The steering wheel could have come from virtually any recent model Nissan. Two metallic-looking spokes, holding the cruise and redundant audio controls when ordered, at a clock face's 9 and 3 and a broad brace at 6 support a thick rim. Large, round speedometer and tachometer complemented by four smaller gauges, two of which are inset in the lower quarters of the speedo and tach, monitoring the engine's vital statistics fill the top half of the steering wheel opening. A column stalk to the left manages the exterior lights, and one to the right runs the windshield wipers and washers. Outside mirror and pedals are adjusted with buttons located on the lower dash to the left of the steering column. To the right, the ignition key slot has relocated from the steering column to its rightful place in the dash.
The stereo sits uppermost in the center stack, above the climate control panel, both fitted with delightfully basic, intuitively shaped knobs and buttons and easily deciphered displays. In models with Nissan's All-Mode 4X4 system and electronically controlled transfer case, a large rotary selector sits in a panel at the base below a smallish storage bin. Stacked vertically to the right of this are two of the four accessory power outlets. Atop the dash above the stereo a shallow tray occupies the space reserved for the optional navigation system's pop-up display. That display, by the way, offers one of the cooler perspectives; called the Birds Eye, it shows a quasi-3D point of view, with map details tracking away to a virtual horizon. A bi-level glove box fills the lower part of the dash to the right of the center stack.
Dash panels are uniformly textured, flowing smoothly out from the base of the windshield around and down on each side of the center stack to the knee bolsters filling the space between the stack and doors. The center console is finished in a bright metallic with two sandwiched cup holders between the shift gate and the center console storage bin. The bin is deep and wide, with receptacles for coins, a power outlet and slots for CDs; the underside of the console lid holds clips for a couple pens or pencils. Cupholders for second-row occupants fold out of the back side of the center console.
The added inches to the body of the new Pathfinder make room for a third-row seat, allowing it to carry up to seven passengers. But there's also more room in the front seats. Head, hip and leg room is up in the front and, now, middle seats by at least an inch in all measures except middle seat head room, which drops by 0.1 inches. Rear seat hip room grows the most, by fully six inches.
Front seats are comfortable and supportive, on road and off, but would benefit from a deeper bottom cushion for added thigh support. Rear doors offer easy foot access, and seatbacks are adequately bolstered, at least for the two outboard passengers. Anybody sentenced to the center-row center seat had best hope the trip is short. Access to the third row is gained via a relatively easy folding of the middle seat, but climbing in provides a good gauge of how comfortable it's going to be back there. Put another way, limber, small-to-medium statures fit best. Grab/assist handles are plentiful, except for the driver's door. And the liftgate has an inside pull-down, sparing fingers contact with road grime, although a remote inside release for the liftgate was either non-existent or very well hidden.
With the rearmost seats upright, cargo area is a mere 16.5 cu. ft. This is, however, nearly 3 cubic feet more than the seven-passenger Ford Explorer will hold. Collapsing the Pathfinder's third-row seats boosts cargo capacity to 49.2 cu. ft., more than 5 cu. ft. roomier than a comparably configured Explorer. Beyond that point, though, those seats exact a price even when folded, as the new Pathfinder falls short of the Explorer by 2 cu. ft. and of the '04 Pathfinder by more than 5 cu. ft. In the SE Off-Road, the front passenger seat folds, as well, opening up space for objects 10 feet in length.
Storage bins, pockets and cubbies abound. Each row of seats gets two cup holders. All four doors have map pockets, the ones in the front doors with secondary beverage receptacles molded in. The lower level of the glove box easily handles a half-liter beverage bottle with room left over for a couple pair of gloves. There's a pouch on the inboard side of the front passenger seat base and a concealed compartment beneath the middle row of seats. Only the driver's seatback gets a magazine pocket due to potential interference with the smart-airbag circuitry embedded in the front passenger seat. Garment hooks are integrated into the middle seat overhead handles. A first aid kit and yet another storage net are tucked into the liftgate's interior panel.
