Ford Everest vs Nissan Pathfinder

What's the difference?

The standard Ford Everest – powered by a 2.0-litre twin-turbo or a V6 – is a nicely refined, comfortable and capable 4WD with plenty of potential as a touring vehicle.

The Tremor treatment doesn’t turn the Everest into a Raptor-esque Everest but it does offer low-key substantial off-road improvements to what was already an impressive 4WD wagon.

This sensible package of upgrades – more ground clearance, off-road-suited suspension, and decent all-terrain tyres – gives this Everest a mild 4WD boost.

There’s a lot to like about the Nissan Pathfinder. The current model not only looks a lot better than its predecessor but in ST-L trim — and with an even cheaper front-wheel drive model — it offers the kind of value Australian families are chasing. 

For all its practicalities, towing capacity and refined driving experience, the Pathfinder’s fatal flaw is its limited engine choice. A thirsty petrol V6 with no engine start-stop tech stunts its appeal for those who live in suburban areas where a Kluger hybrid just works better.

The ST-L is a worthy consideration for your next purchase if you’re less bothered about fuel use, and it's the pick of the line-up, offering just about every creature comfort and safety feature you'd want in a good-value package.

Lift any vehicle a few millimetres and throw decent all-terrain tyres on it and that one-two combination instantly gives the vehicle more track-cred. 

And so it goes for the Everest Tremor.

But there’s more going on here than simply increased height and a swap-out of rubber over standard Everests.

As mentioned, it gets Bilstein dampers, new springs, and tough all-terrain tyres which combine to give the Tremor a solid presence.

The new honeycomb-pattern grille with auxiliary LED lights, quite visible steel bash plate, pronounced heavy-duty side steps and orange Tremor branding add to the package.

And inside it gets those Tremor-specific touches, such as the leather-accented seats embossed with Tremor branding, ebony-coloured interior accents and all-weather floor mats.

The Pathfinder has a lot going for it in the looks department. Lead designer Ken Lee leaned into the nameplate’s past, incorporating the three horizontal strips between the broad bonnet and 'V-Motion' grille which is encircled in chrome. 

There’s real presence to this SUV (partially down to the Pathfinder's sheer size) with chunky wheel arches and plenty of vertical surfaces. The most eye catching colour is 'Scarlet Ember' red ($750) but the pearlescent 'Deep Ocean Blue' seen here is a classy look. 

Every manufacturer is doing the spaced out nameplates on the boot lid now, but the Pathfinder was an early adopter and it is particularly well executed on this car. There's also the massive (in proportion to the vehicle) Nissan badges. 

Inside, the Pathfinder focuses more on practicality and usability than wow-factor. There are no tacky design flourishes and the three-row SUV manages to stay on the right side of Americana, a trick the Toyota Kluger could learn.

The Tremor cabin is a comfortably familiar interior – it’s functional and roomy and so scores well in terms of overall practicality.

Driver and front passenger have easy access to storage options, such as the centre console, cupholders, door pockets and a shelf for your everyday-carry stuff as well as charging points (wireless charger, USB and USB-C sockets).

There’s plenty of space for the driver and all passengers (front, second and third row), and the seats are supportive and comfortable, even in the third row.

While that pew is a straight-up-and-down set-up it still manages not to be a complete punishment for those passengers.

Those in the second row get a fold-down centre armrest, door pockets and map pockets as well as air con vents and controls.

The rear cargo area has standard Everest features – with cargo tie-down points and a 12-volt outlet.

A niggle, and one I’ve found in other new-generation Fords, is the multimedia system. It's a decent size with clear and crisp colours and is easy to operate, but I needed to repeatedly stab a finger onto the screen in order to work my way through menus and sub-menus to figure it all out.

My advice is get your head around all of the multimedia system’s functionality while the vehicle is stationary because, to me, some of the screen workings are counter-intuitive and it’s easier and safer to learn all of that while the vehicle is not moving.

