A great mid-sized SUV. Plenty of room to haul bikes, interior and exterior.
Looks great, fun to drive.

Gas mileage, engine power, storing the seat cushions when hauling items.

Having not experienced other SUV's my opinon is very one sided, but I'm having a great time driving this Xterra. It does everything I bought it for. I would highly recommend it to all extremist looking to haul their equipment around. It just plain kicks ass.

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First SUV owned

Nice to drive..Distintive in its style. Great in the snow!! Good ride quite and certainly powerful.

The car gets very loose in the rain I have to drive in 4x4 even in the smallest of precipitation. Visability backing up really sucks.

I recommend the truck because its affordable, great looking and fun to drive.

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We have a Cherokee and ity rides just as nice

Nice to drive..Distintive in its style. Great in the snow!! Good ride quite and certainly powerful.

The car gets very loose in the rain I have to drive in 4x4 even in the smallest of precipitation. Visability backing up really sucks.

I recommend the truck because its affordable, great looking and fun to drive.

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We have a Cherokee and ity rides just as nice

It's like what the billboard ads says "Everything you need! Nothing you don't!"

Nissan could've opted to put a 210HP supercharger model like they did with the 2001 Frontier.

I love getting this up to the mountains to go snowboarding. It has all the rooms a boarder wants from the roof basket to the tie downs inside the cargo area plus large enough wheels and wheel wells to get good clearing while putting on chains. BTW, stationary snow tire chains can be had for your SUV from http://www.rudchain.com/trucab.htm . It's so simple to put on. Sorry about that plug, but this is a great snow chain product. Anyway, buy aftermarket stuff instead of the extras the dealers shove thru your throat. Just get what comes with the Xterra model you're going to buy, and then search thru the internet for the extras you're going to put on or go to your local automotive stores to buy the off the shelves brands. Have fun wheeling!

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Ford Escape, Chevy Blazer, pretty much any mid-size SUV out in the market.

Fun to drive, looks good. Feels stable, easy to park. I enjoy being above the cars, passengers enjoy the ride. Lots of room!

Difficult to get into back seat, ride in back seat a bit bumpy.
Gas mileage is poor.

I definately recommend it to everyone I talk to. It's my first SUV, and it sure has proven itself to me. Nissan makes a good product, and I rarely purchase a brand new item....but I spoke to every Xterra owner I saw, I even went so far as to follow Xterras and talk to the drivers. I was told that I'd better buy one before being arrested for "stalking".

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Nissan pickup (1994). Similar to park (size)

the style is awesome. fell in love with the yellow as soon as i saw it. opted for the "Just Blue." i bought it sight unseen (the color) and absolutely love it! its everything you want in a TRUCK. no leather, no power moonroof (do miss that in my old Passat) no power, heated, leather seats. i'll leave all that to my parents with their audi A6 and chevy blazer. its rugged, tough, and looks great. i added the rain guards, push bars, Xenon head and fog lights, and a new stereo. don't overpay at dealer for extras!! aftermarket's the way to go.

the 170HP is a little on the weak side, but since i travel 30 miles on highway to work, its just right on the gas budget. love the fact that it takes regular 87, and not 93 like my old car. i do fill up about every 2 days though. it is a little hard to get in and out of the back seats being that they are very high. gas cap and cover don't lock. other than the little things, i LOVE my X.

i paid $23,300 for the XE with all 3 packages. got the 5 speed trans, love it. the only thing is, the gears are a little too short. aftermarket pushbars are a MUST!! under $450 installed, dealer charges about $700+!!! i would definately recommend it to anyone that loves the look of a sporty "mini" SUV although it is quite large inside. considerably larger than the blazer. its so much fun to drive and handles great! good luck

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my stepfather had a Tahoe which was like driving a school bus. now he just got a 2001 Blazer, which is a dwarf in the driveway compared to the X. drove the durango (too expensive), the ford escape (too tinny, but VERY fast), and was ready to buy a Jeep Wrangler Sahara. Loved the X over everything!!!

