me tell you that I live in Durango, Colorado where it is essential for my vehicle to perform well in the snow and off-road. I am in the 10% of SUV owners that actually use the truck as a truck. A car will simply not do for me.

For the past ten years, I have been driving a 1992 Toyota 4x4 pickup and can't say enough good things about that truck yet it was time to move up to something newer and safer. The main considerations for me in buying a new truck were (1)performance, (2)safety, and (3)reliability.

With these three things in mind, I looked at the Toyota 4-runner, Nissan Xterra, and the Pathfinder. I will compare these three vehicles throughout this review. I did not consider any of the smaller SUV's as they did not fit my needs. Nor did I consider any domestic products as I was not impressed with the overall quality. Sorry if I offend with this comment but just look at the respective number of recall notices on the new Escape, Explorer, and Liberty.

Performance:

THe Nissan Pathfinder has the best engine of the three by far with 240 h.p. compared to 4-runner's 190, and Xterra's 170 (the 210 supercharged version is a flop).

The Pathfinder has the best ride quality of the three as well which is understandable given that it is the only one built with a unibody construction. The trade-off is that this construction makes it the least suited for hard core off roading. In any event, I no longer do much true 4-wheeling so I could take the trade off in the suspension department.

Overall, the driving performance in the Pathfinder is superb. It handles like a car, but still has the ground clearance and undercarriage protection to get me where I need to go. The 4-runner is a distant second in performance. I should mention that a friend of mine is having serious problems with the Vehicle Skid Control feature of his 2001 4-runner. The X-terra was slow but still a good performer, especially for someone who does more off-roading.

Safety:

I am a personal injury attorney and see people who have been seriously injured in accidents everyday. I can definitely say that the vehicle you are driving will have a direct effect on how you will fare in a crash, all other things being equal.All three of my choices posted admirable results in both frontal and side impact testing by NHSTA. You can check out the NHSTA website for more specific information.

I felt that the Pathfinder was the best of these three as far as crashworthiness for two reasons. First, the Pathfinder is of a unibody construction which allows for more crumple zone engineering. This means that less force from the impact may be transmitted directly to your body. Second, the Pathfinder was the only vehicle with side impact airbags. This is an option which requires the leather seats, auto tranny, and sunroof package. Although it drives the price up a few more thousand, I feel it is worth it.

Reliability:

This was a toss-up for me. All three vehicles have proven themselves to be excellent over the years. The Pathfinder engine has excelled as the power plant for the Maxima for more than five years now so there were no worries there.

Review:

I have had my 4x4 SE for almost a month now and love it. The quality is outstanding. There is not a squeak to be heard in the cabin and I have been on some rough roads already. There is not one loose part on the whole truck nor anything else to be addressed at my first dealer service.

The performance is amazing. This truck has tremendously smooth, fluid power. Passing is a blast now. The automatic transmission (which I thought I would hate) is very well mated to the engine and rarely seems to have trouble finding the right gear. For mountain climbs, you can take the tranny out of overdrive and it will shift more aggressively for added power. It is really hard to keep my foot off the gas pedal as I love feeling the engine come to life. Consequently, my gas mileage could be better.

This truck corners like it is on rails. Very close to the feel of a car and definitely not what you would expect from a truck. There is no detectable over/under steer and very little sway in the corners.

The roof racks were a nice suprise as well. I was expectng crappy factory racks but these are very burly and seem to be inspired by the awesome system on the Xterra. I had to buy some adaptors for my Yakima ski racks and will have to buy a hitch rack for the bikes as I am not comfortable hoisting the bike on the roof. Also, there are very few compatible bike mounts for the Pathfinder rack and these are more expensive than a hitch rack.

The stereo system is amazing. Bose hit the nail on the head in designing this system (and I haven't even cared for Bose products in the past). It really is perfectly tuned to the cabin. The sound seems to come from all around rather than any certain spot.

Complaints???

A couple. First, the tires that come stock on the SE are Dueler HT's and totally inappropriate for mountain snow. I will replace these with something more aggressive eventhough I will pay the price in noise and ride quality.

Second, I think Nissan downgraded the quality of the leather in 2002. It does not feel as soft as the leather interior of the 2001 I drove a few months earlier. Perhaps it will wear better. That's all the complaints.

Summary:

You will enjoy this truck. Please check out the review on Edmunds.com for another great comparison of this and other competing trucks.