Were goin’ on a road trip. Are we there yet? Are we there? 

You definitely learn a lot about a vehicle in a drive across state. I’m just back from a one-day, 520-mile, St. Pete to Fort Lauderdale slog. I-275 to 75 and across Alligator Alley where not a single alligator was spotted. 

But thank you Sarasota and Fort Myers for the mind-numbing stop-start traffic. Thank you to the distracted driver who rear-ended a fellow motorist, causing that lovely 10-mile tailback north of Naples.

It was, however, a great test of Nissan’s newest Pathfinder three-row SUV. The Platinum model I was driving came with more fancy leather than a Coach handbag store, more tech than at a Best Buy.

And may I say that the splendid 13-speaker Bose sound system with Sirius XM and Apple CarPlay, kept me sane and entertained for the eight-and-a-half hours we shared together. 

Thanks too for the Zero Gravity front seats, inspired by science conducted by NASA; they supported my back and nether regions in just the right places. Not a single twinge was felt the entire trip. 

The folks at Nissan did a fine re-modeling job of the Pathfinder for the 2022 model year. New bodywork, new interior, lots of new technology and some cool, new features. 

Now it’s an even stronger competitor in this $36,000 to $54,000 three-row mid-size SUV sector, where rivals include the Kia Telluride, Hyundai Palisade, Mazda CX-9, Jeep Grand Cherokee L, Toyota Highlander and VW Atlas. To name just a few.

My all-bells-and-whistles Pathfinder Platinum AWD version had a base price of $52,045 or $54,290 as tested. It’s a lot of truck for the money.

Thankfully one feature Nissan didn’t change in its Pathfinder makeover was the 3.5-liter V6 under the hood. I know, I know, the growing trend for four-cylinder turbo motors tends to mean better fuel economy. But in a big-bodied sport-ute like this, a V6 is nice.

And when it’s coupled with a new nine-speed automatic in place of the previous CVT continuously-variable transmission, the package is about as good as it gets.

Pulling out to accelerate past lumbering 18-wheelers, or speeding-up to merge with I-75 traffic after a Starbucks caffeine stop, the V6 offers a solid  284-horsepower and 259 lb-ft punch. 

A lovely transmission too, shifting gears with the smoothness of hot butter on a Teflon pan, and delivering the immediate response of flicking on a light switch. There’s even a “sport’ mode to add a little Red Bull into the mix. 

With V6 power you also get real refinement. At 75mph on I-75 there’s hardly a murmur from under the hood. And even under foot-to-the-floor acceleration, the engine emits just a distant, muted roar. 

Talking of refinement, Nissan does need to work on the smoothness of its automatic stop-start. This is when the engine cuts off at a stop light to conserve fuel. When it fires back up, it shakes and shimmies like Elvis in his prime.

I didn’t encounter too many curves on my road trip, but the few there were saw the big Nissan sweeping around with confidence and poise. That said, this is a full-bodied, tall-and-long sport-ute; a BMW X5 or Mercedes GLE it is not.

Want to bring friends along for the ride, you’ll find interior space is up there with a Greyhound bus. There are three rows, with a third row that can actually accommodate normal-sized adults, plus luggage space a-plenty. Fold down the second and third rows and there’s over 80 cubic feet of load space. 

Other road trip pluses that made the trip more enjoyable-slash-tolerable; a head-up display to put your speed at eye-level, Nissan’s ProPILOT driver-assist with intelligent cruise control, and forward collision warning. I also loved the wireless charging pad too to keep my phone topped-up. 

All it would have needed was a built-in coffee maker and snack dispenser to be perfect.