2024 Nissan Pathfinder Rock Creek Review: Rugged and Ready for Adventure

Since its redesign in 2022, the Nissan Pathfinder has been a worthy contender in the highly competitive 3-row SUV market. The modern Pathfinder’s squared-off, angular styling is handsome and appealing, and its car-like ride qualities make it comfortable for everyday driving. If you’re looking for the Pathfinder most capable of taking you off the pavement, look no further than the 2024 Pathfinder Rock Creek.

Building atop the Pathfinder SV, the Rock Creek combines rugged aesthetics with a handful of performance upgrades. Among its features are an off-road-tuned suspension, a 5/8-inch lift, and 18-inch rims that mimic the look of beadlock wheels wrapped in all-terrain tires. Rock Creek buyers also get a unique dark grille, a tubular roof rack, LED fog lights, and a slightly more powerful engine than other Pathfinder trims.

This tweaked version of Nissan’s 3.5-liter V6 engine offers up to 295 horsepower and 270 lb-ft. of torque when running on premium fuel. While the Pathfinder isn’t a speed demon, its 6.8 second 0-to-60 time is respectable for a 7-passenger family hauler. The 9-speed automatic transmission does its job well, offering smooth shifts and helping the SUV achieve pretty good fuel economy numbers for a naturally aspirated engine. You’re looking at 20 mpg in the city, 23 mpg on the highway, and 21 mpg combined.

All-wheel drive comes standard on the Pathfinder Rock Creek, and there are drive modes for various terrain and weather conditions. While I spent most of my time in Auto or Sport modes, the Mud/Ruts mode helped maintain traction and control in rural Oklahoma’s thick and sloppy red mud. Other drive modes include Sand, Snow, Eco, and Towing. The Rock Creek comes with a tow hitch receiver and wiring harness. Like other current-gen Pathfinders, this one will pull up to 6,000 pounds – more than enough to tow a couple of jet skis, a side-by-side, or even some mid-sized camper trailers.

The Toyo Open Country A/T tires offer a good balance of grip and everyday driving comfort. The Rock Creek’s suspension tuning helps mitigate ruts, bumps, potholes, and speed bumps nicely without giving up control at highway speeds. Nissan increased ground clearance from 7.1 inches to 7.7 inches for this trim, adding a small safety margin when crawling over rocky terrain. However, there’s no factory-provided underbody protection like some other off-road models, and the ride height can’t compete with a Bronco or a Defender. For a more direct comparison, the Rock Creek’s closest competitor, the Honda Pilot Trailsport, offers 8.3 inches of ground clearance and includes skid plates. That all said, the Pathfinder is perfectly fine on gravel, dirt, mud, and crushed-up rock surfaces like those found on the way to campsites. You’ll have to use extra caution driving it on larger, more uneven rocky trails. Fortunately, the around-view camera system helps you see the road ahead when driving at low speeds in off-road modes.

The Pathfinder’s spacious interior is quiet and well-insulated from road noise and vibrations. The dashboard, doors, and center console are enveloped in stitched, soft-touch materials, and there’s ample storage space for front-seat passengers. In addition to a storage bin under the padded armrest, there’s a cubby beneath the floating console and a right-side shelf on the dashboard for your passenger to place their phone or other pocket items. The 8-inch touchscreen display is passable but feels small and dated compared to some of the alternatives on the market. I recently got to test out the excellent new Google-powered system in the 2025 Infiniti QX80. I’m hopeful this will soon find its way to other Nissan and Infiniti vehicles.

The flat-bottomed steering wheel is a nice touch and provides access to various vehicle controls, including ProPilot Assist. This version of the driver assistance system includes adaptive cruise control and lane centering but requires that you keep your hands on the wheel. The cruise control system does a good job maintaining speed and a safe distance as traffic speeds vary. And while the lane centering kept the Pathfinder in the lane, it’s a bit more forceful than other systems, so it feels like it’s fighting your input you need to take control of the wheel.

The Pathfinder’s shift-by-wire joystick is easy to use and less gimmicky than dials or pushbutton controls. Behind the gear shifter, you’ll find buttons to activate the brake auto-hold feature and deactivate the engine auto-stop/start function. I recommend turning off the latter as the stops and starts can be a bit jarring and adds a bit of lag when accelerating from a dead stop. Switching between drive modes is easy using the dial on the center console, which I much prefer to vehicles that bury this in a touchscreen menu.

The Rock Creek gets easy-to-clean faux leather seats with orange contrast stitching and Rock Creek logo embroidery on the seatbacks and console armrest. Nissan has paid particular attention to seat comfort in recent years, and the Pathfinder’s are great, offering excellent comfort on long road trips. The front seats are heated, but ventilation is only available on the top-of-the-line Pathfinder Platinum.

The second-row captain’s chairs offer good headroom and kneeroom for passengers, though their seat cushions are a bit on the low side. Back here, there’s an independent climate control unit and USB-A and USB-C charging ports. In addition, there’s a handy center console with storage and cupholders, which can be removed in a couple of seconds. This can provide another way to get between the second and third rows and also adds some cargo space. Accessing the third row isn’t too difficult, thanks to the slide-and-tilt mechanism on the captain’s chairs. As a taller passenger, I had to slightly contort myself to get around the wheel arch; otherwise, it was not too tricky.

That said, the back seat has pretty limited legroom, so it’s best for kids. And while there are cupholders in the back, the Rock Creek doesn’t get third-row charging ports – another feature exclusive to the Pathfinder Platinum.

Cargo capacity is quite good, topping out at 80.5 cubic feet with both the second and third rows folded down. Because of the Pathfinder’s boxy shape, the liftgate opening is nice and tall, further improving cargo-carrying versatility. With the second row occupied, you still get 45 cubic feet of space, though that drops to a car-like 16.6 cubic feet with all three rows in use.

Bonus storage space under the rear cargo floor is great for carrying tools, emergency gear, or dirty hiking boots after a day on the trails. A removable access panel in the bin provides access to a jack and tire-changing tools. Speaking of spare tires, Nissan hid the Pathfinder’s temporary spare under the chassis, which saves space in the cargo area.

As the 3-row SUV market grows and evolves, boxy and rugged models are becoming more prevalent. In most ways, the Nissan Pathfinder Rock Creek has kept up with the crowd, offering a good blend of everyday comfort and modest off-road abilities. I’d love to see a more up-to-date multimedia system, and skid plates would add confidence when riding on rocky trails, but I’m still a Pathfinder fan. If you’re considering a Kia Telluride X-Pro or Honda Pilot TrailSport, you should definitely test drive the Pathfinder Rock Creek as well. Pricing for the 2024 Nissan Pathfinder Rock Creek starts at $44,470, plus a $1390 destination charge.