Petersen's 2008 4x4 of the year

[Gray]

I haven't seen the magazine article but it looks like Petersen's doesn't much like PF's this year...

http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/featuredve ... index.html

[08Datsun]

I read the article and I just remember that they really didn't like the electronic limited slip. They showed a picture of a chewed up tire. I tested the limited slip system myself and found that it works better than expected, even with wheels off the ground. I can't remember what else they didn't like. I'm familiar with most of those vehicles and I still like the Pathfinder best.

I also remember the SE V8 they tested also ripped off a quick 6.75 sec. 0-60.

[socal4x]

It seems to me that is a totally useless and technically improper comparison lineup....

Would you compare a mini cooper in the same category as a corvette? You can't compare a Jeep Liberty with a Pathfinder, or an H2 with a Tundra for that matter.

Of course I am biased towards the Pathfinder, but I fully expect a Jeep Rubicon to perform better off road than a Pathy...I just wouldn't consider them in the same category to test.

[NVSteve]

You can't compare a Jeep Liberty with a Pathfinder, or an H2 with a Tundra for that matter.

From what I've heard, Chrysler will be dropping the Liberty altogether, along with that stupid "retro" Commander. I can see someone lumping all of these vehicles into one comparison, as they are all 4x4s and SUVs. And it seems pretty obvious that they don't care if one is live axle, IS, cheap or expensive. I've seen a couple of the vehicles in that list rated poorly, yet some of them highly. I'd have to dig up the article at home, but one of the SUV comparison tests put the R51 in 2nd place behind the Jeep Grand Cherokee. The only thing I've seen consistently is that the Liberty has always been rated poorly. Here's a bit from the article I mentioned:

Second Place
Nissan Pathfinder SE Off-Road
This Nissan, complete with leather, sunroof, three rows of seats, and a darn good music player, checked in with the lowest as-tested price of the group, $34,160. The Pathfinder is a brash looker, all slab-sided and blunt in front. There's a bluntness in the way it behaves, too. It's straightforwardly trucky. It's honest.
The 4.0-liter V-6 makes power and roaring noises with equal vigor. Acceleration is strong, leaving just a short gap behind the V-8 Toyota—7.5 seconds to 60 versus 7.2. For passing from 50 to 70 mph, the two are tied, and they fall behind only the Hemi Jeep. Fuel economy over the 400-mile test trip topped all others at 15 mpg using premium gas. Only the Explorer uses regular.
Although the parenting class puts great value on having a third row of seats, the Pathfinder's has limited value. Adult space is nil, and installing child seats way back there would be a contortionist exercise. So this SUV will be fine for those few soccer-shuttle years, the ones when the players can scramble back there on their own, but before they get too tall.
The Pathfinder still uses an old-fashioned part-time four-wheel-drive system that is modernized by an electronic control knob on the dash and supplemented by hill-descent control (it checks speed downhill) and hill holder (prevents roll-back when starting up slopes). Both features performed well. Nissan, as is common these days, uses the ABS hardware for traction control off-road. On one particularly tricky upslope—a loose surface with craters just right for drooping the diagonal wheels—the individual brake applications to slipping wheels seemed a bit slow to come. However, stability was good, and the climb was completed without doubts.
At Chicken Point, your testers do the obvious: stretch their legs and look at the spectacular views. On the horizon, only about four miles southwest, Ranney points out House Mountain, a shield volcano active about 14 million years ago. It's now dotted green with trees.
Nissan claims 9.2 inches of ground clearance, best of group except for the Touareg in tip-toe mode. That wasn't enough to avoid rocky scraping noises down the talus slope, however. But this trucky machine didn't seem to mind.

And the article itself: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot ... rison_test

It seems every critic/reviewer has a strong personal bias, so I just don't take stock in 1 review. If many reviewers say the same thing, then I'll start listening.