Ok forget about cars,,,,now just SUV's. What do you guys think about a 99 pathfinder matched against a 99 explorer for safety and reliability and features for on and off roading?

Try looking at consumer reports, or try to find a magazine that has done an comparasion on both if you really want to get an unbiased opinion.

I recommend finding an unbiased comparison, but that's not something you'll get from Consumer Reports. I would never trust their articles about cars

Originally posted by diablo5969
I recommend finding an unbiased comparison, but that's not something you'll get from Consumer Reports. I would never trust their articles about cars
Why not ???

I have worked in collision repair for ten years now. Nissan does not take a hit too terribly well. We have not had a lot of hard hit Explorers in the shop so I really can not comment on that. We have had more than a few X-Terra's in the shop and there had been significant damage, often well into the passenger area.

i have a 99 explorer and my friend has a 99 pathfinder, and not being biased at all, go with the explorer. it is a whole lot better off road, more comfortable, more reliable, better crash test ratings. the only thing i like about the pathfinder is that the wheels can spin easily, and i cant in the X since i got the auto 4wd, however the X has a better 0-60 time by a full 2 seconds.:D

I have always known the Pathfinder to be heavy, underpowered, but a great truck other then that. I have heard they are rather tough, at least the older hard body models could take quite the beating......

I would take the Explorer, I spent 6 hours yesterday replacing the waterpump on my GF's Nissam maxima, of course the original pump lasted 220K miles so that is good but working on the Nissan is a joke, paets are $$$$ and my hands are not small enough to reach in most spots..........


That alone would convince me to get the Ex, anyhting imported has $$$$$$ written all over it when it comes to repair

If i had to make the choice all over again, I would have gone with a 4runner. As far as reliability goes. IMO, the Explorer looks better then them two.

My buddy has a 95 Pathfinder, he has had the same problems as me. Maybe more, maybe less? As far as im concerned, Nissan makes better cars then Ford, but are = when it comes to SUV's.

Consumer reports favors Imports, so your not gonna find anything usefull in that magazine!!!

Correct me if Im wrong, but the Pathfinder isnt underpowered! My buddys 95 has more power then my 95 X. He's is all stock! Mine has a few small mods.(Sig)

If your gonna compare them, compare them right...

*EDIT*, i just looked up the 03 models, The Pathfinder has 240 and the Explorer has 210.

The Explorer is the one that's underpowered! ;)

MORE POWER???? The Nissan? Is it faster? Have you considered gearing and torque?

Isnt me saying "I have always known the Pathfinder to be..."

the same as you saying "IMO Nissan SUV and Ford SUV = same" ?????


Compare then right you say. You want to do that go drive both, also ask yourself what you are gonna use it for. Compare apples to apples, meaning compare a V6 Ex to a V6 Nissan, and compare the gearing, mileage, accessories, etc............

He was asking for opinions so I gave one. :)

Go here, you can use this to compare them!www.ConsumerGuide.com

Looks like the Pathfinder wins!

Originally posted by DonM
*EDIT*, i just looked up the 03 models, The Pathfinder has 240 and the Explorer has 210.

The Explorer is the one that's underpowered! ;)

The explorer has a much more useful powerband form what i have seen. I have been in one of the new QX4's, they are not really any more powerful than my X and it was worthless when we tried to tow a boat.

99 pathfinder- 168 HP: 196ft/lbs torque

if that is not underpowered then i dont know what is

here ya go..check this out (http://www.kbb.com/kb/ki.dll/kw.kc.sbs?kbb.GA;070250;GA031&30458;suv&616;Ford;1999%20Explorer&U;5;FT;H2;2;Explorer;Ford;;1999&) - dammit, it is not working right, just put in a 99 SOHC explorer in the right column

Originally posted by DonM
Correct me if Im wrong, but the Pathfinder isnt underpowered! My buddys 95 has more power then my 95 X. He's is all stock! Mine has a few small mods.(Sig)

Your buddy's 95' has less torque then you do )I think 200ftlbs), and about 160-170hp, with no low end tq. They are dog ass slow, slower then a ohv V6 Explorer. Somethings wrong with your Ex if his is stronger b/c I hads no problem beating friends with Pathfinders and the 168hp engine in the 94' Explorer when it was stock with 3.27 gears.
Originally posted by DonM
If your gonna compare them, compare them right...

*EDIT*, i just looked up the 03 models, The Pathfinder has 240 and the Explorer has 210.

The Explorer is the one that's underpowered! ;)
Yes, the Pathfinder has more hp in the newer models but the tq band sucks. Even the "underpowered as you say" 02' and up 4dr Explorers with the sohc V6 that are heavier then the 2nd gen Explorers will pull away from a Pathfinder or QX4. Forget about V8 Explorers as they'll lay waste to one;) Other then being slow, I think their pretty solid trucks and proven off road, and the newer ones have more power then the older models.

