2013 Nissan Pathfinder: Refocused on the Path More Traveled
Official Photos and Info
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When Nissan debuted the 2013 Pathfinder concept at the Detroit auto show earlier this year, it was clear that little would change in the transition to production. Photos released last week confirmed that the shape stays largely the same, and now the veil has been mostly dropped from the seven-passenger Pathfinder’s spec sheet and interior.
The 2013 Pathfinder represents the second time the nameplate has been glued to a unibody vehicle; the second-generation SUV, phased out in 2003, was the first. Ditching the heavy—but robust—frame and using a liberal amount of high-strength steel has cut weight by 500 pounds compared to the previous model, which we liked well enough upon its introduction to award it the silver medal in a six-ute shootout. It was clearly in need of replacement, however, by the time it finished third out of four in a 2010 comparo.
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2014 Jeep Liberty Spy Photos: Fiat-Based Platform, New 3.2L Version of Pentastar V6
What It Is: A mule for the subsequent-gen 2014 Jeep Liberty caught testing wearing an Alfa Romeo Giulietta shell. The compact SUV substitute for the venerated Jeep Cherokee, the Liberty arrived for 2002 and was revamped for 2008. In spite of Jeep’s best efforts, the Liberty by no means fairly lived up to the Cherokee’s reputation for rugged simplicity and suburban chic.
Why It Matters: Although it’s been a fairly constant seller, the Liberty never was competitive in numerous vital regions: Its ride good quality, energy, efficiency, and refinement have always trailed these of the segment leaders. What the Liberty did have going for it was its Jeep title and heritage, and the off-street prowess they imply. For 2014, Jeep appears to trade the outgoing Liberty’s antiquated but challenging mechanicals for a more cozy overall package, as nicely as a completely up to date powertrain. In doing so, the subsequent Liberty will court not only individuals interested in the Nissan Xterra and Toyota 4Runner, but also individuals who store for less-rugged compact crossovers like the Honda CR-V, the Chevy Equinox, and the Toyota RAV4. Styling ought to continue to be rugged it most certainly will not appear anything like a hacked-up Alfa Giulietta.
Platform: According to details gleaned final week from Chrysler’s most recent yearly report—and backing up our report from final November— the new Liberty will ride on the company’s CUSW platform, which stands for “Compact U.S. Wide.” An evolution of a previously present Fiat and Alfa Romeo platform, it also underpins the new Dodge Dart. On this architecture, the new Liberty will—in genuine crossover fashion—swap its rear-drive-based, reinforced-unibody roots for a front-drive-based setup. All-wheel drive will once again be available, if not standard, and expect Jeep to stir in at least 1 Trail Rated configuration. These spy photos display what seems to be an independent rear suspension, but no differential or driveshaft is visible. Even though the additional ground clearance and knobby tires pictured here are encouraging (and note the Michigan Off-Road Car permit on the mule), hard-core Jeepers with an eye toward practicality ought to almost certainly just move along to a 4-door Wrangler with a hardtop.
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More details on the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder Concept’s interior
At the 2012 Detroit Auto Display, the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder made its notion debut. Even so, at the time Nissan targeted considerably its focus on the exterior redesign of the Pathfinder. Today, Nissan is showing us far more of the interior along with some significant particulars on what we can anticipate when the new model goes on sale.
Test out our authentic post on the Nissan Pathfinder Notion.
“As Nissan has expanded its assortment of adventure-prepared SUVs to include Armada, Xterra, Murano, Rogue and JUKE, Pathfinder maintains its extremely important place in the heart of the lineup and the market place – as a proper-dimension, three-row/7-passenger SUV with the seating and cargo capacity that developing households want,” explained Al Castignetti, vice president and general manager, Nissan Division, Nissan North America, Inc. “As families invest more time in their SUVs every day as effectively as on weekends, the subsequent-gen Pathfinder is stepping up with enhanced comfort, innovative engineering, elevated fuel effectiveness, and most importantly, more flexibility for the family members.”
The unibody platform of the new Nissan Pathfinder delivers much more advantages such as a flat floor for much more interior volume.
Some of the things we can count on from the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder’s interior:
Nissan Xterra to Continue with its Truck Roots
Some Nissan Pathfinder fans may be disappointed with the new car-based 2013 Pathfinder that is going to arrive later this year, but fans of the smaller Xterra do not have to worry about it too becoming a crossover. Nissan’s engineers have confirmed that the Xterra will continue with its body-on-frame chassis.
