Treacherous roads were no match for Pathfinder
Superior tires, fog lights helped keep winter at bay
Weather forecasters are the only people in the country who collect $80,000 a year to be wrong 80 per cent of the time, or so the saying goes. So when just a few centimetres of snow was predicted for Ottawa recently, the 15-plus we got, accompanied by strong winds, shouldn’t have been a big surprise.
We were travelling back from my son’s out-of town hockey tournament and the highways had become an absolute mess. Highway 7 was now more like a muskox trail than an 80-kilometre-an-hour corridor.
In previous weeks of this long-term winter test, I had already pushed the 2013 Pathfinder SL and its 4x4-i mode through deep snow and found it to be surprisingly capable. The problem on this night wouldn’t be the Pathfinder that I have on loan from Nissan Canada for two months, but other drivers who might not be equipped with winter tires and who could easily slide out of their lanes.
The Pathfinder’s headlights, while only reflector halogens, lit up the dark road with average visibility. Like most drivers, I would prefer an HID projector headlamp or an LED headlamp system like those used on new Honda Accords, Toyota Avalons and many Audis. The Pathfinder’s upscale sibling, the $44,900 Infiniti JX35, uses HID xenon lighting and LED tail lamps, both features that would be nice to order as options on the Pathfinder but are not available. Nevertheless, I could see adequately and the fog lights helped.
Traffic was ambling along at 50 km/h in many spots. I had the Pathfinder set in automatic 4x4. This mode maintains traction primarily to the front wheels until they slip, then sends torque to the rear wheels.
On the snowy highway, I found myself overtaking other vehicles with remarkable ease, keeping close to the 80 km/h limit. The Pathfinder’s Michelin Latitude X-Ice winter tires were right at home in this situation and the torque monitor on the dash showed the front tires doing most of the work, leaving little chance for the rear wheels to cause any sudden oversteer. The Pathfinder, even pushing through deeper snow on the edges of the main path, never felt squirmy or at risk of skidding. It simply plowed straight ahead with no drama whatsoever.
It was almost too easy. The winter conditions remained the same for more than an hour until we made it home — secure with our tournament trophy and precious family cargo intact, pleased to see the Pathfinder score another point.