Brutal Softness

Posted on by Derek Price
Cargazing
By Derek Price

To understand the 2024 Pathfinder, you have to ignore what Nissan says about it.

Everything about the Pathfinder implies that it’s rugged, brawny and ready for adventure. The macho name, the 6,000-pound tow rating and especially the “return to rugged” styling overhaul in 2022 all point to an SUV that eats mountain-trail boulders for breakfast and violently bruises anyone unlucky enough to ride inside it.

But that’s not what the Pathfinder is about.

It only takes a quick drive in today’s Pathfinder to realize it’s as comfortable, practical and gentle as a minivan, despite all Nissan’s bluster about adventure.

The Pathfinder has some off-road capability, sure, especially in the Rock Creek version I tested with four-wheel drive and a lifted suspension.

What strikes me the most about it, though, is just how smooth and quiet it is, a more perfect vehicle for long highway trips than for scaling mountains.

A recent redesign made the Nissan Pathfinder look more brawny and truck-like, but it remains a surprisingly soft, quiet, comfortable way to travel with a family.

That’s true even in this Rock Creek version with its all-terrain tires, roof rack and extra .6 inches of ground clearance. The standard Pathfinder is even smoother and quieter, a sensation enhanced by soft seats and a thoroughly sealed-up cabin that keeps wind and road noise to a minimum.

Every Pathfinder is powered by the same size engine, Nissan’s tried-and-true 3.5-liter V6, which makes 284 horsepower and 259 pound-feet of torque in most versions of the Pathfinder. The Rock Creek bumps those numbers up to 295 and 270.

Weirdly, the two-wheel-drive version gets slightly worse city gas mileage than the 4WD Pathfinder, according to the fuel wonks in Washington. You get 21 city mpg with the 4WD and 20 with the base model.

Both versions get a not-so-bad highway mpg rating of 27.

Not surprisingly, the Rock Creek version with its higher profile and extra power is noticeably thirstier, rated for 20 mpg in the city and 23 on the highway.

Apple CarPlay worked flawlessly all week on my tester. Android Auto also comes with every Pathfinder for easy smartphone connection.

Nissan’s touchscreen interface also responds to inputs quickly and is easy to learn, something I can’t say about all its competitors.

Upper trim levels of the Pathfinder come with a nine-inch touchscreen and lots of soft-touch materials in the cabin. An eight-inch screen is standard.

My favorite Pathfinder tech feature is ProPILOT Assist. It combines adaptive cruise control with steering assistance, and it does an exceptionally good job keeping the vehicle centered in the lane and smoothly flowing with traffic, including bringing the Pathfinder to a standstill in stop-and-go situations.

I also love how easy it is to change the cabin layout for hauling cargo or people. The second-row seats slide with a simple movement to adjust the leg room forward or backward, and you can fold them completely flat for loading bulky cargo.

With the third row folded down, there’s a whopping 45 cubic feet of space for cargo. Fold the second row, too, and capacity increases to 80.5 cubic feet.

Overall, I think the Pathfinder does a great job mixing family-friendly comfort and road-trip smoothness with potent SUV styling. It’s a roadgoing magic act, looking like a deadly lion but driving like a cuddly kitten, making it an unusually comfortable and easy SUV to live with.

Pricing starts at $35,810 for the base S grade with two-wheel drive. It comes with Apple CarPlay and a three-zone climate system.

The version that tempts me the most is the SV that adds heated front seats and the ProPILOT driver assistance features for $38,630, still a good value.

The SL adds leather seats and a bigger, 9-inch touchscreen starting at $42,230, while the four-wheel-drive Platinum tops the lineup at $50,680 with its luxury-car feature list, including 20-inch wheels and cooled leather seats.

The Rock Creek edition I tested starts at $43,630.

At At Glance

What was tested? 2024 Nissan Pathfinder Rock Creek 4WD ($43,630). Options: Rock Creek floor liners and cargo area protector ($340). Price as tested (including $1,295 destination charge): $34,635
Wheelbase: 114.2 in.
Length: 198.8 in.
Width: 77.9 in.
Height: 73.7 in.
Engine: 3.5-liter six cylinder (295 hp, 270 ft. lbs.)
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel economy: 20 city, 23 highway

RATINGS

Style: 8
Performance: 9
Price: 9
Handling: 7
Ride: 9
Comfort: 9
Quality: 8
Overall: 8

Why buy it?
For a vehicle that looks so rugged, it’s surprisingly smooth, quiet and car-like from the driver’s seat.

