Description: Mid-Size Sport Utility Vehicle
Base MSRP Range: $25,400 - $35,700
Invoice Price Range: $23,756 - $33,017
Where built: USA

Frontier the truck serves as the building block for Pathfinder, Nissan's SUV in the mid-size class that's assembled in Tennessee. The five-door passenger compartment, expanded for a new version of 2005, has room in the rear for a standard third-row seat that folds into the cargo floor when not needed for riders. Seats on the second row split 40/20/40 and also fold, as does the seatback of the front right bucket.

Pathfinder has three trims -- entry-level XE, upscale SE and deluxe LE -- but a special Off-Road package goes to SE with hardware for serous 4WD trekking including hill descent control (HDC) and hill start assist (HSA). Interestingly, all three trims show 2WD traction or Nissan's automatic 4WD system with an electronically controlled transfer case for 2WD/Auto/4WD-high/4WD-low modes.

Pathfinder's powertrain is the aluminum-block 4.0-liter V6 with 270 hp through a five-speed electronically controlled automatic.