2022 Nissan Pathfinder Is Tech-Ready for Summer Road Trips, Unlike the Original

Well, Nissan knows very well the 2022 Pathfinder dropped into showrooms just in time for the summer vacations and road trips. So, it’s not only kicking off a promotional campaign with the “Return to Rugged” tagline but is also playing with the old vs. new trope. And it’s doing it with sense and sensibility. Fathers that grew up during the 1980s will surely relate to that. In a big way.

So, the initial commercial (all videos are embedded below) doesn’t stray too far away from the norm, aiming to show the big evolution jump across the five generations. Still, the 2022 Pathfinder is designed to do just about every adventurous thing its original forebear did... only better. But there’s also an additional set of four quick promos that sound and look quite delicious.

They’re all about a father that is taking his family on the same adventures he experienced decades ago with his father and grandfather. Even the vehicle color is the same, a crimson Pathfinder. But the original didn’t have any of the amenities at hand during the 21st century. So, there’s a bit of fun to be had on the “when I was a kid...” punchline.

Such as the fact that back in the day, the family’s boat “had just one engine: me,” the scary “devil’s drop” on the trail was harder to navigate, or that “grandpa used to make me sit there every single time,” when reminiscing about the 2-Door's well known middle back seat... aka “the hump.” Sweet and simple, and humorously playing the strengths of the SUV against well-known road-trip happenings: “when I was a kid, I had to be the Around View Monitor.” Well done, Nissan.