These are about the only SUV models that have body on frame since 2021:
4Runner/Sequoia/
GX80/Armada/
G-Wagen/
Lex LX;GX/
Wrangler/
Expedition;Navi/Bronco/
Escalade; Yukon; Tahoe; Subur
4Runner def not unibody.
So the 4Runner is the only vehicle in that list thatās BoF.
Yep - which is why I think there is room in the market for a 6 BOF. Specifically something with some prior cacheā like the Pathfinder.
Yes. Iām assuming @Chippedbeefās original comment was that buyers of those other cars would likely also be willing to consider a BOF option, as well.
1 Like
You got it, sorry if my phrasing was unclear. The buyers of all of those vehicles are potential customers
Would the average buyer even know the significance or care enough for it to make a difference? I think if that was the case then it would have happened by now.
1 Like
Nobody cares. Like literally no one else aside from one person cares. People in this segment look at space, MPG, features, practicality etc and maybe style to a certain extent. Nobody cares whether the chassis is unibody or BOF.
To the extent that BOF might make packaging, interior space and MPG worse than unibody rivals, buyers would drop the the BOF choice in a heartbeat.
And anyone who needs to tow more than 5k (typical crossover towing limit) is going for a full-size pickup truck or BOF full-size SUV like a Tahoe, Sub, etc.
I disagree - no one has made a ācoolā 6 BOF with excellent Tech in quite some time. The 4 RUNNER is doing fine even with 10 yr old Tech and a cramped interior.
I think youāre a guy passionate about a real body on frame SUV and thatās great. Any car guy will appreciate where youāre coming from but if you look at where the bread and butter is, itāa not an off roader.
5 Likes
fair. I do wonder if Nissan has any bread and butter at all though. I donāt really see any of the new Pathfinderās out and about and I havenāt heard any excitement about it either.
My neighbor has had a new vehicle in her driveway for the last couple days that I thought looked really cool (although I have only seen a back-end view). It has been in front of another car so I couldnāt tell what brand/model it was until today when I stopped on my walk to get a better view. Of course itās a Pathfinder. I donāt see what the hate is about other than the unibody. The design is pretty āstandard foreign three-row SUVā these days. Kind of Range Rovery / Palisade in the back, standard Nissan in the front. Definitely not my thing, but I also think there would be room in Jeepās lineup for a unibody Wrangler for those of us who love Wranglers but who mostly use them for daily driving duties. Yeah, thereās a lot of heresy in this post I know. Sorry.
That said, I would never buy a Nissan. I donāt think theyāre as safe as the other APAC makes in real-world driving. Iāve always been more of a Honda/Acura person (even through Acuraās horrible beak phase). This round we went with a Forester, which is underpowered and CVT, but it has been pretty fun for an underpowered CUV.
Nissan, Kia, Hyundai cater for the same market and in that market price is king more so then normal. However, in the past decade Kia and Hyundai are actively pursuing Toyota marketshare and have quite a piggy bank to back up their pursuits. Look at their engineering talent, recruited from big luxury automakers.
Nissan however has been on the verge of bankruptcy, and has no cash reserves to burn. For instance The original Z successors plan has been discussed since 2011 and cancelled many times. The one being launched (heavy redesign on the 21 year old platform) is actually different from the one finalized in 2018 (clean sheet), but then was deemed way to $$$$ by Mr. Ghosn and Saikawa.
The only solution Nissan/Infiniti had as a brand was to redesign existing platforms and hope for the best. They are doing the most, with the least resources.
That being said niche overland/offroad hype that is currently in vogue with products like the Bronco, defender, etc the only answer they have would be on an Xterra on an existing frontier platform, and the already available armada/patrol. However, the easier money maker which Nissan has begun exploring and has wider mass appeal has been appearance packages on all their CUVs and offering Nismo offroad goodies. This trend is also trickling into other brands like TRD Rav4s, Passport Trailsport edition.
1 Like
The 4Runner, with almost no competition, sells roughly as many units as the aging Pilot does, in an extremely competitive segment with unquestionably newer and arguably much better rivals.
Toyota can afford to not update the 4Rās tech because no one else wants a slice of that tiny (and stagnant) sub-150,000 annual volume pie. Everyone wants a slice of the massive (and growing) 2,000,000 volume unibody pie.
Itās in its own segment. It doesnāt truly compete with proper 3-row unibodies.
And the 4R is cramped precisely because itās BOF. Nissan could never offer the interior space of the Pathfinder with the same exterior dimensions using a BOF platform.
1 Like
Well except that this would not be a new concept for Nissan. They made the Pathfinder as a BOF originally, and if I recall, was laid out much better in the interior than a 4Runner.
If you in your 40s, you definitely had to own a 5th gen maxima back in the daysā¦
Now here a dedicated Nissan Fan boyā¦SMFH
1st car ā 1989 maxima ā used
2003 maxima ā new
2004 Armada ā new
2008 Maxima ā new
2001 maxima -used
2010 maxima ā new
2014 pathfinder ā new
Kids
2019 Q50 (2) ā new
2021 Q50 (2) ā new
Iām done, no more Nissanā¦ Just gonna buy a Lexus and drive it until i die.
3 Likes
What makes you say that?
Itās totally speculative/anecdotal. Among my few friends who have been in accidents, it just always seemed to be Nissans where they had more injuries. When my Acura got totaled (T-boned a truck that ran a red), I went to the tow yard / body shop to pick up the plates, it was foremost on my mind to ask the owner what brands of new autos would best protect me and my family in an accident based on what heās seen come in. He told me Nissans and Hyundai/Kia were the worst, which kind of confirmed that bias. But he added that the cheapest car in any lineup tended to be bad when it came to surviving an accident. He pointed to a Sentra and noted that the driver didnāt do too well in it.
2 Likes
Not to halt the hate train, but a quick anecdote ā my most recent rental car (courtesy of GM while my Bolt sits in the driveway) has been a Nissan Altima SR and Iāve actually really enjoyed it. Impressed with the range (550 miles) and fuel economy (35mpg), the vehicle interior is pretty spacious and comfortable, and itās got some nice leather surfaces and decent safety features for a $26k vehicle.
Itās been a while since Iāve driven <$30k economy cars but it feels like a pretty refined ride for the price.
4 Likes
But itās not really, more like $28k MSRP and closer to $30k with taxes, and thatās before market adjustments.
Theyāre asking closer to $32 for these around me, and absolutely not worth that.