I thought we were talking about the 99 models?

Originally posted by MONMIX
Why not ???

Originally posted by DonM
Consumer reports favors Imports, so your not gonna find anything usefull in that magazine!!!

I haven't found that to be true, but there is an answer to the question. Anyway, Consumer Reports is good for refridgerators or cell phones or something that everyone uses the same way. However, they don't take into account that vehicles are extremely versatile items, and only compares them on a very small range of things, thus creating skewed results.

Do you mean a 99 or a 99.5 Pathfinder? There was a nice styling change midyear but it still kept it's seriously underpowered engine until 2001 or so. My friend has a 99.5 Pathfinder and it's a total dog. Has a nice interior though. Manual transfer case, white face gauges....... Overall it seems to be a good truck.

i'll throw in my .02 cents as well. my mom has a 96 pathfinder 4x4 LE (since new) and i worked at an Infiniti dealer for a while a year ago so i've driven a good number of QX4s, new, used and from the service department. overall i think that the the Pathfinders/QX4 have better build quality than my explorer. i definitely notice more rattles and such in the ex. in the power department the 3.5 nissan V6 (not sure what year Nissan upgraded from the 3.3??) makes quite a bit of power, it was not dissapointing by any means and holds it own very well on the road. my explorer's V8 feels more powerful, but not as quick (i'm sure due to gearing, AWD and such). as far as features go i like the explorer a lot better since it obviously has a lot more (loaded limited vs loaded LE). i can't really comment on the auto 4wd system in the newer pathfinders/qx4 since i only really have experience with my moms part time 4wd, which has not let me down in the past btw. i love the AWD in my V8 Ex, it has been GREAT and i've had no problems in the ~12" snow we've had here the past 2 days :D. the pathfinder/qx4 has a more sporty feel since its unibody, while the explorer feels more rugged and capable in less than ideal conditions. i don't think you can go wrong either way personally. if you want me to elaborate on any point just let me know because i realize this was very vague. :)

Go with the X, I have had the tortuous affair of test driving a 1999 4Runner, '99 Montero Sport, and a '99 Pathfinder before finally getting the '99 V8 X- what a world of difference. The 4Runner is cheap and gutless (not to mention ugly ;) ), the Montero is quiet but is also underpowered and lacks a REAL frame. I didn't much care for the pathfinder either, though it probably was the best of the import batch. Seriously though, the explorer beats all the other imports hands down!
Japanese cars just don't have the quality of good ol' American Cars IMO.

I can weigh in here; I drove a 01 Pathfinder as a rental once. Grant you that's not as good as owning one but I can give a general impression.

I felt it did not quite have the power it needed, but it was what I would call "adequate" unless you're into racing it or passing people. For that it really didn't have it.

I like the body styling.

I did not like the cramped interior. I felt like I was sitting in a 300ZX or a fighter jet cockpit and not an SUV. It was narrow. For a long trip it was no good.

Overall I think the Pathfinder would be a good truck if it had a little more room, a 302, 3.73s and an 8.8" rear end. I didn't get to take it offroading so I don't know about that.

Oh, and 1 more thing: Consumer Reports sucks on cars. They are completely off on 90% of the cars they review.

What kind of deals are you looking at on both the trucks?

Originally posted by Stephen
What kind of deals are you looking at on both the trucks?
Stephen has the right idea. Honestly, you'll like either one, and now it just comes down to which one has less miles, and which one is cheaper

Originally posted by diablo5969
However, they don't take into account that vehicles are extremely versatile items, and only compares them on a very small range of things, thus creating skewed results.

Oh I think I understand you.

So you are saying, from an off roader point of view you don't, rely on them right?

I guess I can agre with that.
I guess like saying they likely would give the H2 a bad review. Well yeah, for a comuter vehicle, it likely is not the best, but for a MPV or off roading, it is likey better than most. Is that where you are comming from?

From a John Q. Public point of view, for a normal commuter, they seem straight forward to me.

Thanks for the replies, but i think it kinda got off topic. I think everyone made great points....my quesiton was more towards reliability and safety. I know the explorers seem to have a better crash test rating except for the rollover factor. And sometimes, by the reviews i read, i question why anyone would by an explorer with all the freaking repairs and problems. why would ford make an SUV, even in 1999, that has gotten such bad press and reviews from actual owners. It is unfortunate that the only SUV i can afford is the Explorer with its depreciated price. Its ridiculous that some of you guys spend thousands upon thousands of dollars to repair all the problems. Oh well, i guess if i want an SUV i have to grin and bear it...