Also, the fact some controls are on-screen and some are off it creates more than a little confusion.

The Pathfinder is a thoughtfully packaged and practical vehicle, trading on more than just size with plenty of clever storage solutions. 

In the front there are generous door bins, twin cupholders and a deep central cubby. But there’s more, with a thin rubberised storage shelf above the glove box perfect for phones or sunglasses and a pass-through space below the centre console for larger items. 

A storage space for a smartphone is found in close proximity to USB-A, a USC-C and 12-volt sockets. All of thus is beneath a physical switch panel for the dual-zone climate control. 

The 9.0-inch multimedia touchscreen is the only letdown, feeling quite small in the Pathfinder's vast cabin. It is still responsive and features wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, though. The Pathfinder’s sound system is passable after tweaking the bass and treble balance. 

The analogue speedometer and tachometer sits either side of a 7.0-inch media screen that gives driving information along with settings for safety systems. There are switches on the steering wheel to control major functions, including cruise control, media and the screen operation. 

Among its competitive set, the US-built Pathfinder’s build quality is excellent. There are cleverly positioned soft-touch plastics and we didn’t notice any rattles over our week of testing, unlike Palisades and Klugers. The steering wheel, especially, is appointed in a high quality, smooth-grained leather.

While the ST-L may only get cloth upholstery, which is admittedly harder to clean than leather, the high-quality material is more temperature stable than the imitation cow hide often seen at this price. It’s also combined with heated front seats. 

Adding to the comfort factor is power adjustment for the driver’s seat including in/out and up/down lumbar control. The passenger seat is manually adjustable but with a lever for height and the driving position is pleasingly low-set. 

The low front seats open up a world of excellence for the second row’s stadium seating which gives passengers a fantastic view out. Not only is this just nice, it also helps kill travel sickness for kids (and grown-ups). 

The second row is on front/back sliding rails with fine backrest adjustment to dial in a comfortable position. There’s ample room even for adults over 185cm with plenty of head, leg and toe-room. 

Amenities include a third climate zone, USB-A and USB-C charge points, a total of six beverage holders and a fold-out armrest.

The Nissan Pathfinder has ISOFIX tabs in the two outboard rear seat positions. The anchors are not hidden behind a cover so there is nothing to lose and the three top tether points are big and meaty for easy access. 

Nissan deserves praise for its wide opening doors, the Pathfinder’s go almost perpendicular to the body with a large square aperture making loading dogs, children or shopping extremely easy.

But there’s one crucial flaw — the back windows don’t go all the way down leaving around a third of the glass sticking up. 

The Pathfinder’s three-wide third row is vast in the third row, with enough space for adults in a pinch — at least two across the three-wide bench — and up to four beverages.

The power-actuated second row gets out of the way quickly (perhaps a little too fast!) and slides back into place easily. The rear bench is split 60/40 with the long portion on the Australian kerbside.

There are no ISOFIX or top tether points in the third row of the Pathfinder ST-L which does hurt its practicality. The Ti-L features ISOFIX and top tether for one third row seat.

Aside from that, the Pathfinder is about as good as an SUV gets for practicality, though a Kia Carnival people mover has the edge for outright human carrying ability. 

Behind the shapely power tailgate, the Pathfinder offers either 205L, 554L or 782L of cargo space depending on how many seats are in use. And while the smallest figure sounds compact, the space is tall and square making it quite practical. Four school bags would fit easily or five at a pinch. 

With the third row stored elegantly in the floor, the space is generous although interrupted by the roof-mounted middle third-row seat belt which is a faff to unbuckle.

Amenities include two shopping bag hooks, a 12-volt socket, four tie-down points and a spacious wet storage area below the boot floor.

The spare tyre is hung beneath the Pathfinder however it is a temporary space saver, rather than a full-size item. 

