Compare the2024 Kia EV9VS 2024 Nissan Pathfinder

Both the EV9 and Pathfinder have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The EV9 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Pathfinder’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

Both the EV9 and Pathfinder have rear cross-traffic warning, but the EV9 has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Pathfinder’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the EV9 and the Pathfinder have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, front seat center airbag, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Kia EV9 weighs 468 to 1522 pounds more than the Nissan Pathfinder. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Kia EV9 is safer than the Pathfinder:

The EV9 comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Pathfinder’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the EV9 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Nissan covers the Pathfinder. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Pathfinder ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Nissan vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles, Nissan is ranked 6th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Nissan vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia above average in long-term dependability. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Nissan is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Nissan vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 7 places higher in reliability than Nissan.

The EV9 has more powerful engines than the Pathfinder:

As tested in Motor Trend the EV9 GT-Line electric motors is faster than the Nissan Pathfinder (base engine):

On the EPA test cycle the EV9 gets better mileage than the Pathfinder:

The EV9 can travel with zero emissions for 230 to 304 miles (dependent on model). The Pathfinder can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the EV9’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Pathfinder doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The EV9 has a standard locking charge port with a power remote release convenient to the driver. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Pathfinder. A locking charge port prevents tampering and damage; a locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Kia EV9 higher (10 out of 10) than the Nissan Pathfinder (5). This means the EV9 produces up to 19.8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Pathfinder every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the EV9’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Pathfinder:

The EV9 stops much shorter than the Pathfinder:

For better traction, the EV9 GT-Line’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Pathfinder (285/45R21 vs. 255/60R18).

The EV9 GT-Line’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Pathfinder’s optional 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the EV9 has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Pathfinder. The EV9 GT-Line’s 21-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels optional on the Pathfinder.

The EV9 offers an optional automatic rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Pathfinder doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

The EV9’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Pathfinder doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the EV9’s wheelbase is 7.8 inches longer than on the Pathfinder (122 inches vs. 114.2 inches).

The EV9’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (47.9% to 52.1%) than the Pathfinder’s (55% to 45%). This gives the EV9 more stable handling and braking.

The EV9 GT-Line AWD handles at .87 G’s, while the Pathfinder SL pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The EV9 GT-Line AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2 seconds quicker than the Pathfinder Platinum (26.4 seconds @ .69 average G’s vs. 28.4 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the EV9 has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Pathfinder (7.8 vs. 7.1 inches), allowing the EV9 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The EV9’s minimum ground clearance is .1 inch higher than on the Pathfinder Rock Creek (7.8 vs. 7.7 inches).

The front grille of the EV9 uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Pathfinder doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The EV9 has 10.8 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Pathfinder (158.8 vs. 148).

The EV9 has 1.1 inches more front hip room, .8 inches more front shoulder room, .2 inches more rear headroom, 7.3 inches more rear legroom, 1.6 inches more rear hip room, .4 inches more rear shoulder room, 1.7 inches more third row headroom and 2.8 inches more third row legroom than the Pathfinder.

The EV9’s cargo area provides more volume than the Pathfinder.

Pressing a switch automatically lowers or raises the EV9’s optional second and third row seats, to make changing between cargo and passengers easier. The Pathfinder doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The EV9 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Pathfinder uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The EV9’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Pathfinder’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The EV9’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Pathfinder’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

The EV9’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Nissan only offers heated mirrors on the Pathfinder SV/Rock Creek/SL/Platinum.

The EV9’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Pathfinder offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The EV9 has standard front air conditioned seats and the EV9 Land/GT-Line also has them in the second row. This keeps the passengers comfortable and takes the sting out of hot seats in summer. The Pathfinder doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The EV9 GT-Line has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Pathfinder.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Kia EV9 has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Pathfinder SL/Platinum offers wireless charging.

The EV9 (except Light/Wind)’s optional Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Pathfinder doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The EV9 was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2024. The Pathfinder has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the EV9 as the 2024 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The Pathfinder has never been chosen.