The 2026 Nissan Pathfinder Rock Creek wears a mesh grille

What fills the grille on this black Pathfinder? A mesh. The openings are hexagonal, the surround is bright, and the roundel in the middle has a red ring with NISSAN across the bar. Three bright rectangular vents sit in the hood above that mesh. The lower bumper is a silver piece with red sections at the outer corners. The green plate reads Vermont on the top line and Green Mountain State along the bottom.

Nissan’s U.S. Rock Creek page is headed the new 2026 Pathfinder Rock Creek, and it names an exclusive grille, grille mesh inserts, and black exterior badging. The November 13, 2025 press kit, from Nashville, is the U.S. account of the whole 2026 Pathfinder. For the 2026 model year it describes updated front and rear fascias and satin exterior badges. The features table in that kit splits the grille by grade. A black grille with rugged mesh styling is the Rock Creek line. A black grille with gray accents is the line for SV, SL, and Platinum. The same table gives Rock Creek a unique bumper and black badging, and gives SV, SL, and Platinum body-colored bumpers and semi-gloss satin badging. Black badging is also listed as optional on Platinum.

The file calls this one a 2026 Nissan Pathfinder Rock Creek in Super Black, photographed July 10, 2026, in White River Junction, Vermont. July 10 is the photograph’s date in the file. The model year is the 2026 on the file and in the Nashville note. The fender reads ROCK CREEK in dark letters, with a small red mark beside them. The lower cladding reads PATHFINDER in light letters. The page’s black exterior badging is the dark fender lettering on this car. The three hood vents are in the photograph. The Rock Creek page and the press kit do not name them.

The wheel is black, with a bright ring of fasteners around the rim and a red center cap, and the tread is a block pattern. The Rock Creek page names 18-inch black-painted beadlock-style wheels and 265/60R18 all-terrain tires. The features table’s Rock Creek wheel is an 18-inch machined aluminum-alloy with a black finish, on those same all-terrain tires. Black rails run the roof, and a crossbar sits across them. The page calls the rack a black tubular roof rack. The features table lists black roof rails on SV, Rock Creek, SL, and Platinum, and fixed cross bars on Rock Creek.

Platinum, with the other grille

The gray Pathfinder’s grille is a set of dark horizontal slats with bright bars, and the roundel is bright. The hood is smooth. The lower bumper is body color, with dark openings. A thin element runs above the main lamp, and an amber segment sits at the outer corner, the same lamp arrangement as on the black car. The grille is the piece that changes.

The file calls this a 2026 Nissan Pathfinder Platinum AWD, photographed April 3, 2026. April 3 is the photograph’s date in the file. The slatted grille is the gray-accent grille the features table assigns to Platinum, and to SV and SL. The body-colored bumper is the bumper line that table gives Platinum. A bright strip along the lower door reads PATHFINDER, and chrome bodyside molding is the Platinum line in the same table. The wheels are multi-spoke with bright faces. Platinum’s standard wheel in the table is a 20-inch machined aluminum-alloy with a dark metallic gray finish, on 255/50R20 all-season tires. A window sticker is on the glass. The sign behind the car reads Ed Martin, and Pre-Owned. Black roof rails run above the glass, which is the rail the table lists on all four grades.

The other file from that day, the same photographer, calls its car a 2026 Pathfinder Platinum AWD as well. The liftgate spells PATHFINDER in spaced metal letters. A small badge at the lower right of the gate reads PLATINUM.

A red lamp crosses the gate, with a clear section in the lens, and a Nissan roundel sits above the letters. A white Ed Martin decal is on the liftgate, at the left below the lamp. The plate frame reads EdMartin.com on the top line and edmartin.com on the bottom. A hitch and a red reflector sit in the rear bumper. The features table lists a Class III tow hitch as standard on Platinum and on Rock Creek. The November note’s exterior badges for 2026 are satin, and the features table’s semi-gloss satin badging is the Platinum line. The PATHFINDER lettering in that note is embossed below the screen, in the cabin. The letters in this photograph are on the liftgate.

The Nashville note offers the 2026 Pathfinder in SV, Rock Creek, SL, and Platinum. It sets a public debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show, November 21–30, and dealer arrival in early 2026. Those are the plans in the November 13, 2025 note. The gray files are dated April 3, 2026. The Vermont file is dated July 10, 2026. The note also says Pathfinder has been assembled in the U.S. since 2004.

The kit’s December 22, 2025 pricing table lists one Rock Creek row, 4WD, at a suggested list price of $45,090. Platinum is two rows: 2WD at $49,790 and 4WD at $51,790. The file’s word for the gray cars is AWD. The kit’s word is 4WD, under Intelligent 4x4, standard on Rock Creek and available on the other grades. Footnote 1 on the prices excludes tax, title, license, and destination, and prints D&H $1,575.

The opening of the note rates the 3.5-liter V6 at 284 horsepower and 259 pound-feet, with a nine-speed automatic. The specification table in the same kit splits the figure. It prints 284 horsepower and 259 pound-feet for S, SV, SL, and Platinum, on regular gasoline, and 295 horsepower and 270 pound-feet for Rock Creek, on premium. The grades the November note offers are SV, Rock Creek, SL, and Platinum. The S in that horsepower line is the parenthetical in the table. The Rock Creek page says up to 295 horsepower and 270 pound-feet, with standard 4WD.

EPA’s 2026 Pathfinder list, checked October 30, 2026, has four rows. Each is a 3.5-liter six-cylinder with an automatic. The 2WD row, on regular gasoline, is 21 city, 27 highway, and 23 combined. The 4WD row, on regular, is 21, 26, and 23. The 4WD Platinum row, on regular, is 20, 25, and 22. The 4WD Rock Creek row, on premium, is 20, 23, and 21. NHTSA’s 2026 Nissan list includes Pathfinder, with Altima, Leaf, Sentra, Rogue, Murano, Armada, Frontier, Nissan Z, Kicks MPV, and Ariya MPV.