Despite no diesel powerplant, the Pathfinder’s towing capacity is best in class, beating both Palisade and Kluger with its 2700kg braked limit (750kg unbraked).

Though still shy of the ladder frame Ford Everest and Isuzu MU-X (3500kg), the monocoque Pathfinder’s high limit is impressive.

The ST-L is not lacking for features, with 18-inch alloy wheels, a 360-degree camera view system, tri-zone climate control, a head-up display, built-in navigation, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, front and rear parking sensors, cloth upholstery and heated seats. 

The front-wheel drive ST-L starts at an impressive $59,670, undercutting the Hyundai Palisade Elite ($66,800) and more spartan Toyota Kluger GX hybrid ($60,920). The all-wheel drive ST-L seen here costs $64,170, with all prices before on-road costs.

As for other Pathfinder trims, the Ti adds a more powerful stereo, leather-accented upholstery and different wheel designs for $67,990 (in front-wheel drive) and the full-fat Ti brings a digital driver’s display, 20-inch alloy wheels and second row captain’s chairs — dropping seat capacity to seven — for $82,490, all before on-road costs.

As mentioned right at the start, the Everest Tremor has a 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel engine – producing 184kW at 3250rpm and 600Nm at 1750-2250rpm – and that’s matched to a 10-speed automatic transmission.

It also gets the line-up’s full-time 4WD system. This system has selectable two-wheel drive (2H), four-wheel drive high-range (4H), four-wheel drive low-range (4L) and four-wheel drive automatic (4A = 4Auto) that sends drive to the front and rear axles as needed, and which can be safely used on high-traction surfaces, such as bitumen.

The Nissan Pathfinder is only available with a petrol engine. It is an all-aluminium dual overhead cam direct and multi-point injection 3.5-litre V6. It's part of Nissan’s ‘VQ’ engine family that has been around since 1994. 

The V6 develops 202kW at 6400rpm and 340Nm at 4800rpm which are respectable outputs. The torque builds steadily from around 3000rpm and starts to really move the Pathfinder above 4000rpm. 

The lusty engine note is a nice touch in a world dominated by down-sized turbo-petrols and hybrids. There’s something refreshing about the natural response of a large capacity naturally aspirated engine, too, interfacing slickly with the nine-speed automatic transmission.

The Tremor has the highest listed fuel consumption of the Everest line-up: 9.5L/100km on a combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle.

I recorded an average of 11.2L/100km on this test.

The Tremor has an 80-litre fuel tank so, going by my on-test fuel-consumption figure, you could reasonably expect a driving range of about 714km from a full tank.

Worth noting the Tremor requires AdBlue diesel-exhaust fluid.

For all the benefits of that large capacity V6 it has a fatal flaw and that is fuel efficiency — particularly around the suburbs. 

The Pathfinder’s rated fuel consumption is 10.5L/100km in the ADR combined (urban/extra urban) cycle with 245g/km CO2 outputs, however it is much thirstier around town. 

After 100km of suburban driving in Sydney, the Pathfinder’s trip computer read 15.3L/100km. It lacks an engine start-stop system to save precious millilitres when sitting at traffic lights. 

Other large V6 vehicles will be similar, or probably slightly higher in the case of the multi-point injected Palisade, but the gold standard in this segment is the Toyota Kluger hybrid which easily returns figures of 6.0L/100km or less in pretty much all driving. 

A longer 200km loop taking in motorways and country roads saw the Pathfinder consume fuel at 11.4L/100km which is an improvement but still very high.

Our observed fuel consumption gives the Pathfinder, with its 71L tank, a theoretical driving range of 602km. It will happily take standard 91 RON unleaded at the pump.

Overall, the Tremor is nice to drive on road. It’s quiet, refined and comfortable and the engine and transmission make a cluey, unstressed pairing.

However, the Tremor’s suspension – engineered to improve the vehicle’s off-road capability – is firm through sections of back-country bitumen and even mildly corrugated bush tracks. 

