What Happened to the Nigerian Nissan Pathfinder?

2nd Generation Pathfinder (1995 - 2004)

The vehicle we will be discussing about today needs zero introduction. For a very long time in Nigeria, this vehicle was a sign of wealth. Any man who took a Chieftaincy title, bought this car the very next week to show everyone that he had arrived. At least one person on every street had a 2nd Generation Nissan Pathfinder. It is also important to note that the 2nd Generation Nissan Pathfinder was also sold as the Nissan Terrano Regulus in the Middle East and as the Infinity QX4 in the European and American market as a more luxurious version of the base Nissan Pathfinder.

Infinity QX4

Why was the Nissan Pathfinder so Popular back then?

Sedan vehicles ruled the streets of Nigeria up until the early 2000's when Nigerian movies began to portray having a "Jeep" as a status symbol. In those movies, you would see someone return from abroad or become a big business man in Lagos, only to return to the village with a "Jeep". The character would become the talk of the village and that is how Nigerians began to get into Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs), otherwise referred to as "Jeeps". Nigerians initially bought SUVs to show off, but they soon realised that the "U" in SUV stood for utility, as these vehicles were very capable off roaders. Nigeria is famous for bad and water logged roads, so SUVs became the go to for people living in places with terrible terrain.

Common SUV's of the Early 2000's

My Dad once told me a story of why he bought his first SUV and I bet it is the same for so many others. On a faithful day in the terrible roads of Asaba, he was driving somewhere and then he was met with a flooded road that was also very bad. He was scared of getting stuck in a bad section of the road, knowing that his sedan was only front wheel drive. While he was contemplating driving through the terrible road or parking his car somewhere and taking a motorcycle to his destination, an SUV came by and went through the worst section of the road with so much ease, because of it's 4 wheel drive system. He watched that SUV until it faded into the distance and that was the moment he decided that his next car was going to be an SUV.

2nd Generation Pathfinder (1995 - 2004)

The Nissan Pathfinder might not have won the beauty contest for early 2000's SUVs, but it was cheap and very durable. It was a great entry vehicle into the SUV market when compared to other SUVs of it's generation like the Mercedes ML or Lexus RX300 of the time. In essence, I could join the elite as a "jeep" owner and return to the village with people singing my praises with half the money, while simultaneously having a war machine to tackle Nigerian bad roads. This was the appeal of the Nissan Pathfinder and many Nigerians took to it.

1997 Nissan Pathfinder (Still 2nd Generation)

What led to the Downfall of the Nissan Pathfinder in the Nigerian Market?

The 2nd Generation Nissan Pathfinder was a success not just in Nigeria alone, but across the globe and it's success soon became it's own downfall. Just like it is with movies, when the first movie does very well in the box office and then the producers rush into making a new one for monetary gain, only for it to flop badly. That is the exact same story for the Nissan Pathfinder. If you have ever been in the 2nd generation Nissan Pathfinder, you would realise that it was quite small on the inside and it lacked third row seating. These issues affected sales in the American market, because the Americans tend to be bigger compared to the Asians and Europeans. Hence, the small compact nature of the pathfinder just did not cut it for them.

3rd Generation Nissan Pathfinder (Front View)

The space issue led Nissan to produce the 3rd Generation Pathfinder, which was significantly bigger than the 2nd Generation and had 3rd row seating. This innovation solved one problem, but then brought about another set of problems which involved the power, reliability and price. The 3rd generation pathfinder came with a V6 or V8 engine option. These engines were quite powerful, but owning to the size of these vehicles, the power was never enough for these 3rd row massive beasts. With so much stress on the engine from pulling a heavy car, it was also over worked and began to have reliability issues. The timing belt of the 3rd generation Nissan Pathfinder was notorious for going bad and replacing it was not cheap.

3rd Generation Nissan Pathfinder (Rear View)

More so, the 3rd Generation Nissan became a literal big boy. With it being physically bigger and more luxurious, it became more expensive, almost as expensive as the Mercedes and Lexus SUVs of its generation. This put a lot of potential owners off, because they could simply save up and afford the better known vehicle brands. All these issues contributed to the death of the Nissan Pathfinder in Nigeria and the 4th, nor 5th Generation Nissan Pathfinders still did not win back the hearts of Nigerians. They would need to do something extraordinary with subsequent generations to make Nigerians choose them over Mercedes and Lexus SUVs in the present day.

2023 Nissan Pathfinder (5th Generation)

This brings us to the end of todays episode and I hope we were able to gain something from it. If your parents or an uncle had a 2nd Generation Nissan Pathfinder, drop a comment saying what you liked about the vehicle. To know more about SUVs, check out a previous episode with the title, "THE SUV CRAZE". Thank you for reading and always remember to Turbo that engine!