Originally posted by oldskool95max
Thanks for the replies, but i think it kinda got off topic. I think everyone made great points....my quesiton was more towards reliability and safety. I know the explorers seem to have a better crash test rating except for the rollover factor.
I've never rolled my "99 (on or off-road). All SUVs have a high "rollover factor".

Originally posted by oldskool95max
And sometimes, by the reviews i read, i question why anyone would by an explorer with all the freaking repairs and problems. why would ford make an SUV, even in 1999, that has gotten such bad press and reviews from actual owners. It is unfortunate that the only SUV i can afford is the Explorer with its depreciated price. Its ridiculous that some of you guys spend thousands upon thousands of dollars to repair all the problems.

I have 72,000 miles on my "99 and I have beat the crap out of it while off-roading. The only repair I have ever had (other than normal brake wear and shock replacement) was a recall on the belt tensioners that Ford paid for. I have spent a couple thousand in lifting it though.

Originally posted by oldskool95max
Oh well, i guess if i want an SUV i have to grin and bear it...

If you don't want a Explorer, don't buy one... I don't think you are going to hurt anyones feelings here if you don't.

Is the Explorer as reliable as the 4Runner? Probably not. However you have to understand, there are 4 times as many Explorers sold each year as 4 Runners, of course there are going to be more problems. Mine has cost a lot in repairs, but its never left anyone stranded anywhere, and from my experience on this board and elsewhere, I think I've been unlucky. Most people on here have little to no problems with their Explorers, other than the usual suspects like the transmission etc.

As for the "rollover factor", I've driven the Explorer on a road course, and its not any more prone to rollovers than anything else SUV related. Again, there are at least twice as many on the roads than anything else, of course there will be more accidents. If you look at the numbers of rollovers when its been taken into account how many vehicles are on the road, the Explorer is below average in rollover risk.

As for the Explorer's low resale value, most people blame that on reduced consumer confidence, I don't. If consumer confidence was lacking in the Explorer, then they wouldn't have sold 500,000 of them last year. The truck gets more and more popular every year! The low resale values are again merely a function of their being so many of them on the road. Sure a 4 Runner will be worth more in the resale market because there are less of them being turned in. There is greater supply than demand. The Explorers are so cheap in the resale market because the supply far outweighs the demand.

I've said it before. If you're gonna buy a new truck, I wouldnt reccomend you buy the Explorer because it costs more to own over the long term because of the depreciation and repair costs, but if you're buying used and the previous owner has already taken the depreciation hit, why not?

I think we're beginning to touch on another important consideration between the domestic X and the imports.

Parts availability and cost!

Yeah, but if you buy a Toyota, you wont have to worry about having it in the shop! ;) Or atleast alot less then a Explorer.

That's a fact!

Originally posted by DonM
Yeah, but if you buy a Toyota, you wont have to worry about having it in the shop! ;) Or atleast alot less then a Explorer.

That's a fact!

Damn dude. You own an Explorer and obviously care enough about it to be a member of this board. Why would you talk so badly about it? If you have such a hard on for the 4Runner, get one and sell your X.

I like my Explorer, and I'm a moderator on this board, and I still say the 4 Runner will spend less time in the shop.

There's a difference between liking what you have, and being arrogant enough to believe that its the best thing since sliced bread.

He never said he liked the 4Runner better than the Explorer, he just said it was more reliable.

Yes, thank you Stephen :)

If you look at my first post in this thread, you will see... if I could go back and make another choice, it would have been a 4runner. Although, IMO the Ex looks better.

I really like my Ex, but it's not as reliable as a 4runner.

Guys, Pathfinder. He's looking at a Pathfinder. 4Runners are not involved ;)

I got lost in this thread, what was the verdict on this? IMHO I feel that the Nissan is a fine SUV, but, I like the versatilty and styling of the Ford. Each has its pros and cons but the X still wins out.

Originally posted by Stephen
I like my Explorer, and I'm a moderator on this board, and I still say the 4 Runner will spend less time in the shop.

There's a difference between liking what you have, and being arrogant enough to believe that its the best thing since sliced bread.

He never said he liked the 4Runner better than the Explorer, he just said it was more reliable.

Hmmmmmmm....OK Stephen, I never said that he said that he liked the 4Runner better. I also never denied that, in many cases, it is more reliable than the Explorer. As far as arrogance and sliced bread......what the hell. :rolleyes:

If thats the case Thorny then I'm afraid I don't understand the point of your original post? If you opinion is the same as his, why would you come against him? Was your point that because his opinion did not favor the Explorer, the focus of the website, then he shouldn't voice it?