Also, this Everest’s all-terrain tyres don’t help ride quality or noise levels on sealed surfaces. But that’s no surprise and a very minor trade-off when the Tremor's potential as a touring vehicle is so high.

On the open highway at cruising speed, the Tremor exhibits all of the smooth-driving characteristics the Everest line-up is well known for.

It sits nicely on the road, that wide wheel track (a 30mm increase in width to 1650mm) gives it a solid stance and this V6 ute simply rumbles along.

So, how does it perform in 4WD territory? Well, it’s based on the Everest Sport, which is no off-road loser, so you’d assume the Tremor would do okay.

However, we all know if you assume, it makes an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'… but the Tremor has been engineered to outperform the standard Everest in the dirty stuff. Unsurprising spoiler alert, it does, but only marginally.

The Everest Tremor is 4914mm long (without the towbar hitch receiver; 4978mm with), 2015mm wide (mirrors in; 2207mm, mirrors out) and 1904mm high.

It has a 2900mm wheelbase and a listed kerb weight of 2550kg, the latter making it the heaviest Everest in the line-up. 

This is not a diminutive wagon but it has the smallest turning circle (11.65m) in the Everest range and its dimensions don’t hamper it in the bush.

As mentioned earlier, when you add running ground clearance to any off-roader its off-road performance will be improved. The Tremor has more ground clearance (255mm) than its stablemates but, as with any measurements provided by vehicle manufacturers (ground clearance, wading depth, towing capacities, etc), always regard those figures with a healthy degree of scepticism.

Wading depth is listed as 800mm and its off-road angles are in line with market rivals: for your reference, approach, departure and ramp-over angles are listed as 32, 26.8 and 23.9 degrees, respectively.

This wagon’s 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 offers plenty of torque across a broad rev range, the 10-speed auto is clever – no flip-flopping between ratios here – and you can use the manual shifter if you get the urge.

Low-range gearing is adequate and the Tremor has an electronic rear diff lock.

The Tremor has a variety of selectable on- and off-road drive modes, including 'Normal', 'Eco', 'Tow/Haul', 'Slippery', 'Mud/Ruts', 'Sand and Rock' and the Tremor-specific 'Rock Crawl' plus a locking rear diff.

These off-road driving modes are no substitute for track-worthy 4WD mechanicals but they help by adjusting engine, throttle, transmission, braking, traction and stability controls to suit the driving conditions. 

Off-road traction control is effective without being spectacular. There’s a bit too much wheelspin for my liking.

Off-road applications are displayed on screen – with driveline/diff lock indicators, steering, pitch and roll angles depicted. Hill descent control held the Tremor to a steady 3.0-4.0km/h as I crawled down a difficult slope.

The power steering, light and sporty in all scenarios, has been tweaked with a heavy-duty tune and it retains a confident feel in difficult conditions.

Heavy-duty off-road engineering has bolstered the suspension set-up with new springs and Bilstein dampers with external reservoirs.

Wheel travel – how far the axle can move up and down vertically wheel-to-wheel relative to the chassis – is slightly better than a standard Everest’s, with this wagon’s tyres stretching a little further than the regular version’s.

Again, as I mentioned earlier, by replacing an off-roader’s standard road-biased rubber with a set of decent all-terrain tyres its off-road capability will be improved. And that’s exactly what Ford has done.

The Tremor's General Grabber all-terrain tyres feature light-truck construction. They are grippy and very effective in dirt, loose gravel, slippery clay and the like.

There are a few niggles, though.

I’ve previously expressed annoyance at the auto transmission shifter – a kind of joystick on a light cycle of steroids and just as touchy. It’s especially finicky on bumpy terrain but it’s another Everest-based characteristic to which I’ve become somewhat accustomed.

The operation of some off-road driver-assist tech can be confusing as it’s divided between the rotary dial (to select drive modes) and the screen (to engage the rear diff lock etc). Not a deal-breaker, but it takes some getting used to.

