Bought for working as well as playing, midsize SUVs like the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder are employed as commuter cars, grocery getters, and family ferries. That means they need to be comfortable and practical. With this redesign, Nissan competently covers those bases.

Wide, flat, and plush, the front seats aren’t firm but they support a body well. Our test truck included power adjustable pedals, a thick steering wheel rim, and soft upper door panels. Combined with ample front leg and head room, we can’t complain one bit about the Pathfinder’s comfort level except to moan about the rough fabric used on the SE models.

Rear seat riders are less thrilled by the prospect of finding paths in this Nissan, but compared to the outgoing model, this new SUV is more accommodating. First, the middle row of seats is slightly roomier, even if it does lack space for feet and the leg clearance is only adequate. Second, the new truck has a third-row seat that holds two small adults or average-sized children. Everyone will ride in quietude, since wind, road, and engine noise is barely noticeable. Well, everyone except people in our test Pathfinder, which had an extremely irritating squeak coming from somewhere underneath it.

Getting in and out is pretty easy, though Ford makes it simpler for larger people to access the third row in the Explorer, but watch your face when cranking open one of those big rear doors. They’re wider at the top, and if you lean in while yanking out, you’re gonna take your nose off. Expanding the cargo area is a bit of a hassle – the Pathfinder’s 40/20/40 rear seating system is a little fussy to fold – but the result is a useful, cube-shaped space that can swallow as much as 79.2 cubic feet of cargo. If you’re six-feet-tall and wearing boots, your head might not clear the tailgate when it’s raised.

Interior storage space is everywhere. Highlights include a big dual-door glovebox, huge door panel bins with integrated bottle holders, and a giant center console that, even when equipped with the DVD player for the rear seat entertainment system, still leaves enough room for multiple movie and video game cases. The dashboard includes two storage areas with rubber liners to quiet rattles and keep things still when cornering, and there’s even a handy cell-phone pocket sewn onto the inboard side of the front passenger’s backrest.

Control layout is simplistic, with everything located exactly where you might expect to find it, and labeled with clear instructions on how to use it. Our only complaints are with the stereo display, which cannot be read while wearing polarized sunglasses; the ratcheting operation of the automatic temperature controls; the fussy DVD player operation; and the automatic up/down operation of just the driver’s window. At $38,000 and change, should they all work that way?