Aaron Gold, About.com's Guide to Cars, just got back from a trip to Portugal with Nissan, and brought us back this report about the Nissan Pathfinder Diesel:

Question: How do you sell a big SUV like the Nissan Pathfinder in continent like Europe, where fuel costs $8/gallon? Answer: You fit it with a diesel engine. I got a chance to drive the diesel Pathfinder on a recent trip to Porgugal. Under its hood is a 2.5 liter four-cylinder turbodiesel that puts out 171 horsepower and 297 lb-ft of torque, compared to 266 hp but only 288 lb-ft for the gasoline V6-powered Pathfinder. Fuel economy ratings are about 24 MPG with a manual transmission and 23 MPG with an automatic, quite a bit better than the gas-powered Pathfinder. So would the diesel Pathfinder make it in America? I doubt it -- the one I drove was noisy and slow, even by diesel standards, though the 6-speed manual did make it quite a bit more interesting. Still, the 2.5 is hardly a cutting-edge engine; I drove several other Nissan diesels that were quieter, smoother and more refined. Diesel SUVs are already starting to trickle on to the American market, and we expect to see more in the next few years, not just from European marques but from brands like Acura and Honda. This new generation of diesels may be one way that America's love affair with the SUV can survive ever-increasing fuel prices.

Aaron has posted a gallery of Nissan's world cars. Is this the future of the car and the SUV in America?

Photo © Aaron Gold