Rent Nissan Pathfinder 2022 in Dubai

When the trip is long and the car is full, a small engine starts to feel like a mistake, and that's the gap the Nissan Pathfinder 2022 fills. We deliver this full-size SUV to your door in Dubai within one to two hours, with 250 km a day included for the emirate-crossing drives a big SUV gets booked for. The story here is the powertrain. A 3.5-litre V6 and all-wheel drive mean a loaded Pathfinder still pulls hard up an on-ramp and holds a relaxed cruise to Abu Dhabi or the east coast. Seven seats come with it, but the reason to choose this car over a cheaper people-mover is what's under the bonnet, and we'll be honest about the fuel that buys.

The V6 and the long haul

Plenty of three-row SUVs in this size run a small turbo four to save fuel, and they feel it the moment you fill the seats and the boot. The Pathfinder doesn't make that compromise. The 3.5-litre V6 makes 284 hp through a 9-speed automatic, and with six or seven aboard plus luggage it still surges onto Sheikh Zayed Road and overtakes on the E11 without you holding your breath. For the drives a full-size SUV actually does, a run to DXB, a weekend in Abu Dhabi, a trip to the mountains, that reserve of power is the difference between effortless and strained.

It's also built to tow. If your week involves a trailer, a jet ski or a small boat, the V6 and the all-wheel drive handle a load that would have a smaller crossover struggling. That capability is part of what you're renting, not a footnote.

Fuel: the honest cost of the muscle

A V6 hauling a two-tonne SUV is never going to sip, so plan around it. Expect real-world consumption around 10 litres per 100 km on a steady highway run, and more in city stop-and-go with the car full and the AC working through a Dubai summer. The 71-litre tank still gives you a genuine week of mixed driving on a fill or two, and petrol here is cheap enough that the absolute cost stays reasonable. Just don't book the Pathfinder expecting small-SUV economy. The fuel bill is the price of the easy power, and for most people moving a full load it's a fair trade.

Spec at a glance

All-wheel drive and where the clearance stops

The Pathfinder's all-wheel drive with selectable modes is mainly there for grip and stability with a heavy load, and that's how most renters use it. On a wet road, a gravel approach to a campsite, or a graded desert track on the way to Hatta, it gives confidence a front-drive crossover can't. What it isn't is a dune machine. With 178 mm of clearance it's higher than a sedan but well short of a body-on-frame off-roader, so we wouldn't send it deep into soft sand without dropping pressures and knowing the route. For everything between tarmac and serious off-road, the AWD does its job.

Seven seats and the luggage maths

The Pathfinder seats seven, and the back row is usable for kids and teenagers on Dubai-length trips rather than two adults on a long highway leg. The number that catches families out is cargo with all three rows up: it's tight, enough for soft bags and the airport shop, not seven people's suitcases. Drop the third row and you open a large, square load bay that takes five people's holiday luggage comfortably. So the rule is the one every full-size SUV obeys: carry seven and pack light, or carry five and pack properly. For a group trip with the third row down, the space is genuinely generous.

Cooling a big cabin in the heat

A cabin this large is a real test for any AC at 45 degrees, and the Pathfinder is set up for it. There are vents for all three rows, so children in the back aren't baking while the front stays cold, and the system has the capacity to pull a big interior down to comfortable once you're moving. The first minutes after a sun-baked park are hot, as they are in any car, so set the fan high and give it a moment. For a full-family summer trip, the third-row airflow is the detail that makes it bearable.

The rules and costs that fall to you

Salik tolls are charged to you at each gantry, and any RTA fines during the rental are yours, so watch the speed cameras on the long highway stretches. Belts are required in every seat, the back rows included, and a child under four needs a child seat by law, which we can fit on request, including for the second and third rows. With seven seats in play, tell us how many you need when you book.

Who should rent it, and who shouldn't

Rent the Pathfinder 2022 if you're moving a full load over real distances and want a V6 that doesn't flinch when the car is packed, plus the option to tow and the AWD security for a graded track to Hatta. For long drives with the family aboard, it's the right kind of strong.

Skip it if your week is two or three people on city errands, where you'd be paying for power, size and fuel you won't touch. A midsize crossover or a sedan would cost less and park more easily. And if you need genuine desert capability rather than highway muscle, look at a body-on-frame 4x4. For the loaded long-haul, though, the Pathfinder is the one to book.