Cars I've Owned (Part 4 of 14)

2001 Nissan Pathfinder LE
Owned: 2001 to Present
Aka: “The Reliable One”

In preparation for taking another promotion which entailed a job rotation in Boston for a year, I actually traded in the M3 (no!) on this new SUV (cry!). I still own it and it has admittedly been a really good car, taking the brunt of several moves and has always held up without any problems at all. It’s the top of the line LE model, with the 3.5 liter V6, premium leather, Bose stereo, and push button 4 wheel drive system. It’s been extremely versatile. It can be the worker bee that I mentioned, used to haul things like a truck - there’s tons of storage room, especially when you fold down the rear seats. I’ve actually taken it off-roading in the mud, snow, sand, deep water, and rocky inclines – and have never managed to get into trouble. It works for a night out on the town, seating 4 adults comfortably. I’ve taken it camping, actually using the roof rack. It works with car seats. I’ve taken it to Yosemite and many trips back and forth from the Bay Area to SoCal. It’s been up to Portland. It really just does it all. There’s a lotta’ power, a lotta’ torque, it’s quick off the line, and very stable at high speeds for the long cruises. Very recently, the CD player jammed and stopped working. And just this past weekend, the electric motor for the seat adjustment on the driver’s side seems to have gone kaput, but for an 8 year old ride with like 150,000 very tough miles on it, I’m not complaining. I know what the thing’s been through. I never considered myself a Japanese car guy, but I gotta’ say Nissan’s proven to be a good brand. When I’m at the dealer getting routine service, I frequently find myself eyeing the Z or the Altima Hybrids, knowing that Nissan makes a good product. They’re not my dream cars or anything, but they build a solid, reliable, cost effective product. Mine looks exactly like the pic.