Cargo room in back is quite good..out does other SUVs in its class for this area. Tie downs, roof rack work quite well...easy to put luggage up on top. Solid layout for the interior, nice feel when driving, handles well, 6 CD stereo easy to operate. Ample room for passengers in back (we have two small boys so they do very nicely back there). Five speed I got is fun to drive, enables a little better acceleration out of V-6 engine. Most controls are easy to find.

As others have said, the V-6 with 170 hp is not a top notch performer, although with the five speed I got it does improve things a little. However, given the gas mileage I got last weekend on first major trip with it was nearly 20 mpg, I'm not complaining about it too much. Side mirror controls are a little tough to find, the 4 wd shifter could be over a little more to right, but I don't think it is as bad as some others were saying (i'm 6"2" and over 200). The interior is fine by my standards...but if you're looking for luxury (ie..leather, real wood, you will have to go somewhere else).

I'm quite happy with the vehicle so far. After a few weeks it still is operating quite well, my wife even is finding the 5 speed fun to drive (we haven't had one for a while). Great cargo space in rear, definitely handles trips quite nicely as I found out just recently on our first one it. It was originally 26,000, saw an ad in paper for 2000 less so was able to get them to match price....for a five speed I thought they had a high sticker price on it anyways since that is an extra 1000 right there and they were well over price I calculated at Nissan site, not that I expected it to be exactly the same....Anyways, hey, after a Ford, I'm planning on this being a fairly reliable vehicle....so far so good!

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My first SUV..former minivan owner, got rid of Ford Windstar (see my posting there as well!)

Has everything you need and nothing that you don't.

Bigger engine won't hurt. Wind noise through windows.

For the money this is the best SUV on the market. I have a five speed stick that gets the Xterra moving faster. The auto is sluggish. The tiedowns are great when going on long trips, I had enough stuff attached to the ceiling to sleep in the back on a trip to florida. If your looking for leather, big stereos, and other crap you don't need look at a pathfinder. If you want simple function with good looks at the best price the xterra is the way to go. WAAG makes a great brushguard in the nissan silver powdercoat that look great! Check it out.

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Ford Explorer

The price is good for a SUV that both looks sharp and mechanically does well.

There are no luxuries; it is as basic as you can get. Two of the items that should have been basic are individually closing air vents and exterior window deflectors (without them you will get water on your electric locks and window switches if your window is down any). So far, I have had warranty coverage on 3 interior items: the passenger visor, the rear cargo cover and a back-seat side molding.

I still enjoy it this vehicle and am overall quite happy with it. If you must have a lot interior comforts, then it's not the SUV for you. Makes a great second vehicle.

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Mini-van owner for last 10 years (Quest & Mazda. I still have my Quest mini-van & prefer it for interior comfort over the Xterra.

Good size.....excellent head room. Not a whole lot of leg room for the driver, but ample amounts for other three passengers. Handles beautifully, rolls over just about anything, solid structure (built on a pick-up trucks undercarriage). Many people look at the engine as a weakness. I love it. Being in a state where gas prices are 1.70 for regular 87-89 octane, I love having a 3.3 liter. Anything more powerful would be stopping a gas stations all the time.

Back seats are tough to get in...passenger has to step over wheel well and the door gets in the way. Sereo is great (6 disc in dash) but the speakers are weak. Why does every other Nissan in the world have 6 speaker Bose surround sound, and these don't???? Driver seat needs to go back a little bit more to create more leg room.

I am driving the 2001 SE. I added a few things here and there (internal bike rack, wood paneling in front, etc.) to get it too my liking. Would definately recommend the truck. It's fun, it's exciting and with a smaller engine than the competition it is gas efficient. If you are looking to tow heavy items (boats, trailers, jet skis) this may not be the truck for you. If you are looking for 50 MPG around town, this definitely isn't for you. But if you are looking to roll over anything in the way (curbs, logs, relatives, etc) this is a fun way to do it, and look good while doing so.

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Montero Sport (more luxury but less rugged), Ford Explorer (too common), Dodge Durango (engine too big for my kind of driving).