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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  Super Charged Xterra - 2003 Nissan Xterra
  By JustisNme - May 31 - 10:00 am

  Totally Great Truck Love the way it handles and takes abuse, Recommend Automatic Trans, Last one I had Clutch gave out Four wheeling to easy! Fast Truck!! Highly recommend!

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  Its my fault Im not impressed - 2000 Nissan Xterra
  By naquin - May 25 - 2:00 am

  This truck provides an excellent view of the road. I have the four cylinder (my fault) and the rear wheel drive (also my fault) I disgusted myself when I discovered that for 20.00 more a month, I could have had the V6, 4wd, power everything truck of my dreams. Dont skimp, or dont buy. Believe me, power door locks, 4WD and extra power would be worth another 100.00 a month.

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  X - 2003 Nissan Xterra
  By vwguy - May 25 - 2:00 am

  I love driving this vehical. It stands out in a crowd. This vehical stands taller than most cars and trucks on the road. I like the feel of the Xterra.

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  best in class - 2000 Nissan Xterra
  By TD - May 22 - 2:00 am

  This car is not a sports car or fun around town grocery getter. This car is tough and "all business". Ive yet to get it stuck and believe me Ive tried. Acceleration on the road from a dead stop is my only complaint. Its perfect for the outdoor adventure guy and light work around the house. Ive halled all material to build my fence in the back, all my bikes for triathlon and mountain biking, and it carries all the camping gear you need for a month! Go for it.

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  2000 SE - 2002 Nissan Xterra
  By socalkid - May 22 - 2:00 am

  Bought this truck in April 2000. Now have 40,000 miles on it. Very reliable and have never had a problem. Sure, it rides a little rough, but look what youre getting for $23,700...loaded, including 6 disk changer, except for 4 wheel drive. Have been very happy with it the last 2 yrs

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  Missing my Xterra - 2002 Nissan Xterra
  By moharv - May 20 - 8:23 am

  Bought this beautiful SUV used with 40k miles on it. Never had a single problem with it. I loved this car. I say loved because someone ran a red light and broadsided me last week. I rolled 1 1/2 times and came to stop on the drivers side. Climbed out of the passenger door without a scratch. The side door beams did their job - you would never have known someone hit me going 40mph.

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  fun to drive - 2003 Nissan Xterra
  By evan hone - May 18 - 2:00 am

  We bought our xterra in june and drove it from Salt Lake City to Anchorage Alaska the very next week and had absolutly no problems. The day I bought it I immediately went to the shop and threw on a Magnaflow catback exhaust because I heard the gas mileage was bad. I also threw on a air intake for it and loaded the thing up for the trip. We averaged over 20 miles to the gallon on the trip and had no complaints. We didnt want the s/c because of the premium fuel. The horse power greatly increases also and it only costs around 300 bucks which was well spent. Overall no complaints here.

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  Xterra - 2001 Nissan Xterra
  By JJC - May 11 - 10:00 am

  Excellent off road capability, no luxury, great brakes, great handling

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  I hate this car - 2003 Nissan Xterra
  By hatemyxterra - May 5 - 9:15 am

  I bought the car in December with 71,000 miles. I just put it in the shop for something (not sure yet), it was loosing power and slipping. It has NO power and the 4WD sucks. I got stuck in my driveway in 1 inch of snow for 30 minutes one day, and the tires are good on it. Its gotten stuck other times too. Ive had nothing but problems with the car since I got it, and I did my research on it before I bought it, no mechanical issues before. It has none of the benifits of an SUV. Also, it is very difficult to shift gears. I have to force it into first, second, and reverse a lot of the time.

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  What Bang for the Buck! - 2000 Nissan Xterra
  By redshift - May 4 - 2:00 am

  Ive owned my Xterra for 3 years now and what an all-around no nonsense performer. I live in the mountains of Colorado and have had it sideways at angles that make you think youre sitting in the passengers lap. Been over snowy passes, muddy back-roads, even bumped a guard rail at a pretty good clip on a slick, icy road, and it just knocked it out of alignment a bit. Ive had kayaks, canoes, skis, boards and other misc. on top of it and Ive been nearly ocean to ocean in it. If you take care of it, itll take care of you!