Looks, V6 engine and 4X4/offroad durability (the clearance is awesome - jumping curbs or small obstacles), cargo and interior layout (hooks are a life savior!), rack bars (these things are tough & strong), sunroof, comfort driving on/off road, stadium seating (fits 4 comfortable), simplicity of general maintenance, Nissan superior service (I have always been totally satisfied with my local dealership and responses of questions from Xterra owners - use www.xterraownersclub.com NOT Nissan!

The Xterra is flawless in my eyes, gas mileage means nothing to me - if I wanted good gas mileage I''d buy a Geo Metro - NOT!

All you people complaining about gas mileage need to go get a soccer mom SUV aka a Toyota Rav 4 or Honda CR-V (which is built like a car). The problem with people now days they buy SUV''s with the expectations of a car which is not possible. Think about it - you are driving a boxy like vehicle down the road don''t expect it to have the gas mileage of a Maxima! Good SUV''s are NOT made for road use! Thus the name Sport Utility Vehicle. The Xterra is built on the same chassis as the Frontier. In other words it acts and performs like a truck. Don''t expect to get car like features out of something that was designed with the intention for off road use. If you want a better SUV spend 30 or 40k and get a Navigator or Tahoe these SUV''s are NOT made for off-road use. Nissan has designed the Xterra for off-road and rugged use. The target owner is 20 & 30 something men and women who are active and need a vehicle to fit their active type lifestyles. Thus the bars on top and the storage capacity inside. And at the same time in a price range that is affordable for average income people. They were FIRST to do this most other companies followed suit after observing the success of the Xterra (as the Ford Escape, Jeep Liberty, etc.) It makes it easy for people like me who are into mountain biking and other extreme sports. I can store both my mountain bike inside easily. Carry camping equipment on top or my canoe without fear of sliding. The off-road use is outstanding. Many times I take my X up the same trails that I bike with no problems. Sometimes we throw the air mattress in back lock the bikes to my top rack and are very comfortable. Across the board Nissan has produced a superb vehicle for their target drivers/owners. Most of the people that I know that are into the same thing as me also drive a X. I was at the trail the other day and drove up to see 4 Xterra''s and one 4 Runner. Makes you wonder huh?

Similar Products Used:

Test drove Ford Escape (garbage), Honda CR-V & Passport (more garbage), Toyota 4-Runner (too expensive), Blazer (worst than garbage), and others not worth mentioning.

tall and good visablility. easiest vehicle ever driven. great for do everything/anything vehicle. rugged, fun, comfortable, good looks, option to super charge. truck chassis, and inexpensive!

not fast, but i don''t race with SUV''s so who cares? i have a sports car for that. and I guess Gas mileage, but i get 19mpg on city and highway combined. so i don''t know what other owners b*tching about?! its a tall suv with big tires! come on... just keep 35 psi in tires, i''m sure you''ll get over 20mpg on highway. oh and a kinda useless sun roof that may make wind noise when windy.

Love it, everything you need nothing you don''t. Its still the perfect suv to me.

Similar Products Used:

driven all sh*tty suv''s. why drive a luxury suv if your are athletic outdoors person? luxury suv are for old people that all they do is drive to work and pick up kids and try to look rich. boring.

Drive well!

Leg room for a person over 5''7". Get a cramp in the right foot on long drives. Very very uncomfortable for the driver.

Very hard on gas. I spend a lot on gas and the high test. Too expensive when it comes to gas usage.

Horrible on gas.

Only problem I have with it, is the GAS CONSUMPTION, I get only 232 mostly highway miles out of a 19.5 gallon tank. If gas consumption is not a problem to the owner, then it''s a good truck.

Truck chassis not a car chassis like others in class. Has a REAL practical Roof rack. The rear lift gate is a bonus for putting and taking things out of the back area.

Terrible gas mileage for size of the vehicle! I thought the Tahoe was hard on gas! The upgraded sound system is a bit dissapointing.

Very radical looking, compared to the competition. My wife and I looked at, and test drove the Jeep Liberty, Mazda Tribute/Escape, RAV4, Honda CRV. None of the above mentioned vehicles could even compare! She is very happy with the decision she made in purchasing the Xterra.

Similar Products Used:

1998 Chev Blazer (Lemon) 1999 Chevy Tahoe I love this vehicle!

If you are into looks, this is the vehicle to get. It is cool and i have to admit, it is fun driving. Off road is fun too!!! The sound system on this is great on the SE models.

