Nissan blew it with me
 

I had a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder and sold it for the Z in 2009. As I move closer to retirement and, considering I love hiking and being outdoors especially in the winter, the colder the better, I was reconsidering my choice and giving thought to buying a Pathfinder again. And then "Chickification" reared its ugly head and, like the Ford Explorer, killed another SUV. It now looks like a cross over leaning toward a soccer mom mini-van. They took it off its truck platform, yes, I read why, and chickified it up to appeal to female buyers. Yuck. Another one bites the dust victim of chickification. I wanted a an SUV not a mini-van. I may have to go with the Toyota 4-Runner but I still have a couple of years and by then the Chickification brigade may have pulled it down as well. Nissan, you blew it. For those who see it differently, go buy one.

The Xterra is still pretty manly, but I get what you're saying.

thats why me and my GF just got a 2012 pathfinder a few months back once i saw that the new shape was going to be so different and less pathfinder(y) lol

the front end of the new one isnt bad but the rear is straight soccer mom. and my GF loves the more boxy look of the older one so i usually am not into getting older body styles but in this case its not even the same car anymore

Shadoquad/MC
 

Okay, that is good news. Do you know if the seats fold down? I have wanted to use mine on a hunting trip, when I had the Pathfinder, and I've loaded it with firewood as well. I passed on the Xterra because the gas mileage and because I have 4 kids. Well, the oldest, who actually live with their mother, don't visit that often and are in college out of state so maybe the Xterra might be worth another look.

MC: Why or why didn't you give me a call? If I had known. Just kidding. It's
my own fault. I know when I get to liking something, it disappears.
I haven't seen Z's at my dealer for a long time and that got me worried.
My kids say, "Dad, what about the Armada?" Too bad it cost so much
more. Thanks for listening to my rant folks.

Inspector,

My brother owned both an Xterra and later a Pathfinder.

Both were pretty bad on gas. I don't know if the rear seats folded down or not. But the Xterra was a much rougher ride than the Pathfinder. So, keep that in mind, especially for back seat passengers. But it's also much more capable off-road.

Shadowquad, will I get kicked off for this?
 

Agreed 100%. The only vehicle that seems to come close to the Pathfinder, as is maybe more "trucky" is the Toyota 4-Runner. I hope I don't get banned for life for suggesting a Toyota. I like the Dodge Durango but then I see the repair reports and they are bad. I wish they would have left a good thing alone. I started to wonder when I didn't see a new one at my dealer for all of 2012, no kidding, and can't remember any in 2011 either. About as scarce as Z's at McCarthy Nissan in Blue Springs Missouri.

Why would you get banned for life for suggesting a Toyota? I've been here talking up Subaru for years and I'm still here.

Speaking of which, the XV Crosstrek and the Tribeca are nice.

Phelan
 

Just humor is all. Good choices in Suburas by the way.

lol no, you're ok. The 4-runner is pretty cool. My old buddy Carlos had one that lasted for a decade or so.
:gtfo2: subie fanboi :bowrofl:

I absolutely adore my Subaru :tup:

shado haters gunna hate! :rofl2:

I think the new Pathfinder looks pretty good. It's not a "Chickification" so much as Nissan wanting a product that actually sells. For 95% of owners based on a statistic that I just made up, most people have no real use for a body on frame off-roader. My dad has the current model and that thing chugs gas and never really goes off road. He bought it for the cargo room, seating capacity and winter driving in the Northeast....all of which the new Pathfinder can handle. Nissan going with a unibody is kind of a silly reason not to buy one.....in fact its a good reason for most people. The X-Terra is due for an update soon and chances are, Nissan will keep the off-roading capabilities. The X-terra kind of made the Pathfinder redundant, which is why it was re-designed. Seeing the success of the Infiniti JX, I have a feeling that this will be a success too.

I have always been a Pathfinder Fan...In fact I had 3 of them. Recently I when for 2011 Xterra Pro-4X and it was a Monster with those dual Off-Road Head lamps...MY wife hated it in every way. Fortunately for her, it was parked under an old tree one day and let say a little extra wind it suddenly became a flat bed!!!!

I recently purchases a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee and what a difference, great ride, all-time 4 wheel drive...great price. If you really want something for the Man Cave garage...the SRT is something to look at!!

Good luck with the purchase

Isn't the Grand Cherokee a unibody too?

I have an 07 Pathfinder and love it. After reviewing this new model, I dont think its that bad. Yes it does look more like a minivan but thats kinda what this car is to begin with. I think they have been losing that truck feeling more and more each generation. I use this thing to the max filling it with 7 people all the time. I also use it to fold all the seats down and haul wheels to drift events and such. I knew they were going to try and make it curvy because thats how all the new models look, but was hoping for a little boomerang on the headlights though. I think they kinda look like the new Lexus models from the front. I painted my chrome grill on mine and I suggest that for this car as well. This car is not really about a new look though, I think its about technology. The seat folding is awesome as it creates a flat bed, the downside to mine is that if I have a child seat on the seat, the other kids have to go around to the other side to get in. They have fixed that in this car. The gas mileage was good for its time getting 16-17mpg in the city and 22-23 on the highway. Now that they added CVT that should get 20 in the city and 26 on the highway. Sunroof is pretty cool. I think if you want the off road type, stick with the Xterra. Seating 7 is not really offroad material.

Go for the 4runner. I like the way it looks and everything about it, but it rode like $hit compare to other SUV

I vote Armada and you can get them 10k off MSRP.
Here's mine
http://www.allriskga.com/dell/CurtArmada2.JPG

At your age, do chicks really influence you that much.:ugh2: sounds to me like you need a Hummer.

lol ouch

Not Sure...Y

Aren't the Aramada and the Xterra and all the king cab trucks built on a "manly" truck platform? Given that 99% of people including men never use their SUVs for anything other than driving on suburban roads I think Nissan was very smart converting pathfinder to lighter weight unibody construction. Especially with now near $5 gallon gas prices!

