Nissan is making cosmetic updates to the Pathfinder aimed at the crossover’s outdoorsy customers. As a result, the automaker is introducing a Rock Creek Edition package for the midsize crossover at the Chicago Auto Show. The package will be offered on Pathfinder SV and SL variants, in both two-wheel- and all-wheel-drive configurations.
The vehicle will be available in the spring starting at a cost of $43,753 for the SV versions. The Pathfinder SL Rock Creek Edition has a starting price of $48,993. Both prices include delivery.
“The Rock Creek Edition name was chosen to connect to Pathfinder’s family outdoor adventure-minded target customers,” Nissan North America Chief Marketing Manager Scott Shirley said in a statement.
Special editions help bring attention to models late in their life cycles. Offering a package such as the Rock Creek Edition allows Nissan to put together desirable features at a lower cost rather than having them as standalone options, said Sam Fiorani, vice president at AutoForecast Solutions.
“Tying the Pathfinder to an outfitter, such as Rock Creek, has the added benefit of appealing to the core buyer’s desire to get back to nature,” Fiorani said.
In terms of upgrades, the package features dark 18-inch wheels, black mesh grille, black roof rails, black door handles and outside rearview mirrors, black front and rear fascia accents and black molded overfenders.
The interior includes two-tone seating surfaces and badging, high contrast stitching on seats, door, console lid and steering wheel and premium metallic interior trim.
The 2019 Pathfinder is powered by a 3.5-litre direct-injection V-6 gasoline engine that delivers 284 hp and cranks out 259 pound-feet of torque. With three rows of seats, it competes directly with the Honda Pilot, Hyundai Santa Fe and other midsize crossovers but also the slightly larger Toyota Highlander, Chevrolet Traverse and Ford Explorer.
As minivans have fallen out of favour, three-row utilities have become today’s family wagons. Pathfinder sales plummeted 28 per cent in Canada in 2018, down to 7,099 for the year, the Murano, Qashqai and Rogue all outsold the Pathfinder in Canada last year.
Meanwhile, U.S. sales of the Pathfinder fell 17 per cent to 67,550 last year, they still account for a significant portion of Nissan’s volume and an even higher percentage of the automaker’s profit. The Pathfinder received a major freshening in 2016, and a redesign is expected in 2020 or 2021.
Mike Ochonma
