The 2008 Nissan Pathfinder builds on a good thing, bringing more amenities, cleaner style inside and out, and offers a testosterone-laden V8 for power freaks and routine trailer pullers. If you need a capable seven-seat mid-size utility able to go beyond most drivers' requests, it deserves consideration.

NewCarTestDrive.com correspondent G.R. Whale test drove the Pathfinder V8 in rural Wisconsin and not-so-rural Southern California.Tom Lankard contributed to this report.