I never understood the redundancy in having Armada and pathfinder. If you half the man you claim to be why not drive the manly Armada? After all that's a mans man SUV. Not a pretender like old pathfinder or what? Girls SUV from Toyota? That Toyota may be truck based but its a chick SUV for sure. It really can't hual anything other than chicks in the back seat.

Yeah, come to think of it, the grand cherokee has always been a unibody. The OP think's that it's for "chick's" and soccer mom's because it's not a body on frame design like a "real" man's truck.

A real Jeep is the only way to go.

Not true, you need one of these to be a real man!
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eNodvYO-1q...+to+hummer.jpg
Paramount Marauder

that episode was so f*cking badass hahahaa

CMike2720
 

Because someone has a different view they are "silly?' I'll have to disagree. I've been into cars/trucks all my life and even the automotive industry writers admit what has been going on is the "chickification" of cars. The Ford Explorer and Pathfinder are classic examples. Women, and some "men" want the look of an off road vehicle but the comfort of a car. My gosh, seat warmers in a truck? How soft have Americans become. Many of us did like the off road nature of the Pathfinder especially in snow, towing, and so forth but couldn't afford the Armada. Unibody is "softening" the intregrity of the vehicle which might be better for highways, and the rounded jelly bean look might appeal to some, but it is no longer a Pathfinder. Its a chick wanna-be suv.

:icon14: silly indeed. If you need a car to tell you you're a "man." You've got some deeper issues. Spare us your pedantic reasons for what a "man's" car should be. It's just steel and sheet metal. You'd have to be insanely insecure about your sexuality if the thought of driving a "chick" car really bothers you.

metrosexual guys get a lot more chicks though

imho, Nissan trucks never screamed out to me, rugged. they've always been fashion statements. American trucks/SUV's always seemed to be the better choice imho...

But then again. I hate trucks. So who am I? lol

For SalA
 

Please forgive me for stepping on toes but, I like your choice as well. There have been questions about the Jeep/Durgano as far a mechanical problems. Do you believe they have been addressed? Thanks for the post.

Vdc off
 

Yes, you bring up some good points especially the 7 seat being off road. What I liked about that was putting them down for space to haul stuff around. I liked the SUV as a compromise between an off road jeep and something you had to use as a daily driver. I didn't/don't want a mini-van which is why I don't like the new Pathfinder at all. The rear of it is kind of bulbous and bubble shaped. I asked my wife which she preferred in shape/style, the 2006 Pathfinder I had or the new one. She chose the new one. Speaks for itself.

DR
 

Agree. Your Armada is a vehicle I'd love to have and I like yours. The cost differential is what scares me away. How'd you get 10K off? Again, you have the best looking SUV I've seen.

6mt
 

At my age? I'm not dead yet but something got lost in the translation. I could care less whether or not chicks like my car or truck. That has nothing to do with my car buying choice. What I was commenting on is the trend in auto manufacture to chickify cars/trucks which I suspect explains why so many men are buying pick ups now days. Yes, I undertand the economics behind it. Women want a vehicle that sits up higher and they feel safer in. Their buying power causes manufacturers to produce a "softy" type vehicle that looks like an SUV but appeals to the feminine buyer and those of us who want something rugged, plain, and simple, lose out again. What can be done? Some great posts have given me ideas as to my next SUV. I once saw an automatic transmission in a Z at my Nissan dealer. An automatic! He said a woman bought it.

Shamu
 

Did you read my post? It was about the chickification of the Suv. Its not that they went to the uni-body, which all Chryslers have had for years, its the rounded design and comfort features. Have you sat in a Pathfinder and an Armada? If you had, you would know that one is substantially larger and one substantially more expensive. Let me make it clear for you, I like the Armada even though it is bigger than I need, the Xterra is too short for my hunting camping trips, and the Armada too expensive. That left the Pathfinder perfectly in the middle. Not hard to understand at all.

CMike2720
 

You didn't read my post or you have an agenda. I never said an uni-body makes a vehicle a chick car else my 68 Charger and 68 Barracudas would be chick cars. It has to do with the trend in the automtive industry to take a good truck/suv and then woos it out with all sorts of changes that appeal to women. Oops, did I step on some toes?

Paris Hilton has a McLaren and a SLR, does that make those chick cars?

:iagree: The only chick car i know of is that pink Mary Kay car.

Lol, inform the women that shouldn't be allowed to vote while your at it. You're like an old sexist grandpa with all these "chick-" references. All I'm saying is that your views are outdated and I disagree. I have nothing personal against you.

Complaining about heated seats is like complaining about too many channels on TV or how an iPhone/iPad needs real buttons. If you don't want the seats heated...turn it off. If you think the design is too "girly", don't buy it, buy an old car that requires you to crank handle to start it like a real man. Better yet, buy a horse and ride it into town. It's that simple.



I disagree with your views, just leave it at that and move on.

I think Kim k has a pink Lambo? I think they have it to flash us he vah j j

Cossie16
 

I'm curious, are you able to read and follow the crux of an argument? The lament I posted, and at this time the exercise begins to resemble talking with teenagers,, i.e., instructions must be repeated over and over until they get it, auto-industry experts have been reporting, long before I came along, the chickification of SUVs and so forth that once appealed primarily to men. Certainly responding to market forces cannot be avoided but those of us who wish our vehicles weren't chickified are not out of line for lamenting these changes.

Please stop using "chickification" as a scientific term.

...and for god's sake, someone teach this guy how the quote button works.