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Exterior
Pleasant, though, is not the word to use to describe the exterior styling of the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. Moderately edgy is closer to the truth, compassionately conservative and aggressive in a Grande Latte sort of way. With styling cues that come directly from Nissan’s Armada SUV, it folds neatly into the company’s big vehicle lineup, and offers SUV buyers a nice bookend to the coming Xterra. It’s an intriguing alternative to the Murano, a car-based vehicle meant for city driving and with looks to match. The Pathfinder is ruggedly truck-based (with four-wheel independent suspension), drives more like a truck than the Murano and, well, looks good dirty. Get the new Pathfinder muddy and park it next to a new one – you’ll see that a little California red clay looks quite nice. For the most part, the Pathfinder’s exterior attitude comes from the large hood, oversized angular headlights, and short overhangs. Fender flares give the vehicle’s stance a squatter, tougher look. Carryover Nissan styling cues include pillar-mounted rear door handles and a bold grille design. It’s truly all new, however – and compared to the previous version Pathfinder, the 2005 model is longer and bigger in just about every way. New to the exterior is an integrated roof rack, and a flip-up rear glass hatch opening -- a significant improvement over the previous Pathfinder, because it enables you to open the hatch and deposit items, or haul long items without opening the gate. Also available on the Pathfinder for 2005 are available running boards, power sunroof and heated outside mirrors.
Heated mirrors. That’s not exactly what the world has been waiting for, but it is a nice warm touch if you live in a cold place. Features like that, though, depend on which 2005 Nissan Pathfinder you purchase. All versions will come with a 4.0-liter V6 engine, derived from Nissan’s legendary VQ-series engine family. Choose between 2WD or 4WD; both have three rows of seats standard, and all are decently equipped – though at press time price is still a mystery.
XE, LE
All told, four versions of the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder will be offered: the base XE, mid-level SE, SE Off-Road and top-shelf LE. Nissan figures that the Pathfinder SE will be the biggest seller, because they have equipped the SE with what amount to the best of what the LE offers.
Though the stats don’t really bear it out, from inside the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder feels narrower than a vehicle with its kind of length should be. The stats do, however, indicate that – as with most three-row SUVs – dimensions get tighter as you move to the third row seat. According to Nissan, headroom decreases from 40 inches up front to 39 inches in the second row and 36.7 inches in the last row. Legroom also constricts: from 42.4 inches up front to 34.2 in the middle row and 28.1 in back. This compares unfavorably to the Ford Explorer, which offers 35.9 inches of rear legroom. Front headroom and legroom, however, compare favorably to the Explorer. Pathfinder hip room actually grows (55.5 to 57.6 to 44) from front to middle, so perhaps the feeling of inadequate space is due to the seats. Compared to the Toyota 4Runner, however, the Pathfinder is virtually identical front to back in terms of head and legroom. If anything, the Pathfinder has an advantage up front compared to the 4Runner.
The numbers don’t lie. But they also don’t tell the whole truth. For front seat passengers, the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder is a comfortable ride, but one that gets less comfortable the farther back you go. This is possibly due to the type of seat used in the middle row, the sink-inside headrests and the loss of legroom. But so what -- most passengers will ride up front anyway, and if there’s a regular backseat occupant, they’re probably under 12.
All you really need back there is a seat belt.
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