Pathfinder Van

[swindon]

Hello, i am looking for a 4x4, to tow and to take dogs in the back. I have looked at the Navara and it will do the job well, but am not sure about the security of keeping tools and stuff in the back with a hard top on. They seem to be either fibre glass or the aluminium roller shutter type.

I have seen that they make the Nissan Pathfinder into a van too, with 5 seats and ametal grid bulkhead.

 

Has anyone seen one or has one that they could recomend. It is still classed as a van even though it has 5 seats as they deacivate the rear windows.

 

thanks

[larson]

pathfinders are nice but i think the clutch is week and will go if towing heavy.. they need an uprated clutch

[sparky mick]

i agree, ours on farm had 3 clutches in as many years. too much torque!

[welsh1]

I looked at a few pathfinder commercials,as you said the rear windows are deactivated,but the rear seat belts and mountings are removed as are the seats and a floor plate is welded into position.

The couple I looked at were secondhand,one had wheel bearing problems,the other had a whine in the gearbox at low speed,even the garage mechanic suggested it might be best to walk away.

The pathfinder commercial doesn't come up for sale second hand very often,but if you do see one make sure you give it a good test drive and listen for bearing noises and whines in the box,as most have had a hard life.I would still consider buying one if I could find a good one.

[Pheasant Feeder]

We had the Pathfinders at work 6 years ago (cars not vans). They had the diesel engine and auto box, found them sluggish, underpowered and just generally didn't rate them (numerous little things, like the B pillar is so wide you have a massive blind spot when checking over your shoulder to change lanes etc). We carried a fair bit of kit and found you were forever looking uphill (rear suspension too soft). We had Disco 3, Shogun (base model)and Landcruiser colorado, the Pathfinder was the only one to be dropped from the fleet when they were due replacement and it was the pathfinder that no one wanted to drive.

 

Spoke to an old friend who bought one to replace his Terrano and he was very disappointed with it.

[swindon]

thanks for the advice, just had a drive in one, (the non van version) and it was excellent. it has a new engine from the ones that they had in the early days, the new one is more powerful and smoother. its now 190bhp.

 

 

I was very impressed and the delership in swindon, Fish Brothers Nissan, are getting a demo van in for me to try. i couldnt believe the service either, actually offering to get the exact truck in that i wanted to test, it will take a few weeks to arrive as its getting converted.

 

so fingers crossed if the van is as good as the car, i will get one on order.