Eat my dust, Toyota Kluger! The latest on the Nissan Pathfinder Warrior and why it makes sense to offer a rugged three-row 4WD wagon

Do you want to see a Warrior version of the Nissan Pathfinder?

With the ongoing success of Navara Warrior ute as well as the very promising start by the Patrol Warrior 4x4 SUV launched at the tail end of last year, Nissan Australia admits that it is now looking at – and crunching the numbers for – such an edition of its large seven/eight-seater SUV series out of North America.

Speaking to CarsGuide at the release of the Nissan Qashqai Ti e-Power earlier this month, Nissan Australia Managing Director, Adam Paterson, revealed that all feasible options are being explored to bolster the Toyota Kluger competitor.

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“Yeah, we’re always looking at the opportunity,” he said.

“I think we’ve proven the business case to ourselves and to the market that there’s a space for these locally converted products.

“The non-scientific approach is, if you look at the ute market and at the full-size SUV market… when we just see what’s on the road, the amount of modifications that are done to those vehicles aftermarket (is immense).

The Nissan Pathfinder Project Overland was a Nismo parts one-off special edition.

“It’s not quite as high in the Pathfinder space, so it’s something that we’re looking at to understand if the business case is there to justify the investment to put in a converted version of that.”

Paterson added that the potential surrounding the modification of smaller SUVs than Patrol is definitely worth investigating due to the sheer volume potential.

The square lines adds to the latest Pathfinder's ruggedness potential.

“We’re looking at it across the portfolio as well… it’s been considered for X-Trail,” he said.

“Obviously, there are fewer consumers that (would use that vehicle in the same way as a Patrol), but there are far more customers that buy in the mid-sized SUV space than there are in the full-sized SUV space.

“So, trying to understand the numbers in that business case is something that we are working on.”

The Nissan Pathfinder Rock Creek edition barely looks any different to the regular versions inside.

However, there are obstacles in the way – not least the danger of diluting the strong reputation of the Warrior sub-brand as a benchmark off-road vehicle.

“Our brand position of that has been increased capability,” Paterson explained. “It’s not just about badging and appearance updates.

The Pathfinder Rock Creek is an off-road focused edition sold in North America.

“It’s truly about enhancing the capability of the product while not taking away the capability that comes out of factory. So, every time we move towards a Warrior program or product, it’s trying to deliver upon those commitments.”

Another barrier to a Pathfinder Warrior might be incompatibility with, or a lack of desire from, other markets that take the vehicle – especially North America, which accounts for the lion’s share of sales.

“We’ve gone down that road with our Warrior programs when the factory has not provided that specific use-case vehicle for the Australian market,” Paterson said.

In profile, the latest Nissan Pathfinder has the size and presence to stand out amongst rival three-row family SUVs.

“Pathfinder is a US-produced car, volumes there are quite large, so as we go down the analysis of if an off-road variant is considered for us ­– if a unique Australian business case matches global requirements or other market requirements – and if it does, then would they jump on board with the same type of program for us, keeping in mind though that we have unique Australian Design Rules?

“So, a specific Warrior program that is developed for Australia might not meet US requirements, or if the US does decide to go ahead with their own program, there may be specific modifications that may need to be made to meet our local requirements.”

The Pathfinder Rock Creek even looks cool in this beige-brown-black combo.

Interestingly, while the latest Pathfinder is a monocoque-bodied three-row SUV with a transverse engine and all-wheel-drive configuration, and not the body-on-frame Navara ute-based wagons that the 1986 original (YD21) and 2005 third-gen (R51) were, a somewhat watered-down off-road-style version known as the Rock Creek is already offered in the US and Canada.

Roof racks, a lift kit and black alloy wheels help set the Rock Creek version of the Pathfinder apart.

Unveiled two years ago, this is slightly more than just a visually titillated Pathfinder boasting a mesh grille, black inserts, orange highlights and Rock Creek embroidery on specially trimmed seats.

It adds slightly more power and torque (about 8kW and 16Nm respectively), 16mm off-road-tuned suspension lift kit, 18-inch Beadlock-like alloy wheels wearing all-terrain tyres, a tubular roof rack system with a 100kg capacity and a surround-view monitor featuring an off-road mode.

Built in Spain for Australia, the R51 Pathfinder of 2005 was based on the popular D40 Navara ute.

More Wildtrak and less Raptor in Ford Ranger-speak, meaning that this is far from the bush-bashing go-anywhere special edition that the Warrior badge represents, and so would unlikely be introduced in Australia as such. Some reports have suggested that the local outfit has already trademarked the Rock Creek name.

There’s more too. Back in late 2021, Nissan USA showed off a Nismo Off Road parts special for the SEMA show. Known as Project Overland Pathfinder, it ushered in a two-inch lift kit, Bilstein monotube dampers, Nismo off-road tyres and a special bumper protector with spot lights, among other bits and pieces.

The first Nissan Pathfinder was launched in 1986 and was in the mould of the original Toyota 4Runner.

There is of course nothing stopping either vehicle from forming the basis for a more highly modified off-road variant should Nissan Australia ever get the green light to go down that route with this vehicle – though how far it could go given the constraints of the monocoque body and independent suspension is probably another hindrance.

Would you like to see a Pathfinder Warrior with uprated off-road capability, or is this family-orientated three-row SUV series too-far from the go-anywhere ideal to be associated with the Warrior brand?

Let us know in the comments below.