Strong 3.3L Engine, Solid frame, can take a real beating both on an off roads. Simple design without looking cheap. Good for towing. Have 220Km and the only repair I've done is a signal relay.

Should have put Nissan's 3.5L Engine in. Gas Mileage is not great when you drive above 100Km/h. Skid plate needs to be removed in order to do oil changes. Just end up leaving it off until I know I'm going off road.

Why buy a domestic piece of scrap metal, when you can buy something from a manufacturer that puts care and consideration into it's engineering and manufacturing techniques. It shows it's longevity and reliability.

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Nissan Pathfinder
Toyota FJ
Jeep Liberty (crap)
Chevy blazer (absolute garbage)

Coming from a Jeep Wrangler 4 door Rubicon, I can safely say that this vehicle is far superior in every fashion to our Jeep. The X rides great once you get comfortable with the suspension, and learn to work with it. The engine, tranny, xterior, interior, etc., is all top shelf, and would definitely purchase another one in a heart beat...!

So far, as far as weaknesses are concerned, I've found few, but would enjoy a better set of tires from the factory than what it comes with ... come on Nissan at least throw a set of All-Terrain TA's on the Off-Road model. Unlike in other reviews I've read about the X, I'm not the least bit worried about rear visibility--use your mirrors and you'll be fine.

Compared to many of the other manufacture's off-road variants, the Nissan is pretty much on the top of my list for overall usability, off-road performance, and all around good fun!

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I've driven, the FJ cruiser, the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 4 door....

Great for off road, in snow and on icy roads. Powerful for heavy curb weight. Dual Den CD deck is easy to change to a GPS and looks great with Pioneer. Durable interior. Drives great Around town and on the highway.

Gas Milage is Middle ranged, but about the same as anything else in its class. Also, Sqweeked while driving after I purchased, found that it was the chain on the spare, Easy fix with WD40.

Great Product, Quality Build, Easy to work on yourself, Fun Truck on and off the road.

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Toyota 4Runner

Pros: just about everything; engine is responsive, exterior is sharp-looking, and overall performance is impressive. Exhaust sounds throaty. Suspension is wonderful.
Interior is made to be used; the upholstery fabric seems tough and cleanable; no cheap velour in this baby!

Cons: My own pet peeves with this vehicle are:
-No 6-sp trans available anywhere for test drives.
-right side blind spot is HUGE(I am not tall)-forcing me to use the right outer mirror. That outer mirror is deceiving; cars are much, much closer than they appear!
-Steering is overly sensitive on the freeway; spend one second too long looking at those mirrors/ blind spot & I might end up off-road unintentionally.
-Roof rack looks cool & works great, but has lots of wind noise and resistance because there is no venting in the front between the off-road lights.
-No metal grille/brush guard is available.
-Lastly (this is small but irritating) the underbody spare tire mount is noisy when driving in the city-it clinks like change in someone's pocket-but loud enough for all to hear -inside and outside the vehicle. Noise keeps returning soon after adjustments.

I FINALLY have the vehicle I've always wanted! 4x4, 6-sp manual transmission. Had real difficulty locating a 6 speed anywhere; Nissan tried hard to make me settle for an auto, but finally & grudgingly built it for whatever reason.
Haven't taken it off road (yet), nor driven it in our hard winters -that will be a true test. We'll see how it rates in 4 months or so.

Power, rugged build. Good fuel mileage when driven to attain them, don't expect "hyper mileage" results with heavy footed inputs.

I blew the front diff while stuck in the back country but that was because of my rammy nature. I couldn't believe how well built the diff was when I took it out. Back hatch rams don't hold, this is a result of pulling the hatch down too quickly in cold weather. Cheap to replace when you DON'T buy them from Nissan.

I see alot of wimpering about squeeks and rattles on these, as well as manual transmission clutch problems etc. I have owned about 6 domestic half ton pickup trucks, a toyota supra turbo, a couple of early nissans and they all have their little quirks. As for me I love this unit! I bought it after selling my Dodge Dakota with the 4.7L V8 and I was blown away at how much more power the Xterra had and the price was excellent. I have pulled a 25 ft holiday trailer with this thing and it did really well (required a Reese Dual Cam Anti-sway/equilizer hitch). As for fuel mileage it is good. If you want great then you should be buying a 4 cylinder....sorry to burst your bubbles. I put in a cold air intake and it was a worthwhile upgrade. The throttle body spacer turned out to be a hoax. I sure wish I would have gone with the Off Road edition with auto trans but hind sight is 20/20. I don't even see any reason to sell or trade right now...I'll keep it for a few more years anyways. Oh, I had a paint problem as well, it WAS covered under warranty. The only vehicle I may consider replacing this with would be the new Jeep Wrangler....but I don't know if I would be happy with that much less power.

