At long, long last, Australian drivers have another option if they want to combine hybrid technology with the ability to carry six passengers.  Cue the fanfare of trumpets and the drumrolls, because here comes the Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid!  After all, why should the fuel economy that’s possible with hybrid vehicles only be available to those who drive smaller vehicles?  The way the world’s going, we’ll all be hybrid or electric one day (but that’s another story).

The Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid is the good old Pathfinder family SUV that we’ve become familiar with over the years.  It’s got the high stance, the punchy styling and the going-places ground clearance (181 mm of it).  You’ve also got the option of 2WD (the ST variant) or 4WD (ST-L and TI variants) that you get with “regular” (purebred?) Pathfinders.  However, the Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid mates the turbocharged 2.25-L petrol engine with a 15-kW electric motor that runs off a 144-Volt lithium ion battery.  The Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid has a shade less power and torque than its purebred siblings, but 188 kW at 5600 rpm and 330 Nm at 3600 rpm are plenty for anyone to have fun with.  Let’s face it: if you want a reliable family vehicle that has the safety and versatility of an SUV (with or without four-paw ability), you probably aren’t a speed freak.  However, the Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid thumbs its nose at the purebreds in the fuel economy department.  Under test conditions (i.e. without cross-winds, loads, trailers or slopes), the Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid managed combined fuel economy figures of 8.4 L/100 km (2WD) and 8.5 L/100 km (4WD variants).  This may seem a trifle high for a hybrid vehicle but you have to remember that (a) the test conditions would have included open-road speeds as well as round-the-town speeds, where the petrol engine dominates, and (b) this is a big SUV with a tare weight of 2061 kg (ST) to 2127 kg (TI).  If you do a lot of city driving – doing the school run or the swimming club run, for instance – then you’ll see that electric motor coming into play a lot more.  The CVT transmission also does its bit (CVT stands for continuously variable transmission and isn’t anything to do with CVVT).

The Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid is built to carry people in style, so the creature comforts are probably a big consideration for many potential vehicles.  There’s plenty of room in all seven seats, and the third row has 50/50 split folding to complement the middle row’s 60/40 split folding.  The centre row of seats have ISOFIX child seat preparation, and the three-zone climate control helps prevent the arguments that crop up when one kid’s hot and grumpy while the other one (the one who refused to put on a woolly jumper) is freezing.  In the front of the ST-L, you get heated seats and in the TI, you get heated and cooled seats, which also should keep at least the driver and front passenger comfy.  The cabin also contains storage compartments galore, including six bottle holders and ten cup holders (for seven seats? Still trying to work that one out).

Should the grumpiness break out anyway, you can help calm the farm with some well-chosen sounds, which play over either a six-speaker system (ST) or a 13-speaker BOSE system (ST-L and TI) from any type of input you prefer, ranging from the radio to the music server hard drive (2 GB or 9GB); you can also use CD, DVD, MP3, Auxiliary, USB and iPod input.  The Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid also has active noise control – although this doesn’t work on whingeing kids.  A 7-inch (ST) or 8-inch (ST-L and TI) colour display panel and Bluetooth integration round out the infotainment system, as does the satellite navigation with traffic monitoring in the ST-L and TI variants of the Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid.  If people have to resort to using devices to keep themselves entertained, then four 12-V power sockets should keep everybody’s devices topped up (thank goodness for the regenerative braking that harvests the energy that would otherwise be lost when you slow down!).

TI model shown

Many people pick an SUV for safety reasons, so it’s good to see that the Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid doesn’t skimp in this department, what with front and side front seat air bags and curtain airbags all the way along as standard.  The only active or passive safety features that the entry-level ST variant misses out on are the blind spot warning, the Around View 360-degree monitor and hill descent control.  All variants have a rear view camera, reversing sensors, traction control, ABS brakes with brake assistance and EBD, tyre pressure monitoring and hill start assistance.

For those of you who want to take your Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid off-road, you’ll need to know the necessary angles.  The maximum approach angle is 14.7° and the maximum departure angle is 22.3°.

Current model series include:

• Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid ST 2WD
• Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid ST-L 4WD
• Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid TI 4WD

For any more information on the Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quotes requests out to our national network of Nissan dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!