Is the 2025 Nissan Pathfinder a Good Three-Row SUV? 4 Pros, 3 Cons

Mid-size three-row SUVs are the transportation of choice for growing families, making for a hotly contested vehicle class with plenty of good choices. The Nissan Pathfinder is one of them, particularly if your priorities include a comfortable ride, good visibility or ease of car seat installation. But in this competitive category, that alone isn’t enough to take home a trophy, and the Pathfinder scored close to the bottom in our 2024 3-Row SUV Challenge.

Related: 2024 Nissan Pathfinder Review: You Gotta Take the Good With the Bad

In fairness to the Pathfinder, the difference between winning and losing can be ever so slight in such a competitive class. Among other things, the Pathfinder lost points for its coarse engine, small third row and limited cargo room, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be the perfect choice for you. The Pathfinder continues into 2025 largely unchanged, but it now comes with up to three complimentary oil changes.

Cars.com West Coast Bureau Chief Conner Golden took a closer look at the Pathfinder, and you can read his expert review at the above link. For a quicker look, read on to learn four things we like about the Nissan Pathfinder and three things we don’t.

What Do We Like About the Nissan Pathfinder?

1. Upscale Interior

The Pathfinder’s interior materials quality was among the best in our comparison test, lending an upscale vibe not unlike that found in models from Nissan’s Infiniti luxury brand. Its seats are comfortable and supportive in the first two rows, with plenty of room all around. Lots of soft-touch surfaces and rich quilted leather upholstery help set the Pathfinder apart from its competitors, along with nice touches like the only power-adjustable steering wheel in the group.

2. Family-Friendly

The Pathfinder is a child-safety seat champ, tying for first place in our comparison test for car-seat fitment in the second and third rows. There’s also a large removable second-row console storage box between the available captain’s chairs, as well as another large storage area under the shift lever and a number of convenient storage cubbies for smaller items scattered throughout the cabin.

3. Comfortable Cruiser

With good damping and limited body lean in corners, the Pathfinder rides and performs reasonably well for a three-row SUV when tackling twisty mountain passes. Power comes from a 3.5-liter V-6 engine good for 284 horsepower and 259 pounds-feet of torque, providing more than enough punch for drama-free merging and passing.

4. Visibility

Thanks to a relatively high seating position, large windows all around and relatively thin pillars, visibility is excellent in the Pathfinder. An available 360-degree camera system helps with maneuvers in tight spaces, and the available head-up display helps the driver keep their eyes on the road. An optional panoramic moonroof adds to the airy cabin feel, as well.

More From Cars.com:

• Nissan Cuts Pricing on 2025 Rogue, Pathfinder SUVs
• These Cars Do Well in Crash Tests for 2025, According to IIHS
• 2024 Best Cars for Car Seats
• Research the Nissan Pathfinder
• Find Your Next Car

What Do We Dislike About the Nissan Pathfinder?

1. Coarse Engine

Several editors mentioned that the Pathfinder’s 3.5-liter V-6 felt notably rough at idle, offering less refinement than the powertrains in its competitors. Observed fuel economy was on the lower end of the SUVs in our comparison, too, averaging 23.8 mpg in our real-world fuel economy test. The powertrain’s conventional nine-speed automatic transmission, however, is a welcome change from the rubber-band feel of some continuously variable automatic transmissions found in other Nissans.

2. Inadequate Infotainment

The Pathfinder lost points for its available infotainment system, as its 9-inch touchscreen is just too small by current standards, making it harder to read and operate underway. A convoluted and unintuitive menu structure adds to the difficulty, making the system frustrating to use. However, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are both included, providing a workaround for at least some of our gripes.

3. Cramped Third Row

There isn’t a lot of room in the Pathfinder’s third row, making it suitable only for children. Larger individuals will find access challenging, and oddly configured head restraints don’t make things any better. Cargo room is also limited, with just 9.1 cubic feet of Cars.com-measured space behind the third row.

Related Video:

Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.