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87 Pathfinder, 89 frontier, dodge dakota, half ton pickup trucks.

ENGINE
TRANSMISSION SHIFTING
ERGONOMICS

FRONT SEATS
GAS MILEAGE
SOFT SUSPENSION

MY WIFE AND I PURCHASED THE XTERRA AFTER HAVING A DODGE RAM AND TJ FOR OVER 8 YEARS. IT HAS TAKEN A FEW MILES TO GET USED TO BUT SO FAR WE LOVE IT. THE ENGINE IS VERY CAPABLE AND WITH OUR TWINS COMING SOON I AM SURE WE WILL HAVE ENOUGH SPACE TO TRAVEL. THE INTERIOR IS DESIGNED WELL AND ALL CONTROLS ARE EASY TO FIND AND USE. THE RIDE CAN BE HARSH BUT IT IS A TRUCK AFTER ALL.

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02 JEEP WRANGLER TJ
02 DODGE RAM 1500

utility and flexibility of use.
Great upolstery: tough fabric.
absence of frills and luxury touches
full size spare
full curtain airbags
killer audio system

clutch, clutch, clutch
gas mileage, but reasonable for weight
excess decals on rack (easy to peel off)
no outside temperature reading available

We are (were) extremely happy with this vehicle until the clutch failed at 20.5k miles (6-speed manual trans). My wife and I have driven std trans vehicles for 40 years, and have never had a clutch failure. We wanted the versatility of a mid-sized SUV with 4WD for the snow and occasional desert trips, and were extremely happy with this Xterra as an excellent compromise between trips and daily driving needs. And we bought Japanese for their reputation of reliability and durability.
Then the clutch failed. Of course it is not covered by warrantee (a "wear item"). The dealer said they have been seeing other Xterra clutch "problems", but was non-specific. So I Googled Nissan Xterra clutch problems, and was shocked to find many others who have had the same experience: total clutch failure at an avg of 20k miles on 2006 and newer models. No news of any Nissan recall or quiet reimbursement, or a redesigned replacement. Very un-Japanese.
Bottom line of this post: DO NOT BUY A MANUAL TRANS XTERRA UNLESS YOU HAVE $3-4K TO BURN EVERY 20K MILES.
I would assume the auto trans models are fine, and overall this is a great daily utility and highway vehicle combo.

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none

Power, Looks, Reliability, Ease of cleaning, Ground clearance, Ride - This veh feels like a truck which we love.

fuel economy

It is difficult to beleive that Nissan has improved an already great product, but they have. This is my second Extera, having just traded my 2004 S Model in on a 2009. Let me tell you, the difference in power is incredible. The 3.3 liter engine was very adequate, but at times lacked punch. This veh is made for someone who wants the feel of an Off Road machine. It is a solid, no frills package. The plastics in the cockpit and cargo area, wipe clean in a snap.

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2004 Nissan Extera

Very reliable.

N/A

It's great. Never had any problems since the summer 06. Lots of driving in mud and snow too. Runs great for >66000km now.

Power; handling; comfort; ease of use; and value.

When looking to purchase a new vehicle, I came accross the XTerra by accident when looking at the Jeep Wrangler, Toyota Highlander, Toyota FJ, Hummer, numerous cross-overs, and almost all other mid-sized to large SUVs. I knew nothing about the XTerra at the time, but in the price I paid, the XTerra was nice in appearance and by far the best value. I'm writing this review because when searching autos I also came accross some consumer complaints with earlier models of the XTerra. My 2008 XTerra has not had a single problem. Its performance and handling have been terrific both on the road and off the road. Amongst the many cars I've owned (i.e. 3 Jeeps, a Saab 9-3, Infiniti G35x, VW Golf, and a Honda Accord), the XTerra is by far my favorite of the lot.

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Jeep CJ 7.
Jeep Wrangler.