TL;DR: The Nissan Pathfinder SL 4WD pairs a smooth 271 hp V6 and Intelligent 4×4 with a near-luxury cabin, eight seats and up to 2,279 litres of cargo space. At AED 199,900, Google built-in, Bose audio and ProPILOT Assist make it a superb-value family SUV, held back only by average fuel economy and modest towing.
Three-row SUVs usually lose any personality in the effort to be sensible. They swallow children, groceries and sports gear with the grim efficiency of a Star Destroyer hangar bay, then drive like they would rather be parked. The Nissan Pathfinder SL 4WD doesn’t do that, and after my time with it, I came away seriously impressed. This is the top-of-the-range Pathfinder, and Nissan has thrown nearly everything it has at it: a 3.5-litre V6, Intelligent 4×4, quilted Nappa leather, massage seats, a head-up display and Google built into the dashboard.
Its looks are the first thing that hits you. At 5,004 mm long and 1,802 mm tall, with a 2,900 mm wheelbase, the Pathfinder has real road presence without the cartoonish bulk some rivals go for. The SL sits on 20-inch machine-cut alloys with chrome body side moldings, and the dual-tone paint options, such as Scarlet Amber Tintcoat over a Super Black roof, give it a sharper, more custom look than most family haulers. It looks like it means business, which suits a car whose whole pitch is family comfort with real capability underneath.
The V6 is the hero of this story
In an era of shrinking turbo engines and hybrid everything, the Pathfinder sticks with a proper naturally aspirated V6. The VQ35DD is a 3,498cc DOHC unit with direct injection, producing 271 hp at 6,400 rpm and 340 Nm at 4,800 rpm, sent through a nine-speed automatic with manual mode and paddle shifters. Performance was one of my favourite things about the Pathfinder. The engine feels smooth and eager, and it gives the SUV a confidence on the road that turbo-four rivals often struggle to match when fully loaded. There is something deeply satisfying about a V6 that builds speed in a linear, predictable way rather than through a sudden turbo surge.
The trade-off is that peak torque arrives high in the rev range, so this engine likes to be worked rather than lugged. The nine-speed gearbox is there to keep the engine in its sweet spot, and the paddles are a welcome extra when you want to hold a gear yourself. Steering uses a dual-pinion electric setup, with independent strut suspension up front and an independent multi-link rear, a combination that helps the Pathfinder feel composed rather than floaty for a vehicle weighing 2,108 kg in SL 4WD form. Official fuel economy sits around 10.8 to 11.1 km/l depending on the variant, which is respectable for a big V6 but won’t win any efficiency awards. If your priority is minimal trips to the pump, a hybrid rival will be the better fit.
On the road, the Pathfinder drives smaller than it looks
Performance was one of the biggest reasons I fell for the Pathfinder, and it’s about more than horsepower. With 271 hp moving 2,108 kg, the SL 4WD works out to roughly 7.8 kg per horsepower, a healthy ratio for an eight-seat SUV that helps it feel eager rather than burdened, even with a full cabin. Highway merges and overtakes feel unstressed, with the V6 building speed in a smooth, linear way that makes the car easy to place in traffic. The nine-speed automatic suits the engine’s character well, and flicking into manual mode with the paddles lets you hold a lower gear when you want the V6 to sing near its 6,400 rpm power peak. It’s the kind of drivetrain that rewards you for driving it properly, like a well-tuned character build that gets better the more you play.
The chassis backs the engine up. The dual-pinion electric power steering gives the Pathfinder a more precise, connected feel than you expect from something this size, and the independent strut front and multi-link rear suspension keep the body composed through corners instead of letting it wallow. Ventilated discs at all four corners help bring more than two tonnes of SUV to a stop with confidence, which matters just as much as acceleration when you are carrying your whole family.
The one trade-off is the SL’s 20-inch wheels and 255/50 tyres. They look fantastic and sharpen responses, but their shorter sidewalls leave less cushioning than the 18-inch setup on lower trims, so buyers who prioritise maximum ride softness should keep that in mind.
Intelligent 4×4 makes the Pathfinder more than a mall crawler
The SL 4WD comes with Nissan’s Intelligent 4×4 system, terrain modes, Hill Descent Control and Trailer Sway Control as standard. In total there are seven drive and terrain modes, including a dedicated Tow Mode, which lets you tailor the vehicle’s behaviour to the surface rather than hoping one setting handles everything. For families who head out on sand, gravel or wet roads, that flexibility genuinely matters, because it means the SUV adjusts traction and responses instead of leaving the driver to manage it. Hill Descent Control is also a quiet hero on steep, loose descents where you would rather focus on steering than on feathering the brakes.
Let’s be realistic about what this is, though. With 180 mm of ground clearance and 255/50 R20 all-season tyres, the Pathfinder is a capable all-weather and light-trail family SUV rather than a rock-crawling Land Cruiser rival. Towing is rated at up to 1,500 kg, and the SL adds a factory tow hitch receiver with wiring harness, so a jet ski or small camper is well within reach. Anyone planning to tow a heavy caravan regularly will want something with a higher rating, as some body-on-frame competitors offer considerably more.
