Boxing clever

THREE-ROW FAMILY HAULERS DUKE IT OUT FOR SCHOOL-RUN HONOURS

- ANDY ENRIGHT + JOHN LAW + DYLAN CAMPBELL

THERE'S AN OLD aphorism in boxing that states that a good big 'un always beats a good little 'un. I'm looking at Nissan's new Pathfinder as it rolls into the rail yard at Healesville and I'm wondering whether this seven-seat behemoth, the catalyst for this comparison, might have starched the opposition at the opening bell. It's vast.

It lumbers into position next to Hyundai's Santa Fe hybrid and it looks like a mismatch. Fortunately, the Korean can whistle up its big brother as back up, the equally huge Palisade. Indeed, look at the footprints of the vehicles assembled for this test and it's clear that the Pathfinder and Palisade are, to squeeze the pips out of the pugilistic metaphor, the true heavyweights, with the cruiserweight Toyota Kluger GXL hybrid next up and the supermiddleweights composed of the Kia Sorento GT-Line diesel, the Santa Fe Highlander hybrid and the recently facelifted Mazda CX-8, here in range-topping Asaki LE all-wheel-drive diesel guise.

The Pathfinder's in Ti spec which, since Nissan quietly deleted the ST and ST-L variants, now represents entry-level in Australia. That's $71,490 before on-roads and before you start ticking options boxes. The other contenders cluster in a constellation of pricing about this point, ranging from the Sorento at $65,070 up to the Palisade at $79,900.

Where's our current Car of the Year, the all-conquering Ford Everest? Yes, it's a seven-seater but it offers a different focus to these vehicles. With its ladder-frame chassis and 'proper' off-road ability, it's more Prado than Kluger in its approach. Skoda's Kodiaq is a viable contender, but it leans more towards a 5+2 than a true seven-seater and we'll probably wait for the new version to arrive before revisiting a vehicle that's a very well-known and well-respected quantity.