Very high maintenance!!! very low milage to the gallon. can be loud at times when it is windy out

Don''t buy it!!!! it is almost similar to the feeling of seeing someone very attractive for the first few times. It was great but once you get to know them(in this case, the suv)...you will realize that it is very shallow and there is nothing speacial about it except for the appearance!!! with the 2001 SE model, i get 170 horsepowere. ok but still needs a little more juice. 2002 model has 200, i believe. 2 most disappointing characteristics about the vehicle... Nissan dealerships has the worst service. all they want to do is take money from you and not deliver what was promised to you. you try to fight it, they blame it on you!!! worst of all, i called Nissan Corporation and they were suppose to call me back, which never happened. So i called Nissan again and they gave me bunch of garbage. i called nissan corp because i was getting 13 miles to the gallon on a 5 speed. Hence, i had a coversation with Nissan as stated above. So this bring us to the second reason, did a few personal tests such as going 60 for a whole week, 65 another and so forth. was getting the same results and it was all highway driving. I asked Nissan dealership to check it out and they lied about everything..."nothing is wrong with your vehicle!!" Nissan corporation told me i needed this ratio test done and when i asked for it at the dealership. they have no clue what i was talking about. i decided to go to a different Nissan dealership, they also have no clue what i asked them to do. so, i asked them to check my vehicle. they found out that the initial dealership never replaced my filter when i asked them to...yet for some reason both the dealership and Nissan thinks that this was my fault when i brought my case to Nissan Corporation. I paid for something and they NEVER delivered!!! Oh, one other thing..make sure u check everything when you have them look at your vehicle. It turns out that they forgot 3 NUTS on my tires!!! and of course, it was my fault and they wanted $80 for them to screw them back on..while it only costs $15 for 3 nuts. They just want your money!!! oh, one other thing, my sister and sister''s best friend both have the Xterras(2000 and 2001 models). the 2001 model shares the same problems i am having...specifically, low milage to the gallon(exact same dup of mine, just different color) thinking of selling it...too much trouble!!!

Similar Products Used:

jimmy Truck and Rodeo.

Great Appearance, corners well (for an SUV), feels sturdy, has power for pulling, a lot of room, visibility from rear seat, feels like you are driving a truck and not a car like several of the other Ute''s

Poor gas milage (worse than the sticker...I haven''t gotten more than 15.5 mpg on highway or in town), uncomfortable rear seat, hard to wash under roof rack (mud runs down windshield), heater/ac knobs feel cheap

Overall, the Xterra SE is a great vehicle. Has comforts such as power windows/mirrors, CD, and etc while maintaining the rugged look and feel that an SUV should. The Xterra is fun to drive, even on long road trips. Probably my biggest complaint is the gas milage. I knew when I bought it that it wasn''t going to be great, but the sticker said 16 mpg city and 20 mpg hwy. I haven''t even hit 16 mpg on the highway yet. Some people have said that it will get better as the car gets broken in, so I will just have to wait and see. I would recommend this truck to anyone looking for something that looks great, drives well, and doesn''t mind paying for the gas. However, it isn''t for anyone wanting a race-truck. It doesn''t have the get up and go of a car, but when you need the power to pass or speed up on the highway, it does well.

Other than the outward appearance, I have found few other strengths.

Durrability, reliability, performance. Nissan has also been very evassive about standing behind its product, their answer is that they''ll fix it, thats it.

Very dissapointed with the performance of my 2002 Xterra XE. I have owned for three months, 3000 miles and have had it serviced four times!!! Each problem different spanning from O-ring problems to radiator problems each of which caused a major inconvinience! I am dissatisfied with any new vehicle that needs this much work. Who spends 26, 000 to deal with this? While I realize this might just be my bad luck.... I have researched and found others with similar problems.

Similar Products Used:

none, and at this point wouldn''t

It has plenty of power for the kind of vehicle it is. I wouldn''t have considered buying it if it only came with a 4 cyl. It is very comfortable with the 2 front lumbar seats. My brother is 6''5" and he fit in the front passenger seat fine. It is a great fit for us tall people. Everything else about the car is great.

I can''t really think of any weaknesses. I have been perfectly happy with this car.

I did alot of research on smaller SUV''s and between all the options, prices and extras. I couldn''t pass it up. My total price came with seat protection and paint protection. The only thing I didn''t want was the 4x4 option, otherwise it is loaded. The Xterra has great color/interior selections and is the biggest (space wise) mini SUV out there.

Similar Products Used:

My last car was a 1994 Ford Ranger. Slow and no room inside!

Awesome styling inside and out, very well arranged interior features, ride is much better than my 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited and much much more room in both front and rear seats

Could use some more power and Nissan needs to fix the seat track so coins don''t fall in there as easily!!!

For a mid-sized SUV you can''t beat the price!!! It has alot of bells and whistles but if you are looking for leather and power seats you are looking at the wrong one. Has an exceptional ride for an Sport Utility Vehicle. The in-dash CD changer and upgraded sound system is awesome. Only thing it needs is a little more get up and go.

Similar Products Used:

Chevy Tahoe, Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited V8, Dodge Durango, Nissan Pathfinder