European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 8, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday october Al 1987 the stars and stripes Page 13 car Corner off Rood limousine the Pathfinder from Nissan is tops All around Nissan s four wheel drive pal find it. Beginning its second year on the . Sport Utility car Market this autumn also made its european debut last month at lie Frankfurt Auto show. In Europe the Pathfinder is called the terrano and the european motor writers have in Rcd it an Oft Road Lim  this description is guile Apt because inc path finder is amazingly civilized and comfortable for an Oft Road vehicle that has a pickup Ruck heritage. In fact the various automobile directories Lump the pickups and Pathfinder together saying that ire prospective buyer May have the Nissan vehicle in 2-door pickup or 3 door Wagon Pathfinder design with four wheel drive Standard on the path finder and optional on the trucks. The Pathfinder which has clean tines and aerodynamic styling features what the rucking people Call a hard body meaning that the vehicle has a full fixed steel roof covering what would be the bed on the pickup truck. This creates a fully integrated Interior with rear scats and an closed Carao space. These split rear scats can be folded Down to provide carrying room for huge cargo loads 51.9 cubic feet with both scats folded Down. The Pathfinder with a 104.3-Inch wheel base for increased stability also offers plenty of legroom at both front and rear. V e had the Nissan Pathfinder xe-v6 4\ of test recently Courtesy of Nissan military sales the lest Model with a 3 up cd automatic transmission and the Power 140 he from the Basic Miter Vii engine used on the 300 Zyx sports car. So Power obviously is no problem. In fact the Pathfinder cruised along nicely at so to 8 Miles an hour on the autobahn and that s More than adequate for what is basically an off Road machine. The lest Pathfinder be had automatic Locking front hubs which made things easy and with the automatic gear lever in Neutral shifting into four wheel drive is carried out. The Driver punches the 4x4 gear lever Down into either 4-wheet High or 4-Whcel Low and off he goes. There s also a four wheel drive indicator Light on the instrument panel to let you know4wd in in operation. The Pathfinder which was voted "4x4 of the year by both t our Wheeler and 4-h Heel a off Road magazines has to be rugged to win such awards and it provided some great fun in deep Sand mud and potholes along inc Rhine River. The Windshield Washer stalk was positioned just right for Quick use and this is appreciated in an off Road vehicle because Muddy Waier splashing onto the Windshield must be wiped away immediately although off Road nig in part of what the Pathfinder is All about it is such a refined car inside and in Jcck like outside that it seemed callous to give it the in Dhole  As noted earlier the ride on Normal roads and highways is As comfortable As most Normal sedans offer and this is thanks to a 5-1 Ink Coil Spring rear sus pension system instead of the Normal Leaf Spring system used on pickup trucks and most off Road sports vehicles. There s torsion bar suspension at the front with Stabilizer bars at both front and rear. The Power assist brakes have ventilated discs at front and Drums Al rear while the Power assist recirculating Ball Type steering allows healthy feel for the Road. Ground Clear Ance is 7.3 inches. The off Road Highway tires on inc test Pathfinder were Yokohama super Digger in 215/75 radials or. 15-Inch rims and even at High speeds they made no distracting sounds. Like the ride handling is also first rate but one is always aware of a High censer of Gravity feeling in Sharp turns and some autobahn turnoff. After All it s no sports car so in tight turns Yuu feel the need to Back of Fth Gas a bit. In City traffic the Pathfinder is quite Mancus Brablc and it is easy to drive in Alt conditions. With the automatic transmission passing is easy with Strong acceleration on kick Down. The Rcd inc is 5.300 rpm and at 65 Mph the Tach reads Only 3,400 rpm. At the s5-Mph Mark it reads 2,900. The View in cily traffic and on the Road is especially Good As a lot of Glass is used on the body. A Pathfinder s rear door window opens separately it turn of key. 14 Pathfinder is at Home in off Road runs or on the Highway. E4s shows the five passenger Pathfinder has grab bars All around making for easy entry and exit. The front passenger bucket scat moves Forward and the setback flips Down at the pull of a lever another easy entry exit Feal for rear scat occupants. A rear Faunch Seal for extra Passen Gers comes As an option the various gauges arc easy to read and instrumentation is More than Ade quate with tachometer speedometer odometer trip odometer fuel and water temperature gauges As Well As illuminated healer control units. The heating of ventilation system features Side window do loggers and an electric rear window defroster and Quarter windows Are also used for improved ventilation. The Only shortcoming on the Pathfinder be concerned fuel Economy from the v6 engine with automatic transmission our figure Reading 15,3 Miles per gallon not a fuel miser figure certainly. Fuel Lank capacity is 21.1 Gallons on the x e. But if hat bothers the prospective buyer he May opt for the Pathfinder e with a 2.4 Flitcr. 4-Cylinder engine similar to the stanza s with 5-Speed manual transmission that Model getting i 9 mpg Highway and 16 nope cily according to Epa estimates. The Pathfinder e costs $13,845 the Pathfinder xew6 with automatic trans Mission described in this report costs 116,695and with a 5-Spccd manual the xe-v6 costs j15,895. These models Are available from Nissan military sales dealers and May be seen Al the firm s various locations in Europe. Summing up this is no Ordinary car and if you re looking for a sports Utility vehicle you should definitely put this one on your shopping list. Randy Burnett Here Are tips on How to Cope with fog season with Daylight saving time gone until next Spring the dark Lime of the year has returned to Europe along with morning fog in most of North Ern Europe and m England. So it s Lime for Drivers to exercise added caution and to push alertness to inc highest degree. The european and British Auto clubs Point out that More than 40 percent of fatal Auto related Acci dents to pedestrians occur Between october and de Cember so while Drivers should Lake added caution pedestrians too should take Eitra care when Cross ing streets. The Auto clubs urge motorists 10 make certain thai the Windshield wipers on their cars function properly so they have no problems seeing pedestrians and bicycle riders. Drivers Are also urged to take extra care while driving Home from work in the late afternoon As their eyes May be especially tired. Motorists will have 10 Deal with fog from no until Spring and driven should know How to react properly when fog prevails. Here arc some key recommendations from the German a Dai and fir Irish a automobile clubs pay attention to the traffic coming it you. If oncoming cars and trucks have their lights on during daytime when the roads Are dry chances arc they be been reckoning with fog and your turn May be next. Turn on headlights use Low beams and switch on the fog lamps if your car is so equipped. But use the rear red fog Light Only in very thick fog when vision is less than 160 feel. This Light glows too in tensely for use in Light fog and rain take the Nearside curb s Side striping As a guide not the Center lines and be on tru1 watch for parked vehicles. Go slow and keep your distance. Do no drive Fasier Ihan 30 Mph on autobahn Sand motorways. Don t stay glued to the lights ahead of you but keep your distance. Do not be misled into think ing that you can see More than inc leading Driver. Don t pass unless absolutely certain that Itu a is Clear. Never pass in a fog bound traffic Convoy. Turn on your Windshield wipers and up the de Fogger blowing. Also Roll Down your window a bit to help Proem Interior fogging. Heavy fog. Especially Al lower Elevation can sometimes be Strong enough to Art like rain and put a film of whirr on your Windshield if traffic should Stop suddenly turn in your emergency flashing unit move As far As possible to the Edge of inc Road and Slop your car. If visibility is limited to Only a few feel Chi off the Road As soon As practical and Wail for i Onia idiom to improve. During the fog season keep your headlights and Fogl Ghis clean and Don t forget to clean the Windshield on the inside especially if you or your passengers smoke. Summing up the euro can fog code is slow Down keep our distance and use your