Overview & Reviews

The Nissan Xterra is a traditional midsize SUV with seating for five and serious off-road capability. Thanks to stout body-on-frame construction shared with Nissan's Frontier pickup, the Xterra is a beast on the trail and can tolerate a fair amount of abuse. The downside is that this Nissan lacks the on-road polish of car-based crossover SUVs you might buy instead.

The Xterra debuted for the 2000 model year. Later Nissan Xterras are similar in appearance and personality to the early models but have a slightly longer wheelbase, a roomier interior, more power under the hood and a few extra features. If you want a reasonably priced off-roader and find the Jeep Wrangler too crude for everyday driving, the Xterra is worth a look.

User Reviews:

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  Great SUV for the money - 2006 Nissan Xterra
  By Kenny - December 7 - 7:33 am

  Bought the truck used in 08 with and have put over 40K miles and still runs great. Use it for work reading meters and yet to get stuck or break down on me. Paint is chipping around windshield but other than that no defects. Plastic is nice inside cleans very easily. Awesome dependability!

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  Sporty, Sporty and Fun! - 2005 Nissan Xterra
  By jenny - November 17 - 4:50 pm

  I started shopping for a new vehicle the beginning of last year. Not one to make hasty decisions, I did my homework and finally settled on the XTerra months later. Man, am I happy I made the choice to buy this car!! The X is sporty, reliable and a blast to drive! I live on a dirt road that floods after rain and ruts out through the summer. The X rolls through both puddles and ditches without any problem. The ride is a little bumpy. Thats what you get when you buy an off road vehicle. My car easily holds all my supplies for work, play, and most importantly my 105 lb.dog.

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  Xterra 4X4 - 2001 Nissan Xterra
  By Myxterra4x4 - November 16 - 10:00 am

  The nissan Xterra is a good truck. The only thing I dont like about it is the gas. It uses alot of gas but over all the Xterra is a cool truck to have. i love mine and if somthing happen to it i would probley get another one

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  Great Vehicle! Fun to Drive - 2003 Nissan Xterra
  By GGin - November 10 - 10:00 am

  I have owned my 2003 Xterra for a month and love it. I would highly recommend this vehicle for both on-off road conditions. Its a very comfortable ride. My wife was also impressed with the lack of blind-spots and ability to see on-coming traffic. The stereo system is fantastic and the interior is well designed. Overall, solid performance and comfortable. Have fun!

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  Nissan Xterra buyer for life - 2004 Nissan Xterra
  By basta - November 4 - 2:00 am

  Nissan Xterra is the best vehicle I have ever owned, I have driven over 30,000 mile in 6mo without any types of problems. I am a nissan buyer for life.

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  RUGGED ROCK RIDER - 2004 Nissan Xterra
  By c2cfree - November 4 - 2:00 am

  This outstanding non generic SUV was completely customized for me, in Japan, Rate at 9.9.

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  X The Xterra - 2001 Nissan Xterra
  By Fred Smith - November 2 - 10:00 am

  The Xterra is the most uncomfortable vehicle on the market today. Test drove it for twenty minutes before I bought it. Should have driven it for an hour so I could have found out how uncomfortable it really is. Even took it to an upholsterer to have the seat stuffed with padding...twice. Still felt like I was sitting on steel spikes pointed northward. Im 64" and weigh 225lbs. Actually, I like everything about it, except the uncomfortable front seats.

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  Miserable experience - 2007 Nissan Xterra
  By spongebob - November 2 - 1:23 am

  I dont know what everyone is raving about, I thought this vehicle was suppose to be heavy duty and almost every bump i hit the suspension bottoms out. It may be able to expand in offroad situation but it cannot contract. It very annoying for city driving, unacceptable especially for a real suv. And those brakes spongy is not the word you gotta press all the way down to the floor to get it to stop. However the sound system was amazing ill give it that. However it wasnt enough for me to keep it. Thought nissans were more versatile than this. Very disappointed especially having the "OFFROAD" model. I even thought there was a problem they found none

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  Too expensive to fill up the tank! - 2002 Nissan Xterra
  By J&Ms - October 29 - 2:00 am

  When I bought my Xterra, I was unaware the of the horrible gas mileage that it got. Typically it will get 12 miles to the gallon and it takes premium fuel to fill up. Here in California, we are approaching $3/gallon. I wont be able to afford the cost of driving it.

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  I LOVE my 2002 Xterra! - 2002 Nissan Xterra
  By wonder_woman - October 25 - 8:28 pm

  I love my xterra! I would fully recommend this suv to anyone. I bought mine used in 2012 with 140k miles on it (highway miles). I have put over 10,000 on it since and were still going strong. When I purchased the vehicle I had it tuned up and old hoses replaced, but only because I was unsure of how long how it had been since it was serviced, since it was pre-owned. The only thing I could complain about is the poor gas mileage that comes with driving any SUV; however, it gets better gas mileage than most other SUVs ive driven. Over all I am happy with my xterras performance and would fully recommend it to anyone!