An updated version of the Nissan Pathfinder is in the works, as these images captured by our spy photographer reveal.
Light camouflage across the Pathfinder prototype’s front and rear panels can’t disguise some obvious design tweaks for the updated model.
New at the front end of the refreshed Nissan Pathfinder are reshaped headlights, which now have a kink along their lower edges. Their lighting assemblies are also new, with flowing details and LED daytime running lights along the inner edges near the grille.
That grille is also new, trading the thick chrome columns and crosshatched mesh of the current Pathfinder with a horizontally slatted grille similar in style to that of the Navara ute.
Changes to the front foglights and bumper are also expected, given the effort of Nissan’s engineers to keep them out of sight.
Changes at the rear are seemingly limited to tweaks to the bumper, with the spied car appearing otherwise identical to the existing model.
The spied car is believed to be a Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, based on its unique LED tail-lights and taped-over badges on the front doors.
The images give no hints at any interior changes, though modest updates are expected to freshen the look and feel and potentially update the infotainment systems.
No major powertrain changes are expected, with the current-generation Pathfinder just a tick over three years old. In addition to the supercharged 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol hybrid, the Pathfinder is also available with a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine.
The refreshed Nissan Pathfinder is tipped to be revealed early next year, potentially at January’s Detroit auto show.
It’s unclear at this stage when the facelifted model will reach our shores. Nissan Australia corporate communications general manager Peter Fadeyev told us he had no information about the updated model, suggesting it’s likely to be some months away from a local introduction.
The current Pathfinder has been on sale in Australia since October 2013. It’s one of the brand’s strongest sellers in our market and is proving popular this year, with sales up 28 per cent to 6020 to the end of November.
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