The 2005-2015 Xterra and the 2005-2012 Pathfinder are on paper very similar vehicles and are from roughly same timeframe.
They are both Nissan SUVs built on the F Platform, featuring a VQ40 engine mated to the RE5R05A 5 speed automatic transmission.
They feature the same steering wheels , they share much of the dash, 100% of the front suspension, they have the same transfer case and share seat designs.
The Xterra has often been called the "SUV version" of the frontier but the same moniker would also be apt for the R51 Pathfinder.
..... now that I own both vehicles however I find that they not only fill different niches in marketing but actually feel and act very different when being used in real life.
The soft off-road suspension of the Xterra contrasts sharply with the Pathfinder Highway friendly set up and this is the primary source of the difference.
Some salient points on the Xterra as it compared to a R51 Pathfinder:
- super tight turn radius due to shorter wheelbase
- soft suspension makes for great off road performance but also for low payload.... when I fill the Xterra with 4 grown men (800 lbs) I am only 81 lbs short of max payload for this trim (4x4, auto, OffRoad) .. And the vehicle definitely feels weak in the knees over bumps from the load etc . Even tho I have brand new rear leafs (which are generally perceived to be the primary culprit in this on this board) the phenomenon persists even after the new parts.
This tells me its a design choice and not a issue of worn out springs.
- The Xterra is short.. one of the shortest body on frame SUVs on the market, period. This makes it very nimble in in town traffic, parking garages and also lets it shine on tight trails.
I've taken my XTerra on some ATV type trails and it worked great... impossible with say a Tahoe or a Raptor and I would not want my Pathy on those trails either...
-XTerras in general and this OffRoad trim (also called PRO4X in later model years) in particular enjoy solid ground clearance of 9 and a half (ish) inches.
This is especially good when considering how short and relatively narrow the vehicle is, making the ground clearance even more effective as less chance of "hanging up" due to breakover angle being reached. A 9.5 inch ground clearance is MUCH more effective on a 90 inch wheelbase than a 110 inch one (to use classic Land Rovers as an example) The approach and departure angles are also very good.
- Due to its short wheelbase and soft suspension the XTerra is not a real good highspeed hiway cruiser... Fast sweepers start feeling very touchy as you approach 80mph.. expansion joints barely felt in other SUVs definitely impact the truck at speed.
- The truck dives quite a bit under braking .... slowing vehicle reaction... It does have VBD so brakes are clearly much more effective than SUVs of yore, however
- The Xterra features the easy to read and intuitive dash and controls so typical of Nissan vehicles.
Pathfinder:
- The Pathfinder is not a real large and heavy SUV by todays standards but it does feel quite a bit larger than an Xterra when parking or driving for that matter.
- It has the same 4.0L but this one is tuned for premium gas .. Even though the Pathy is 400 lbs heavier than the Xterra and the numbers are almost the same this engine pulls as hard as some V8s and the Pathy seems to rush ahead like a unstoppable locomotive.
- The Pathfinder feels bigger and heavier and more unstoppable for that reason.. while I rather have the XTerra for driving on tight trails (or jumping curbs) with the Pathy I feel like i could in an emergency push lesser vehicles out of the way with my bumper...
- The Hiway behavior of the Pathfinder is soooo much better than the Xterra. Its amazing given they share so many parts... The on road optimized suspension really shows... Also my Pathfinder has typical road type light truck tires vs my Xterra has more terrain oriented tires (tho not true ATs)
- 4 grown men in the Pathfinder ... you cant even feel it.. Even though nominally the payload is only 270 lbs more (in my "Silver Edition" ) than a OffRoad Xterra seat of the pants it feels like the difference in payload is much larger as the vehicles behaves no different than w/ one guy in it.
- The behavior at hiway speeds is great as is the sharpness of the turn-in in curves.. I've driven cars that felt less precise... Just amazing for a body-on-frame SUV on an elderly platform
In summary despite sharing so many components they have very different feel to them.
When I know I am going Off road, or doing an emergency Bug out during SHTF, I am taking the Xterra, when I have a long hiway drive its the Pathy, in daily driving I switch them up.