Although the engine isn't especially quiet - it makes its presence known even when you're simply cruising along - it doesn't sound quite as rattly as other large diesels, though once again it hardly bears comparison with the much more elegant V6 in the diesel Discovery.Similarly, the handling feels fairly agricultural at first, but after a while you realise that the considerable suspension movement is dealt with quite well. The true effect of the power is to make medium-speed driving a relaxed process and provide efficient overtaking when required. This is essentially the same engine as found in the X-Trail, but expanded here from 2.2 to 2.5 litres with a resulting power increase to 172bhp.With this amount of grunt available, the Pathfinder can be made to go pretty quickly, but fast motoring is not its home territory. The turbo diesel alternative is far more attractive. After converting the Pathfinder into a two-seat load carrier (in which mode it has a 2091-litre capacity with a completely flat floor) and transporting an enormous amount of luggage in it, two of us then spent little over a minute turning it back into a seven-seater with minimal effort.You can buy a Pathfinder with a four-litre V6 petrol engine, but - as Alan Douglas pointed out in his launch report of that model - this is worth considering only if you are of such means as to be able treat today's fuel prices with scorn. In fact, the seating arrangement can be altered with very little trouble. All Pathfinders other than the entry-level S model have seven seats arranged in three rows, and as long as you're no more than six feet tall you'll have no problem sitting even in the hindmost.Access to the third row is impressively easy once you've found the lever which makes the second-row seats fold in half and then hinge forwards. Right from the start of this test the Nissan was already making a strong case for itself, and by the time I handed it back I was feeling exceptionally well-disposed towards it.That distinctly non-luxury interior may not be Nissan's best effort, but it's comfortable and spacious. If you're tempted by the Discovery's brand kudos and its luxury-car interior, you're likely to be seriously disappointed by what the Pathfinder offers in both areas.Remove the Discovery from your consideration, though, and the Pathfinder emerges as a very appealing, if slightly old-school, recent entry to the SUV market. I could be wrong here - it would not be for the first time - but I find it difficult to imagine any potential buyer seriously contemplating the merits of one over the other. Nissan plays a bold game when it attempts to portray the Pathfinder as a rival to the Land Rover Discovery.