Nissan Pathfinder 2022: Rock Creek edition revealed with more grunt and off-road capability

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Nissan has unveiled a more powerful and rugged take on the Nissan Pathfinder known as the Rock Creek edition for the North American market.

The Pathfinder Rock Creek edition will go on sale in the US between June and August with a multitude of accessories designed to create what Nissan calls “a bolder, off-road inspired” model. 

Australia is set to welcome the fifth-generation Pathfinder in the second half of 2022 with a refreshed 3.5-litre V6 engine along with mechanical all-wheel drive but the exact grade line-up has yet to be outlined. 

What is the Rock Creek edition all about?

As part of the Rock Creek edition, the Nissan Pathfinder is fitted with several options not available previously on the large SUV.

These include a 15.8mm lifted off-road suspension kit, 18-inch beadlock-style wheels with all-terrain tyres, a tubular roof-rack system with 100kg load capacity and a dark front grille and mesh insert. 

Further on this, the Rock Creek kit also includes a tow bar, 2700kg maximum towing capacity, second row captain’s chairs and LED fog lights. 

Also featured on this special edition is Rock Creek badging, exclusive leatherette/fabric seats, orange contrast stitching on interior items including steering wheel, seats and door panels and an intelligent around-view monitor with an off-road mode. 

More power and torque 

While most special edition models glaze over the engine department Nissan engineers have given the Pathfinder Rock Creek edition a fairly notable boost in grunt. 

Power will increase from 211kW to 219kW and torque will also rise from 351Nm to 366Nm thanks to new engine mapping. While it is by no means a massive increase, it leaves the door open for Nissan Australia to introduce a similar upgrade in the future.

What do you get as standard on the Australian-spec Pathfinder?

The new Nissan Pathfinder will come to Australia in a choice of eight- and seven-seat options, with the latter available with two captain’s chairs in the second row.

By doing so the Pathfinder becomes the only SUV aside from the Hyundai Palisade to offer eight seats, with the Mazda CX-9, Toyota Kluger and Kia Sorento only available with up to seven.

The fifth-generation Pathfinder has been fitted with a 3.5-litre naturally-aspirated, direct-injected V6 engine that produces 212kW of power and 351Nm of torque (in US spec) which is a healthy increase over the previous generation. The V6 will very likely be the only engine option available at launch here in Australia. 

The older CVT transmission has been dumped in favour of a nine-speed torque converter automatic transmission. This transmission has up to seven terrain and drive modes to make off-roading light work. 

Standard kit includes a 13-speaker Bose sound system, wireless phone charging, tri-zone climate control, integrated Apple CarPlay, a heated steering wheel, leather-appointed seats for the first and second row and a 360-degree camera on higher priced models in the range. 

In US specification cars, the Pathfinder has been fitted with a 7.0-inch digital driver cluster as standard along with a large 12.3-inch centre touchscreen. A head-up display is available on higher grades of the Pathfinder range.