Nissan Pathfinder 2005 review

The five-door, seven-seater is a proper four-wheel-drive wagon with a deal of flexibility.

It has good road manners, big solid feel and practicality with up to 64 seating/cargo configurations, plus enough room for a quiet kip, or cargo up to 2.8m long.

All Pathfinders feature ABS brakes, dual airbags, airconditioning, remote central locking, electric windows and CD stereo. The entry-level ST sits on 16-inch alloy wheels.

The ST-L adds 17-inch alloy wheels, Vehicle Dynamic Control, dual-zone airconditioning, side steps and six-stacker CD stereo.

Pathfinder's top-of-the-tree Ti is available only with the 198kW V6 and five-speed automatic, a creamy combination. Extras here include leather upholstery, rear seat DVD entertainment and side curtain airbags.

All look the part, a little like the Discovery in profile with Nissan's big and bold chrome V up front, relating the Pathfinder back to the Patrol and X-Trail. And for old time's sake the rear door handle sits high on the window frame.

The rugged, no-nonsense theme is carried over into the cabin. Here the Pathfinder's interior is neat, tidy and practical with straight dashboard lines, big and legible analogue instruments plus decent seats and the usual cubby holes.

It is bigger than before. And again the look is a little like the Discovery's prestige-adventure theme.

The 2.5-litre turbocharged diesel engine pushes out 128kW at 4000rpm and 403Nm of torque at 2000rpm, making for both an easy tourer and tower. And the diesel can be mated to either the six-speed manual or five-speed automatic gearbox.

It is a willing worker although there remains a tiny touch of truck about the manual gearbox, although that may vary from Pathfinder to Pathfinder.

This is a very willing, very responsive diesel although not super-quiet at idle. It should make for a good tourer. As with the petrol V6, the diesel Pathfinder is rated to tow a decent 3000kg.

The petrol V6 with automatic transmission is the smoother operator, at least until the revs head toward the redline. By then the Pathfinder has stepped off at a fair pace and the auto's slurred through the changes with some finesse.

On the road — good and rough surfaces — the Pathfinder sits and steers with confidence. There is a firm reassurance to the steering.

Yet there is no doubt there is still a full-sized, framed chassis below — with full independent suspension — for on some corrugations there is some feedback through the body.

The Pathfinder feels like a solid wagon, a firm and solid worker for road and bush tracks. It is an honest four-wheel-drive wagon (with full-sized spare) with a simple, honest approach to four-wheel driving.

In style and substance it has the ability to provide Nissan with a reliable weapon in this medium-sized SUV battle.