2005 Nissan Pathfinder Handling & Road Test

Ironically, our test Pathfinder had the most serious off-road tires of this year's SUVOTY field--P265/75R16 Goodyear Rugged Trail T/As. On-road, they trade away too much comfort and grip, and they're noisy. If you're among the majority of Pathfinder buyers who'll never take it seriously off-road, Nissan's optional 17-inch wheels with street-friendly tires offer a good solution. Anti-lock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution and brake assist are standard, and vehicle dynamic control is optional. Dual-stage front and front-side airbags are standard, and a three-row roof-mounted side airbag system is optional. The Pathfinder uses the LATCH child-seat-anchor system.

You can buy the Pathfinder with 2WD, though it seems a completely pointless exercise that involves living with all the downsides of an SUV--heavier gas mileage, harder to park, land yacht handling--with none of the benefits. Despite the body-on-frame, the Pathfinder has an independent rear suspension, with control arms at all four corners. With optional towing equipment, it can pull 6000 pounds.

It performs all this dirty work with perhaps the nicest interior ever in a newly launched Nissan. A price in the mid-$30s gets you both a decent off-roader and a well-appointed truck. The dash and center stack don't look like they were knocked off quickly in the design studio for cost's sake, and the two-tone, perforated leather seats would look rich in an Infiniti. Infiniti-like options include dual-zone temperature control, power-adjustable foot pedals, DVD-based navigation, and wood highlights. The body design is tall step-in, short greenhouse, so there's not a lot of headroom with the driver's seat in its lowest position, with the seatback upright. The styling works, though: The Pathfinder's shrunken Armada sheetmetal looks better on the Pathfinder than on the Armada or QX56, and the F-Alpha platform seems well-suited for this size truck.

Nissan engineers were convinced they could get the same or better ride quality versus the old Pathfinder, despite the return to the body-on-frame configuration. They did. While the off-road tires hamper handling, the Pathfinder is remarkably smooth for its size. In this regard, it's competitive with another Sport/Utility of the Year contender, the Hemi-powered Jeep Grand Cherokee. The V-8 Jeep is priced competitively with the V-6 Nissan, and the Hemi Jeep is 0.4 second quicker to 60 mph. But the Grand Cherokee doesn't have the Pathfinder's seven-passenger seating, so the Nissan doesn't lose many value points as a V-6 competing in a V-8 world.