SA Roadtests
South Africa
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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get at home.
Unlike most car reports, what you read in these pages will not be a faithful reproduction, albeit slightly reworded, of what appeared in the manufacturer's press release. We look for background material, user experience and whatever else we can find that's beyond the obvious. Our guiding rule is that you will be able to tell that the car was actually driven.
*To read one of our archived road tests, just select from the alphabetical menu of manufacturers' names on the left. Hover your cursor over the manufacturer's name, then choose from the drop-down menu that appears.
*Pre-owned: Our tests go back quite a few years, so if you are looking for something pre-owned, you might well find a report on it in here.
*Please remember too, that prices quoted are those ruling at the time the reports were written.
Posted: 1 July 2014
Nissan’s Pathfinder underwent a minor facelift a couple of years ago; to grille, head lamps and bumpers, but it’s otherwise the same as the one I drove in late 2010. That’s because the fourth series with 3.5-litre petrol V6 and hybridised petrol 2.5 didn’t arrive here, being restricted to Australia and the US. The South African range thus consists of four series-3 cars; all diesels. Three of them are 2.5s, so the only 3.0-litre version is the V9X I drove; with the navigation and music hard drive package.
Its centre console houses a Nissan Premium Connect infotainment system consisting of a high-resolution touch screen, 40 GB hard drive for the navigation system, a further 9,3 GB of space to store your music conveniently, and a user-friendly control interface to access available functions. The reproduction quality of the Bose sound system is excellent.
Drive control systems feature Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) anti-slip electronics as well as Active Brake Limited Slip (ABSL). ABLS operates in both Auto and 4WD (high and low) modes, and works by applying the brakes to any slipping wheel and redirecting power to the others. This works much like having two mechanical limited slip differentials, one at the front and one at the rear, and effectively provides full grip to any tyres needing it at any given moment. There is no full diff lock, but this system is a good compromise. Other kit includes a downhill crawl function and hill start assist.
Now a little older and worldlier in the matter of SUVs, I was less enchanted with rear seat accommodations than I was back then. Head room is still respectable at 8/10 on the standard tall passenger’s scale, but I found myself sitting knees-up with not enough space for comfort. The third row is best reserved for the little and the young. Grab handles at all passenger doors, for climbing in and out, are a welcome feature.
The seven-speed autobox is a little hesitant at low speeds but in normal use it works smoothly, kicks down promptly and locks up well. Compared with the German unit in another SUV I drove recently, it was blissful. Other items appreciated on a quick field trip were the standard sump shield and reversing camera.
It was like this: There’s this steep hill, out there in the city forests, and it has two deep washaways on either side of something too ugly to be called a “middelmannetjie.” It’s more like a tank trap. It’s a 51-percent:49-percent, decision whether to go left or right. I went left last time so decided to try the right. Travelling on my own without a guide to make sure I kept my right hand wheels tight up against the low bank on that side was a mistake. Those two wheels slid in just far enough to lose traction. Re-applying power regained drive somewhere else. The car moved forward a foot or so and grounded the sump guard gently on Mother Earth. Oops: Time to retreat and regroup.
Decision time: The hill was steep enough to simply roll back in neutral, but I realised that it would be better to maintain drive so there would be compression to run against and the electronic assisters could stay engaged. Smart move; it also kept the backup camera operational so I could stay securely up on the high parts. Safely back at the bottom of the hill, I redid the run up the left side without incident. All of which proves that you never know when you will need the underbody shielding, and that reversing cameras do more than look out for kids, toys and domestic animals.
Back on home turf, the Pathfinder may look as big as a small house but despite that its turning circle is unexpectedly tight, making parking easier than first thought. Its big, square shape may look old-fashioned too, but that pays off in having big, square windows that provide a clear view outward.
Finally: This Pathfinder’s price has increased by about R92 000 over the past three-and-a-half years, but the double whammy of Carbon Dioxide tax on diesels and the collapsing Rand account for most of that. It doesn’t have quite as many toys as some of its competitors either, but it’s still a big, competent and comfortable city car that can tackle the outback whenever needed.
Test car from Nissan SA press fleet
For our review of the 2011 model click here
The numbers
Price: R736 900
Engine: 2991 cc 24-valve V6 turbodiesel
Power: 170 kW at 3 750 rpm
Torque: 550 Nm between 1 700 and 2 500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h (claimed): 8,9 seconds
Maximum speed (claimed): 200 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: about 11,7 l/100 km
Tank: 80 litres
Luggage: 190/515/2091 litres
Max. trailer mass (braked): 3 500 kg
Ground clearance: 231 mm
Wading depth: 450 m
Approach/departure/rampover angles: 30/26/24 degrees
Maximum climbing gradient: 39 degrees
Warranty: 3 years/100 000 km; with roadside assistance
Service plan: 3 years/90 000 km; at 15 000 km intervals
This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.
I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.
Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8