Is the 2023 Nissan Pathfinder Rock Creek Edition PERFECT balance for a RUGGED family size CROSSOVER?

Does this 2023 Nissan Pathfinder Rock Creek give you the perfect balance between an off-road SUV and a family SUV? Well, my name is Christopher, this is Cars Unlocked. We're going to take it for a spin and show you the ins and outs to help you determine if it's right for you. So for 2022, the Pathfinder saw a much-needed redesign. And now for 2023, Nissan has added the Rock Creek edition into the lineup. So this one has an MSRP of $51,998. And we're going to go through what you get here with that Rock Creek package, starting with the front. And right away, you've got to love the exterior color on this. It contrasts great with the Rock Creek. And this is really the only version of the Pathfinder that you can get in this brown. With the Rock Creek, you also get a black V-Motion front grille. You get this unique front grille as well here with this mesh right behind it. So everything is nice and unique, specific to the Rock Creek. You have your fog lights down below, full LED headlights here with our LED daytime running lights. And we have our parking sensors. And you get a forward camera, which we're going to check out when we jump inside. Right away, when you look at the Rock Creek, you see the difference here with these tires here. You have the all-terrain tires, and you have these 18-inch aluminum alloy rims. It has this unique kind of beadlock look to it that's exclusive to the Rock Creek. When we look at the side profile, we see we get these Rock Creek badging all throughout the sides. We have our black and brown kind of contrast with the black roof. And with the Rock Creek, you get these added tubular roof rails. So perfect for those weekend warriors if you're putting things on the roof. And you also have your rear privacy glass all throughout. And let's check out the back. 6,000 pounds of towing here coming from the Pathfinder. You have rear parking sensors, black badging as well. 3.5-liter V6 engine comes standard in all the Pathfinders with a 9-speed automatic transmission. Now, with this one, you're going to get 295 horsepower and 270 pounds-feet of torque. So you get a little extra horsepower and a little extra torque. 11 extra horsepower to be exact from the previous standard Pathfinders. When you jump on the inside, here's what you notice right away with the Rock Creek Edition. You get these leatherette seats that don't come on the traditional Pathfinder SV. You have the Rock Creek badging in the seats and on your center console. And you have the orange contrast stitching. So a lot of value added when you go up to the Rock Creek Edition. You can start it up using the remote starter. It also comes with now an approach, lock, and unlock. So as you approach the door with the keys, it will lock and unlock the car for you. You have 10-way power adjustable driver's seat. So lots of different ways you can adjust the seat to make sure you're comfortable. In terms of fuel economy, you're going to get 11.9 liters per every 100 kilometers. And that's about 20.9 mpg. That's combined between the city and the highway. So pretty decent fuel economy compared to the competitors. Now, in terms of drivability, obviously these all-terrain tires that come on it make for just a little stiffer ride. You definitely feel the bumps a little more and they do affect your fuel economy a little bit. You have many different drive modes. That's one thing that Nissan added, which is good. You have all these different drive modes here. You have like an economy mode. Right now we're driving in normal mode. You have a sport mode down here. Trailer. You have a snow mode. A mud and rut mode. Maybe a sand mode if you're at the beach. And then you have your trailer or your tow-haul mode if you're towing. So that contrast stitching continues on the wheel of this. We have our ProPILOT Assist. Nissan Intelligent Control. Paddle shifters are also good. The wheel does come heated. And we have heated front seats as well with the Rock Creek. Now let's talk about the screen here. You have an 8-inch touchscreen, which you can do Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, Sirius Satellite Radio. Unfortunately, when you go up to this Rock Creek, you don't get any additions to the sound system. However, you still get the traditional Nissan sound system. And then one thing that you do get is you get this backup camera with the Around View Monitor. And there's a few different views. There's our parallel view. You also get this wide angle that you get. You also get the upgraded camera with the Rock Creek Edition for towing. You kind of get an off-road angle camera. Comes with the automatic on-off system. So when you're idling at a light, it will also shut off for you. Nissan gives you their EZ Flex seating system here. So if you have car seats in the back, you don't have to fold the seats down to get in and out. You have a USB here to charge. Ventilation in the back as well. And your kids can control the ventilation. These seats are on rails. But it's really easy to get in the back. Just use the button there. And then I can hop in. So let's see how it feels getting in and out. Now I'm 5'9". Not too bad. My legs are kind of pushed up against the seat. But this seat can also move up. I'd be okay here for a long trip. And then I can just get out with the touch of a button, which is really easy. Does this Pathfinder... You can see it's going over bumps now. It's taking them pretty well. But it's still... Is this an off-road capable car? I would say mostly this Rock Creek package is mostly cosmetic from everything that I've shown you. You're not going to go hit the trails with this. You're not going to go in the backcountry. Maybe you could with a few modifications. But it's not trail-ready to go and ride the trails, climb hills, things like that. This off-road is really like cosmetics. You also get the motion-activated liftgate here. So you just need to put your foot under the tow hitch there. As long as you have the keys in the proximity, it's going to automatically open. This specific one being the Rock Creek, you get these exclusive mats here to help keep your cargo area clean. There's a little hidden storage underneath as well. And then you can fold the seats down just using the levers here. Pretty easy. Everything folds down for your cargo area. One thing I'd love to see Nissan do is just completely ditch this Rock Creek edition and just make it a Pro 4X edition. Pro 4X is pretty common with the Nissan name. Very popular. Just do a Pro 4X package on the Pathfinder. And I think that would be really cool. And I think that would sell better than this Rock Creek branding that they do. Because typically, in my opinion, it's all cosmetics. So comment below what you guys think. So let me know guys. Is the Rock Creek an off-road vehicle here? Or is it just made to stay on the streets? Comment below what you guys think. And as always, if you're new to my channel or we've helped you make a buying decision, subscribe. Give us a thumbs up and we'll see you in the next video. Have a great day.