It wasn't too long ago that the Toyota 4Runner and Nissan Pathfinder made their first generation debuts. And, right from the very start, they were embittered rivals. But there was a clear difference between the two.
The Toyota was the suburban play thing that was commonly seen hauling the kids around to sports practice and at the drop-off lane at the local schools. The Nissan, on the other hand, was the more sporty and rugged off-roader.
I remember my friend whose father had a manual Pathfinder in a champagne color. It was a really cool and — frankly — badass product at the time.
But as time has gone on, it's very apparent there's been a bit of a change in each nameplates formula.
For Toyota, it's clear with the invention of the Highlander, it could take the 4Runner in a more brute-ish direction and angle it towards a more sporting look and truck-like driving dynamics.
Nissan though decided to go "the Ford Explorer" route and make the sport-utility vehicle suburban friendly. This means only autoboxes, growth in all directions and a much softer exterior design.
That said we wanted to pair these two nameplates together for one last dance and/or showdown. So, who's it going to be? The 4Runner or the Pathfinder?