2005 Nissan Pathfinder First Drive

Finding its way among larger SUVs


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Click to enlarge. 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. The roof rack comes as standard equipment on the SE model.

Nissan interior engineers got it right – put serious effort into the front, back and into the flexibility of the interior. And any SUV worth its bad gas mileage needs to be flexible when it comes to seating. Nissan calls it multi-flex, with up to 64 configurations, but it’s really just a bunch of seats that move around and get out of the way, and do so quite easily. There’s also a “hidden” cargo hold under the middle row, though the usefulness of is questionable. The second row is a 40/20/40 split, the third row is a 50/50 split, and both rows disappear into the floor. With the seats out of the way, you can get a lot of stuff into the 2005 Pathfinder. The design of the cargo area is such that you’ve got a completely square area to use – a neat trick that significantly expands usable space. The Pathfinder’s cargo area is also constructed of an impressive heavy-duty material that’s hard to ruin, stain or scratch.

Funny thing about America: you can build a great looking car with caverns of smart interior space, but if it can’t get down the road lickety-split, you may as well call the new vehicle Auctioneer. Good thing, then, that Nissan program managers decided on a healthy 4.0-liter V6 powerplant to propel the 2005 Pathfinder.