That means the Xterra will continue to share its platform with the Nissan Frontier, which is a good thing for hardcore SUV fans…
2013 Nissan Pathfinder Spied: A Farewell to Frames
While the trend among SUVs has long been a migration from truck-based frames to more-carlike unibody crossovers, Nissan’s Pathfinder has waffled midstream. The first Pathfinder was truck-based, the second was a crossover—and spawned a cushy Infiniti version—and the third, current-gen model sprouted from a ladder frame once again. For 2013, the Pathfinder will go back to using unibody construction, and back to sharing its platform with an Infiniti—in this case, the glitzy new JX, as well Nissan’s manicured Murano. For the first time, then, the Pathfinder will be based on a front-wheel-drive platform. Count on all-wheel-drive being an option.
Bye-Bye Brawn. Hello Hybrid?
Like the JX—and the current Pathfinder—the 2013 will have three rows of seats. (This also serves to differentiate the Pathfinder somewhat from the Xterra and Murano.) The Pathfinder should mirror the JX’s powertrain options, too. That includes Nissan’s ubiquitous 3.5-liter VQ35 V-6, which churns out 265 hp and 248 lb-ft under the JX’s hood, where it is paired with a CVT. There likely will be at least one additional powertrain choice, but it most certainly will not be the current model’s optional 310-hp, 5.6-liter V-8. Rather, there’s a good chance it’ll be Nissan’s new, home-grown hybrid setup, which sandwiches an electric motor between a supercharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder and a CVT.
The prototype pictured here clearly betrays the new Pathfinder’s lower-slung stance and almost station-wagon proportions. Don’t be fooled by the grille “struts,” as they’re merely tape over a single-frame, honeycomb grille. The headlamps are heavily taped, but the visible rising lower edges impart a measure of masculinity to the vehicle’s mug. The taillamps, on the other hand, appear glued on and could just as easily be placeholders as actual production units. We’re hoping there are some more styling tricks under the camo, since, other than the massive rear spoiler (under which a family of four could have a picnic) we don’t see much that distinguishes the new Pathfinder.
The 2013 Pathfinder should appear sometime next year. We don’t expect its pricing to change much from that of the current truck, so plan on a base of about $ 30K, with loaded versions hitting the low-to-mid $ 40s.
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2013 Chevrolet Colorado SUV Spy Photos: Wanna Bet They Don’t Call It TrailBlazer?
BY STUART FOWLE, PHOTOGRAPHY BY KGP PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE MANUFACTURER
July 2011
The Chevrolet Colorado has stirred up more buzz than any mid-size pickup has in a very long time—a little surprising, since it hasn’t officially been confirmed for sale in the United States. Is it just another case of us wanting what we can’t have? Perhaps, and Chevrolet seems to want it that way. While some quotes from the division the past few months indicate the global Colorado will indeed be built and sold in America within the next two years, the company’s communications staff continues to give us the cold shoulder when asked for outright confirmation.
Interest has again spiked, because, as you can see in these spy photos, there’s going to be an SUV version. As you’ll remember, Chevrolet stopped producing truck-based mid-size SUVs here with the death of the TrailBlazer; the unibody Equinox and Traverse now represent the bowtie in their respective classes. There is recent precedent for a small-pickup-based GM SUV, however, in the form of the Hummer H3, which used the current Colorado as its base. If the new pickup is in fact headed here (and we think it should be), Chevrolet just might see a market for truck-based sport-utes as well. Nissan serves as an example of car- and truck-based utes living in harmony, with the Murano, the Pathfinder, and the Xterra being sold side-by-side for some time now.
Both the Colorado pickup and SUV are still heavily camouflaged in these spy photos, but imagining how they’ll look isn’t hard. The open-bed version should look nearly identical to the concept shown back in March. Now, remember back to when the Chevy S-10 and the Blazer were both on sale and it’s easy to picture the SUV, even if that tall, boxy camo is throwing off the proportions. If or when Chevrolet launches it here, we expect it’ll be spun as an active-lifestyle alternative to the city dweller’s Equinox.
As far as engine choices go, it’s easiest to imagine a U.S.-spec Colorado getting the corporate 3.6-liter V-6 because, well, every mid-size anything under the GM umbrella makes use of that engine. The Equinox’s naturally aspirated 2.4-liter inline-four is another option, although we’d love to see both a turbo four and a small turbo-diesel (as was installed in a second Colorado truck concept) used to make smaller pickup trucks and any resulting SUVs relevant again. Hopefully, more details will come soon, but we have plenty of time to continue speculating—don’t expect either of these vehicles to show up before 2013.
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