Just bought a '13 Pathfinder!!

[kerrton]

The hybrid powertrain is set to be revealed this month at the New York Auto Show in the JX35, now renamed QX60.

http://ca.autoblog.com/2013/03/08/infin ... r-new-yor/

It will be the 2.5L Supercharged 4-cylinder with Li-ion hybrid electric driver, good for a 24% increase in efficiency and combined total 250 horsepower. It's some very interesting technology, but the already pricey vehicle will get a lot more expensive and without a plug-in option it's not really that big of a deal in my opinion. Chrysler released a hybrid powertrain for their large 7-pass Aspen around 5-years ago and it was a complete flop probably due to the large price premium and limited benefits.

Nissan is a step ahead with a Li-ion battery, but with their plug-in capacity with the Leaf, why didn't they go all the way and give this plug-in ability? I know, its becasue of costs, but doing a half-assed job isn't going to be good for their bottom line either, unless they make the hybrid option affordable which only Toyota has been able to do. Who knows, maybe it will be a hit, this will compete directly against the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, so the specs better be superior to what Toyota has been offering in the Highlander since around 2008, becasue we know the redesign is coming next year and it will be sure to improve. And 250 total horsepower? That's definitely adequate, but doesn't do a lot to "sweeten the pot" and motivate people to shell out the extra cash for a small savings on fuel and environmental benefit.

Realistically, if they want people to adopt a more fuel efficient powertrain for minimal extra cost I think they should follow Ford's idea of sticking a smaller displacement turbo with direct injection into the large crossover. Smaller displacement engine means much improved effiency for owners who drive conservatively and therefore aren't in "boost" that often - just roll around town with a nice small 4-cylinder for big effiency gains and very small price premium over the regular V6. Ford chargers $1000 more for the turbo 4. Now I don't think that Ford necessarily has it bang-on either, I think their 2.0L is just too small for the large Explorer (even though it produces around 240 hp), and it isn't available with AWD/4x4. I think if Nissan took a similar approach but used a larger 2.5-2.7 displacement, direct injection with turbo tuned for efficiency rather than performance, they could offer a 15% improvement in fuel economy over the V6 for basically the same price. Now that's good value!

This leads to a side discussion: how reliable and durable are current generation turbo's and they do they justify the potential gains if long-term reliablity is sub-par?

[Timmbo]

The question regarding reliability is a HUGE one, only time will tell!