Still, in-car navigation is no excuse to leave Apple CarPlay and Android Auto off the table in a 2020 model year vehicle. There is no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto available, but our SL Rock Creek had a navigation system built in. 2020 PATHFINDER DRIVERIt’s a bit ridiculous to control an infotainment screen via arrows nowadays, but the screen is placed just inconveniently far enough away to make the driver uncomfortably reach for it. A low-def central infotainment screen can be controlled via a central knob on the center stack, directional arrows on that knob or via the touchscreen itself. The styling hasn’t aged gracefully on this generation of Pathfinder, and the tech does it no favors either. Stepping into the driver’s seat of the Pathfinder is like stepping right into the heart of the economic recession. The whole dashboard, center stack and gauge cluster have to go. Unfortunately, the Pathfinder has found other ways to let us down, most of them due to its age. Towing is on the higher side of its class, and cargo room with the third row lowered is also right there with cars like the Kia Telluride and Ford Explorer. Power is right about on-par with the competition, and so is fuel economy. Naturally, Nissan pairs the V6 with its CVT that tries its best to mimic gear changes, but still ends up feeling lazy and sloppy. That’s good enough to tow a 6,000-pound trailer and earn an EPA rating of 22 mpg combined when equipped with all-wheel drive. A 3.5-liter V6 makes 284 horsepower and 259 pound-feet of torque. Yeah, we’re a bit bummed, too, because the standard Nissan powertrain equipment is middling in this class. Your eyes weren’t deceiving you, because there are no mechanical changes to the Rock Creek. If you were scanning the above thinking we’d left out any mechanical upgrades to the Rock Creek, don’t fret. Wasn’t this stuff supposed to have gone extinct in the early 2010s? Then, there’s the “premium metallic trim” – a glossy carbon fiber-esque looking plastic material with some orange accents weaved into it, set against hard black plastic – that doesn’t look or feel premium. It’s big enough that you won’t ever miss it stepping into the car, for better or worse. Nissan embroidered the Rock Creek logo onto both the front seats and the floor mats. The Rock Creek interior changes are similarly minor, yet immediately noticeable. It was much more enticing on the dark green show car we saw at the Chicago Auto Show. Paint choice makes a huge difference in how this package looks. When combined with the porcelain white paint on our tester, the overall effect is low-rent. Dark 18-inch wheels (that look a whole lot like the Subaru Crosstrek’s wheels) finish the look. 2020 PATHFINDER LICENSENissan dresses up the exterior trim in black paint, covering the mesh grille, roof rails, door handles, mirror caps and license plate finisher. In short, the Rock Creek is an appearance package. This one, the Rock Creek Edition, found its way into our garage for a week. A facelift in 2017 and several special editions are the only motions the company is going through to try to keep things fresh. New three-row crossovers are popping up left and right, and yet Nissan trots the Pathfinder – at seven model years old – into 2020 with blinders on. Not that’s there’s anything wrong with that.The 2020 Nissan Pathfinder Rock Creek Edition finds itself in murky waters these days. If this doesn’t exactly make you want to tackle some off-road trail, it does visually toughen the Pathfinder’s appearance, even though it doesn’t otherwise change its thoroughly suburban driving persona. Inside, exclusive two-tone seats offset the high contrast stitching the on seats, door, console lid and steering wheel, which are accented by metallic interior trim. Opting for it equips the Pathfinder with unique dark 18-inch wheels, and blackens the grille, roof rails, door handles, rearview mirrors, badges, trailer tow hitch and harness, and splash guards. The seven-passenger 2020 Pathfinder comes with front-wheel drive or four-wheel drive in ascending S, SV, SL and Platinum trim, with the Rock Creek Edition Package offered on SV and SL trim levels (base price $36,160). Yet with the arrival of the optional Rock Creek Edition Package, the Pathfinder is attempting to reclaim some of its former glory. For those who remember the Pathfinders of yore, the new model was the same thing in name only. This trend continued with the 2017 redesign, as the Pathfinder became a bit blander. Its personality slipped away as it traded unpaved trails for pokey parkways. This disappeared for the fourth-generation model.
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