Nissan Pathfinder Problems

You've missed my pick, and our current Car of the Year, the Kia Sorento. It's better than any of your contenders and a top car that gets The Tick from me.

Nissan told us that "the battery in the Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid is covered for the same period as the new-vehicle warranty, which is three years or 100,000 km, whichever occurs first. There is the option for buyers to extend this new-vehicle warranty up to a total of six years as part of the Genuine Nissan Extended Warranty program."

Getting the Jeep would be overkill if you don't go off-road and it seems you've answered your own question in favour of the Nissan. I give the Pathfinder The Tick and it tops the Kluger for me.

Generally I don’t recommend buying extended warranty, as I don’t believe it offers value for money. It’s mostly a way for dealers to make more money out of the deal, but having extended warranty does give some people peace of mind and that’s perfectly understandable. If that’s what you feel then go ahead, but carefully read the warranty documents so you understand what it covers and what it doesn’t.

Looking at seven-seater SUVs, the new Kia Sorento is excellent in all areas to earn The Tick and the Nissan Pathfinder is a good choice. One of them should work for you, your budget and your towing duties.

There are no rules as to the margins dealers set. It can vary considerably from dealer to dealer, one with a glitzy showroom and an army of salespeople might have less of a margin compared to one who works alone in a no-frills yard. It really comes down to your negotiating skills. Sometimes cash isn't a big incentive, because it rules out finance deals and the like that add to a dealers return.

You haven't given us the weight of the caravan you want to tow, which goes a long way to determining the best car for you. We'll err on the side of caution and go for cars with a towing capacity of at least 2500 kg that fall within your budget. It's always best to go for the latest model you can afford, which means around 2103 in your case. I'm guessing you're over the Pathfinder given your experience with the holed piston in your current car, but the Nissan is an option for you. So too are the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Mitsubishi Pajero, although the Pajero's rear suspension is prone to sagging when heavily loaded and I would rule that out on that basis. If you can stretch your budget a little you could consider the Landrover Discovery 4, which does everything you want well, but is the most expensive of this bunch. For me the pick of the bunch for me is the Toyota Prado, for performance, economy, and reliability. The only issue for you could be that the Prado's towing rating is 2500 kg, the lowest of the cars we mention here.

The best thing you can do is to go around to various dealers and check a number of vehicles to see how they work for you.

The fuel sender problem is a common one with the Pathfinder, one you reckon a company like Nissan with all its resources could fix. That it doesn’t seem to be able to is frustrating, but made even more so by the lame excuses they trot out to try and justify it. Try appealing to Nissan’s sense of fair play and see if you can convince the company to come to the party and replace the unit, or cover part of the costs of the replacement. If that doesn’t work, try your state government consumer affairs people.