The cabin is where the SL earns its badge
If the V6 is the hero, the cabin is the scene-stealer. The SL gets genuine Nappa leather with quilting, in black or tan, and it looks and feels far more premium than the Pathfinder name might lead you to expect. Both front seats get eight-way power adjustment with four-way lumbar, plus heating, ventilation and massage, and the driver gets a memory function and an electrically adjustable steering wheel. That combination is not a gimmick on a big SUV, because massage and ventilation turn long drives from an endurance test into something you actually look forward to. I loved spending time in this cabin, and it is the area where the SL feels most like a luxury SUV hiding behind a Nissan badge.
Second-row passengers get heated seats as well, while tri-zone climate control keeps the cockpit, middle row and rear on their own temperatures, which helps end the eternal “it’s too cold back here” debate. A panoramic electric moonroof floods the cabin with light, rear door sunshades help in the back, and interior accent lighting adds a touch of atmosphere at night. My one nitpick is that those rear door sunshades are manual on a flagship trim, a small detail but one that rivals at this level sometimes motorise.
Space and seating that genuinely work for real families
The Pathfinder seats eight in a 2+3+3 layout, which is still a rarer and more useful configuration than you might think, as many rivals at the top end switch to captain’s chairs and drop to seven. Both the second and third rows split 60/40, and the EZ FLEX seating system with LATCH AND GLIDE lets the second row slide and tilt so you can access the third row with one hand, even with a child seat installed. That is the kind of thoughtful engineering that only makes sense once you have wrestled a car seat in a parking lot, and it shows Nissan designed this cabin around how families actually use it. Space was another standout in my time with the SUV, with the cabin feeling generous and well-organised rather than just big.
Cargo capacity stretches to as much as 2,279 litres with the second and third rows folded, and the SL adds a power liftgate, which makes loading far easier when your hands are full. There is also a clever under-console storage area that hides bulky items like snacks or bags while keeping them within reach of the front seats. As with almost every three-row SUV of this size, the third row is best suited to kids and shorter trips, but the flexibility of the overall layout means the Pathfinder adapts well to whatever the weekend demands.
Tech, Google built-in and a dashboard that feels current
The SL pairs a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster with a 12.3-inch NissanConnect infotainment screen featuring Google built-in. That means Google Maps, Google Assistant and Google Play apps live directly in the car, so you are not dependent on your phone for navigation and voice control, although wireless smartphone connectivity is there as well. In practice, Google integration is one of the most useful upgrades a car can get right now, because native maps and voice commands tend to be quicker and more reliable than fighting with a manufacturer’s own menus. A head-up display projects key information onto the windscreen, and a wireless charger, additional USB ports and a 120V socket keep every device topped up.
Audio comes from a 12-speaker Bose premium system, a solid soundtrack for long drives whether you are queuing up a movie score or letting the kids pick the playlist. The MyNISSAN app adds remote engine start, remote climate control, door locking, a car finder, vehicle health checks and predictive maintenance alerts, along with eCall emergency assistance. Parents of teenage drivers will appreciate the speed alerts and the curfew and zone alerts, which let you set time limits and geo-boundaries, while remote data wipe is a smart privacy touch when you sell the car.
Safety tech that takes the edge off the daily grind
Every Pathfinder gets Nissan Safety Shield 360, which bundles automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, rear cross traffic alert, blind spot intervention, lane departure prevention, intelligent cruise control and high beam assist. The SL then layers on ProPILOT Assist, which keeps a set distance from the car in front, centres the SUV in its lane and helps manage stop-and-go traffic. On long highway stretches and in congested commutes, that kind of assistance reduces the mental load in a way you really feel by the end of a journey. Predictive forward collision warning, driver attention alert and eight airbags, including knee airbags, round out a thorough package.
Parking a vehicle that measures 2,185 mm across including mirrors could easily become a chore, but the Pathfinder throws serious camera tech at the problem. The HD Intelligent Around View Monitor with Moving Object Detection, Ultra Wide View and Invisible Hood View lets you see what is around and even beneath the front end, which is handy on tight ramps or uneven ground. The Smart Rear View Mirror shows a camera feed when the cargo area is packed to the roof, side mirrors tilt down automatically in reverse, and a rear seat alert reminds you to check the back before walking away.
Verdict
The Nissan Pathfinder SL 4WD is a seriously convincing family SUV that blends comfort, practicality and real driving enjoyment better than I expected. Its smooth 3.5-litre V6 gives it confident performance, the Intelligent 4×4 system and seven drive modes add genuine all-weather flexibility, and the cabin is the highlight, with quilted Nappa leather, massage and ventilated front seats and a flexible eight-seat layout. Add Google built-in, a 12-speaker Bose system, ProPILOT Assist and a comprehensive camera suite, and the SL feels like a premium SUV that happens to wear a mainstream badge.