The brake pedal is spongy – taking some time between initial foot pressure to ‘biting', but then the brakes – discs all around – do clamp into action.

As for packability, there is a listed 259 litres (VDA) of space in the rear-most cargo area (with all three rows of seats in use), 898L (VDA) when the third row is stowed away and 1823L (VDA) when the second and third rows are lowered.

The Everest Tremor has a listed payload of 690kg, and towing capacities of 750kg (unbraked) and 3500kg (braked).

It has a listed GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass) of 3240kg and a GCM (Gross Combined Mass) of 6350kg. Remember: any onboard loads – such as people, pets, camping gear or aftermarket equipment (bullbar, roof rack etc) – must figure in your payload and GVM equations.

The Nissan Pathfinder is a remarkably pleasant drive. It is smooth and quiet on the motorway, comfortable around town and talented on testing Australian country roads. 

Nissan has managed to nail the fundamentals including a well-weighted electronic power steering system, good ride comfort at high and low speeds and impressive body control for a high-set 2052kg vehicle that rides on passive dampers. 

The 18-inch alloys are wrapped in 255/60 Kumho Crugen HP71 tyres which are notably cushier than the Ti-L’s bigger 20-inch alloy wheels shod with 255/50 rubber. 

Being a car-based SUV, the Nissan Pathfinder is more comfortable and a sportier drive than more off-road focused vehicles such as the Ford Everest and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport. It is not as dynamic as smaller seven seaters such as the Kia Sorento but is still secure and stable. 

There are seven drive modes in total, with three ('Sand', 'Mud' and 'Snow') dedicated to off-roading, a further trio ('Auto', 'Eco', 'Sport') for the tarmac and a dedicated 'Tow' mode. 

Along with adjusting steering weight and shift logic, the all-wheel drive Pathfinder adjusts the torque split settings. It can be a little slow to shift torque to the front wheels leading to chirping on fast getaways but it is mostly solid and a worthy $4500 investment over the new front-wheel drive only model. 

Visibility is not great with a high belt line and low-set driving position. With the third row's large headrests up it's hard to see out the rear window, too, so it can be difficult to judge kerbs and walls while parking. A standard 360-degree camera system helps in low-speed manoeuvring.

The Nissan Pathfinder received a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2022. 

It has a total of nine airbags including dual front, a front centre, side chest for first and second rows and curtain airbags covering all three rows, unlike some smaller rivals.

Active driver assistance systems include autonomous emergency braking (AEB) that can detect cars, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcycles.

The AEB system functions front and rear and includes junction cross-traffic detection. Lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring and speed sign detection are also standard. Stability control and ABS systems intervene early and smoothly.

Going further than just having the systems, the Pathfinder’s integration is very good. The adaptive cruise control is smooth, the lane-trace assist is mostly good. They can all be easily disabled if you like, too.

The Tremor is covered by Ford’s five year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which is the standard for this part of the market.

Roadside assistance is complimentary for 12 months after each service, extended for up to seven years as long as the Tremor’s owner has it serviced at an authorised Ford dealership.

Service intervals are scheduled for every 12 months or 15,000km and a capped-price servicing plan applies to the first five years/75,000km with a $2550 cost attached ($510 per service).

For reference a comparable Toyota LandCruiser Prado will set you back $390 per workshop visit, but that car's service interval is more frequent at six months/10,000km.

Nissan recommends the Pathfinder is serviced every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.

You can pay-as-you-go ($2592) or up front ($2333) which saves $259 over five years ($518.40/$466.60 average per workshop visit).

Those service price options are closely aligned with the Hyundai Palisade ($2345) but Toyota’s $1325 Kluger offer remains unbeaten. 

A five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty covers all Nissan vehicles in Australia. It is now the standard with other marques, including Kia, MG and Mitsubishi pushing boundaries with longer seven and 10-year offers.