Nissan has made the decision as to whether the next-generation Pathfinder SUV will be a car-based crossover or continue to use body-on frame construction. And while Larry Dominique, Nissan North America vice president in charge of product and advanced planning, isn’t telling, our money’s on a switch back to unibody construction.
In its brief history, the Pathfinder has been both. It was launched in 1986 with a body-on-frame construction, but when it was redone in 1997, it became unibody. For 2005, it was back to a ladder frame, sharing the F-Alpha platform with the Nissan Titan full-size pickup and the Armada full-size SUV.
If it is deemed a towing capacity of about 5000 is sufficient for most mid-size SUV buyers, then a car-based crossover architecture will work for the next-gen Pathfinder, Dominique says. But if the consensus is buyers need to tow 8000-9000 pounds, the Pathfinder would have to stay on a truck frame.
“Five years ago, we would have said SUV without hesitation,” Dominique says in an interview. “But there are more options today from different platforms for a (crossover) to meet needs.” He says people want more amenities and comforts in their utility vehicles today, and front-wheel-drive crossover platforms meet many of those needs today.
Bruce Campbell, vice president of Nissan Design America, tells us switching back to a crossover offers more freedom within the architecture and in packaging, allowing for more differentiation with a new vehicle. But the Pathfinder also has a truck heritage that the designer must be respectful of.
“Pathfinder means something in North America and something completely different in Europe. In Asia, it’s just another large SUV,” Campbell says. For North America, the SUV has a chance to evolve. The way the designer sees it, the Pathfinder has taken the brawny off-road image as far as Nissan cares to, but the automaker doesn’t want to follow the conventional crossover or hybrid path either.
If it is deemed a towing capacity of about 5000 is sufficient for most mid-size SUV buyers, then a car-based crossover architecture will work for the next-gen Pathfinder, Dominique says. But if the consensus is buyers need to tow 8000-9000 pounds, the Pathfinder would have to stay on a truck frame.
“Five years ago, we would have said SUV without hesitation,” Dominique says in an interview. “But there are more options today from different platforms for a (crossover) to meet needs.” He says people want more amenities and comforts in their utility vehicles today, and front-wheel-drive crossover platforms meet many of those needs today.
Bruce Campbell, vice president of Nissan Design America, tells us switching back to a crossover offers more freedom within the architecture and in packaging, allowing for more differentiation with a new vehicle. But the Pathfinder also has a truck heritage that the designer must be respectful of.
“Pathfinder means something in North America and something completely different in Europe. In Asia, it’s just another large SUV,” Campbell says. For North America, the SUV has a chance to evolve. The way the designer sees it, the Pathfinder has taken the brawny off-road image as far as Nissan cares to, but the automaker doesn’t want to follow the conventional crossover or hybrid path either.
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