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Third stage: Gaspé - Percé
After our stop in the Gaspé region and its beautiful Forillon Park, we next headed for Percé, one of my favourite spots during my first trip to Gaspé back in the day.
The town of Percé is such a beautiful little place it demands you rest there for at least two full days, if only to go to Bonaventure Island, admire the Percé Rock or enjoy the tourist atmosphere of the place, or preferably all of the above. Once again, the Pathfinder covered the 69 km between Gaspé and Percé without a grumble... and with all the windows nice and tightly closed!
Despite the heavy weight on the rear axle and the winding roads we drove on, the midsize SUV proved a big vehicle can also hold its own on a demanding road. Granted, the Pathfinder is no Nissan Z, but it handles well enough that I didn't have to be any more vigilant than I normally would.
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Fourth stage: Percé - Bonaventure
After two wonderfully sunny days in Percé, it was back onto the road for us, in direction of the Baie des Chaleurs, on a morning tinged with showers. We headed for the town of Bonaventure where, once again, our hotel room was only a few meters from the sea. Heavenly!
Here we parked the SUv and headed out onto the water, for a canoe trek of nearly 8 km on the Bonaventure River on breathtaking, crystal-clear water. The people at Cime Aventures, the company that manages the boat rentals, were wonderful in guiding us and frankly, I can only recommend this activity to anyone who wants to spend a beautiful afternoon on the water.
We also took the opportunity to climb Mount St-Joseph not far from Chandler, a municipality located a little further along the shore of the Baie des Chaleurs. This exercise was a little more demanding for our vehicle and allowed us to admire the surrounding landscape at an altitude of over 500 m.
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Fifth stage: Bonaventure - Kiskotuk Coastal Park
Officially, the Kiskotuk Coastal Park, not far from Rivière-du-Loup, is not part of the Gaspé Peninsula, but so be it, it was the spot of our last stopover, in an adorable cottage perched on the shores of the St. Lawrence River in front of Île Verte. Camping in style, we even had access to an observatory on the roof, not far from the treetops. What a great find as we headed slowly back home!
To get there, the distance between Bonaventure and Rivière-du-Loup was greater and the road a little less touristy. It was during the five hours it took to cover that ground that the Pathfinder started to get thirstier for gas, first because of the bigger hills of the Matapedia valley, but also during the overtaking encouraged by the two lanes of the highway. Which meant that, on arriving at our last chalet, the vehicle had averaged 11.5 L/100 km. All in all, that was an acceptable result considering the mountainous route of this part of the country... and the weight of a family of four and their gear.
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Sixth stage: Rivière-du-Loup - Montreal
Finally, after a night made partially sleepless by some uncommonly hot temperatures, we hit the road after loading up the Pathfinder with people and things one last time - just before a rainstorm came crashing on us. No matter, this part of the trip was going to be much easier, mainly because we were now used to our Pathfinder, but also because the vast majority of our route was going to be on a well maintained highway.
The interior
A few words about the interior in which we spent so many hours covering the 2,500 km of our trip.
I like what the designers have done with the dashboard, which is much more pleasant to look at than before. The layout of the controls is excellent, as is the space-saving shifter.
The infotainment system is much more intuitive to use than in the past, but we have to admit that American manufacturers still have the upper hand in this respect. Besides that, there are a few plastic panels inside, but overall, there's a quality feel to the Pathfinder Platinum.
Is it better than Honda or Toyota, who often produce very durable interiors? I wouldn't go that far, but the Nissan Pathfinder, revised since last year, is much more welcoming and worth considering, especially since its towing capacity is the highest in the class (6,000 lb), if you exclude the V8-powered Durango.
Specifications sheet of 2022 Nissan Pathfinder S
Specifications sheet of 2022 Nissan Pathfinder SV
Specifications sheet of 2022 Nissan Pathfinder SL
Specifications sheet of 2022 Nissan Pathfinder Platinum
Specifications sheet of 2022 Nissan Pathfinder Platinum 4WD
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The last word
While this family trip went off without any major unforeseen events or unfortunate situations, the Nissan Pathfinder did act up once or twice, notably when that window got stubborn, or during backwards manoeuvres that required deactivating of the alarm.
On the whole, though, over the 2,500 km of distance covered, Nissan's mid-size SUV proved to be an excellent travel partner. Fuel consumption remained reasonable, comfort was more than acceptable and the capabilities of this family-oriented 4x4 were demonstrated on more than one occasion during this journey through one of the most beautiful regions of the country.
We like
The reasonable fuel consumption
The capabilities of the vehicle
The general comfort
We like less
The quality of some of the interior plastics
Minor problems related to backwards maneuvers
Uneven assembly (especially on the outside)
The competition
Buick Enclave
Chevrolet Traverse
Dodge Durango
Ford Explorer
GMC Acadia
Honda Pilot
Hyundai Palisade
Jeep Grand Cherokee L
Kia Telluride
Mazda CX-9
Subaru Ascent
Toyota Highlander
Volkswagen Atlas
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