This three-row SUV convinced America a Kia could feel like a $60,000 vehicle while costing $40,000, spacious, quiet, loaded with features, and genuinely pleasant to drive. The catch: oil consumption creeps in on some 2020-2021 models after 60k miles (owners report adding quarts between changes with no warning light), and the recall parade gets old fast, nothing dangerous, but trim pieces fall off, screens freeze, and you'll know your service advisor by name. If you can buy at MSRP and stay on top of oil checks, it's still one of the best values in the segment; at $50k with dealer markup, you're overpaying for a Kia when a Highlander or Pilot makes more sense.
Three Pathfinders exist under one name: the pre-2013 body-on-frame trucks that owners drive past 250k miles, the 2013-2021 CVT models that die expensive deaths around 140k, and the 2022+ reboot that ditched the CVT for a V6 and 9-speed automatic. The newest generation undercuts Toyota by $10k-20k and looks promising on paper, but it's only three years old, too soon to know if Nissan fixed what they broke. Two 2025 Platinums have had alternators fail completely at highway speed, and rear windows are spontaneously shattering in sunlight. If you're shopping used, grab a 2012-or-older model with the VQ engine and you'll likely outlive the loan. If you want new, you're betting on a turnaround that hasn't earned trust yet.