Posted in Nissan

Crosstrek Evolves for ’24

Posted on by Derek Price
Cargazing
By Derek Price

Subaru calls the 2024 Crosstrek “all-new,” but a more accurate description would be “properly evolved.”

That’s a good thing for a vehicle that has grown into one of Subaru’s most popular models since it was launched 11 years ago. Why mess with success?

Just like before, the 2024 Crosstrek is designed for people who want a bit more off-road capability and adventurous styling than they can get from an Impreza. The fresh version follows that familiar formula in a slightly more refined way thanks to updated looks, more tech goodies and better handling.

Its most noticeable change of all is that last point, the way the Crosstrek feels from the driver’s seat.

Engineers stiffened the Crosstrek’s structure by 10 percent, Subaru claims, and you can feel the difference in corners. The new version is more composed than before, delivering enough feedback to the driver to make it surprisingly fun on winding roads and a bit more like — ironically enough — the Impreza.

The Subaru Crosstrek evolves with a fresh design and added features for 2024. Newly designed seats, styling tweaks and a stiffer chassis help keep it updated for modern buyers.

There are lots of small changes to the styling, but honestly, I struggle to see much difference when I squint. Subaru claims aerodynamic changes improve the Crosstrek’s stability and performance, and I believe it based on the driving feel. My jaded eyes remain skeptical.

Inside, the updates are more obvious.

A huge, 11.6-inch touchscreen is now available in most trim levels to provide plenty of digital acreage for connecting smartphones and using its myriad built-in features. The base version comes with a 7-inch screen.

Unfortunately, big screens make it a bit more obvious that Subaru’s digital interface looks out of date. It’s not the flashiest system, but I found it functioned just fine in my weeklong test with one exception: wireless Apple CarPlay didn’t stay connected consistently. It maddeningly disconnected from my phone at random times, something that hopefully will improve with software updates in the future.

One thing that works perfectly right off the bat, though, is the EyeSight driver assistance system. It combines adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist to feel somewhat autonomous in a wide range of situations, smoothly adjusting to the speed of traffic while staying centered in the lane. It comes standard on every 2024 Crosstrek.

An optional 11.6-inch touchscreen is among the most noticeable changes in the new-for-2024 Crosstrek.

Newly designed seats are both comfortable and supportive, and lots of soft-touch materials in the right places give the cabin a premium tactile feeling. Careful sound deadening and solid construction add to the upscale impression.

Acceleration was acceptable, but hardly exciting, in my tester with the upgraded 182-horsepower, 2.5-liter engine and the only transmission available, the continuously variable type. CVTs don’t bother me in family cars like this.

If you coupled it with the Crosstrek’s base engine, a 2.0-liter four cylinder that makes 30 fewer horsepower than my tester, though, and the CVT might drive me crazy. The engine upgrade seems worth it.

On the bright side, both powertrains are incredibly fuel efficient for an all-wheel-drive SUV. My tester is rated for 33 mpg in highway driving and 26 in the city. The smaller engine improves both those numbers by just 1 mpg, which is another good reason to spring for the extra power.

Overall, I like what Subaru has done with this SUV. It remains true to its lovably quirky mission — capable of adventure, but not in a pretentious way — while updating its tech, style and handling for the high expectations of today’s SUV buyers.

At A Glance

What was tested? 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Limited ($30,895). Options: Option Package 33 with power moonroof, Harman Kardon speaker system and Subaru Starlink 11.6 multimedia ($2,445). Price as tested (including $1,295 destination charge): $34,635
Wheelbase: 105.1 in.
Length: 176.4 in.
Width: 70.9 in.
Height: 63 in.
Engine: 2.5-liter four cylinder (182 hp, 178 ft. lbs.)
Transmission: Continuously variable
Fuel economy: 26 city, 33 highway

RATINGS
Style: 7
Performance: 6
Price: 8
Handling: 8
Ride: 7
Comfort: 7
Quality: 8
Overall: 7

Why buy it?
The redesigned Crosstrek stays true to its mission while offering more features and refinement, especially in its driving feel. Standard EyeSight driving assistance and a large touchscreen option keep it feeling modern.

