I'm in the market for a sports ute, and am looking hard at a Nissan Xterra. Anyone have experience / opinions?

My g/f and I bought when at the beginning of the year, a 2000 off-leasewith 44K on the clock.

Pros:  We wanted an SUV based on a truck platform.

Decent 4WD performance.

Reliable.  She had a Nissan that ran damn near forever, we expect the same with the XTerra.

Plenty of room to fit stuff.


Cons:  It rides like a truck.

Fit and finish is typical for lower-end Japanese vehicles.  Some trim rattles and crap like that.

Tight in the rear seat for average-sized male adults.

The naturally-aspirated 6 is a bit sloooooow.

Compare Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, 15" longer than a regular Wrangler and put to good use.

More headroom, better 4WD subsystem, a forever powerplant, most likely lower insurance premiums. Cons, only about 18-20MPG at best, and noisy if you get the soft top only.

The new hard tops are head and shoulders above the old ones, and if you haven't ridden in a Wrangler (any model) since they changed to coil springs, you're in for a real surpise.

Opinons vary widely, but I hate the automatic transmissions. With a stick it is a totally different vehicle. The Unlimited was automatic only in 2004, but other models had either auto or 5 speed.

They've got huge sales on the 2004 models in inventory. Key reason is that 2005 adds a manual transmission to the Unlimited, and across the entrie Wrangler line the 5 speed is replaced with a 6 speed, the same 6 speed as in the Mercedes M series 4WD. Right now you can get like $1500 off a 2004 wrangler and 1.9% financing

love mine.  had it for about 4 years now:





only problem i've had is with the rear power windows motor dying, but it was under warranty and fixed by them

Thanks guys. Picked it up last night.

Do you want to support the French?  If so, buy Nissan.  The frogs will thank you



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