Posted in Subaru

New Level of Luxury

Posted on by Derek Price
Cargazing
By Derek Price

Just like the boarding process at most airline gates, the Ram Truck lineup has a new level of status for people willing to buy it.

The Elite Edition is an optional upgrade to the already status-conscious Limited trim level on the 2023 Ram 1500. It adds a fancier level of sheen, plus a few functional touches, for about $2,000 more than the ordinary Limited grade.

Is it worth it? I struggle to see the value, but I’m also not the type of person who’d ever buy a new pickup, much less a luxury pickup. And only in an alternate universe would I pay an extra two grand to drive a super-extra-fancy luxury pickup.

There are people who pay for first-class airline tickets, though, and I imagine they’d find a lot to like in this upscale truck.

It has materials with a higher level of polish than any pickup I’ve driven, including real wood, metal and leather at all the important touch points.

A suede headliner, jeweled rotary shifter knob, premium leather on the seats and shiny pedals make it a showcase in over-the-top extravagance.

Ram has added the Elite Edition to crown its lineup of luxury half-ton trucks for 2023. It’s the priciest Ram 1500 you can buy other than the Hellcat-powered TRX.

The Limited Elite Edition is not just about extra shimmer, though. It also comes with some add-ons that help it do real truck stuff, including a multifunction tailgate, bed step, cargo divider and moveable tie-down hooks.

If the Ram 1500 wasn’t so heavenly to drive, all these palatial extras — suede headliner, I’m looking at you — might seem silly. But in reality, the half-ton Ram pickup is so sumptuous over the road that it makes a legitimate replacement for a pricey full-size luxury sedan from, say, Mercedes or Lexus. An LS, S-Class or Ram 1500

Limited are all silent, silky ways to float down the highway.

My tester, like all Limited Elites, is powered by a 5.7-liter HEMI V8 engine with the eTorque mild hybrid assist system. It makes 395 horsepower and 410 pound-feet of torque, but more importantly in a truck like this, it does so with requisite smoothness. It feels placid and unruffled sending power through the Ram’s eight-speed automatic transmission, almost as if Rolls-Royce did the shift tuning.

The Ram 1500 Limited has a cabin built from real wood, leather and metal. The Elite Edition adds a suede headliner and jeweled rotary shifter knob, among other upgrades.

It also comes with all the downsides of today’s arguably oversized trucks. You have to give it a wide berth in parking lots. It’s so heavy that it feels more like maneuvering a boat than a car in city driving. And even with the help from a hybrid battery, my tester’s gas mileage is still only rated at 17 mpg in city driving and 22 on the highway.

On the flip side, you get a lot of capability from a machine like this. The Ram 1500 is rated to tow up to 12,750 pounds and carry 2,300 pounds in the bed, something smaller and lighter trucks can’t match.

Pricing for the Limited Elite Edition starts at $65,305, which places it near the top of Ram’s wide lineup of 1500 models. You can buy a basic Tradesman starting at $38,555 or spend nearly $86,000 for a Hellcat-V8-powered TRX.

At A Glance

What was tested? 2023 Ram 1500 Limited Elite Crew Cab 4×4 ($68,145). Options: Premium paint ($245), Elite package ($2,145), trailer tow group ($1,195), Limited Level 1 equipment group ($4,995), chrome power-fold trailer-tow mirrors ($440). Price as tested (including $1,995 destination charge): $79,165
Wheelbase: 144.6 in.
Length: 232.9 in.
Width: 82.1 in.
Height: 77.6 in.
Engine: 5.7-liter V8 (395 hp, 410 ft. lbs.)
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel economy: 17 city, 22 highway

RATINGS
Style: 8
Performance: 9
Price: 6
Handling: 7
Ride: 10
Comfort: 10
Quality: 8
Overall: 8

Why buy it?
The new Elite Edition has high-end materials that match its silky driving feel. It’s a real alternative to comfy, silent, soft-riding luxury sedans with the added bonus of serious truck capability.

Posted in Ram

Reviews

[GARD]