2005 Nissan Xterra

I'm happy to say I have one of the only 2005s in the state and probably the country and the first to review it on this site. I'll give a brief history of the Xterra, explain my 2003 (a mini-review) and then review the 2005.

Xterra debuted in 2000 as "everything you need and nothing you don't." It had a rugged look, low price, very little extra things you wouldn't need for functionality. For example, you can't get leather seats, you can't get GPS, On-star, etc. even if you want to. It had solid off-road performance without any real modifications. It was definitely made for off-roading right out of the factory -almost. They made a 4-cylinder wimp version, which had a significantly weaker engine, smaller tires but still capable off road. The had a few versions, the 4 cylinder, 2 6-cylinder versions, XE and SE (both offer 4x4 and 4x2): the difference being the SE has fog lights, a Rockford Fosgate 6-CD changer with 8 speakers, bigger tires, and a slightly more powerful engine. Then in 2003, the changed the front end's appearance a little, made it more sporty. The engine, interior, and the rest of the body are the same. There is no major difference between the 2000 and the 2004.

My 2003 was a good truck. I paid 25000 for it more or less in late 2003 brand new. I got 1.9% APR, put zero down, and walked out with a new truck. Very off-road capable. I had the XE. I had 3.3L, 6 cylinders, 215 horsepower, 4x4. The interior is very spartan being simple, no extras. The radio is as basic as you get. Display and console as very basic. No digital gages, nothing you really don't NEED to know is displayed. It handled well, got about 16.5 miles per gallon overall (combo of city and highway driving), looked good after 18 months and 25000 miles. I took it off-road on occasion and it handled very well, better than my wife's 2000 Jeep Wrangler Sport. My gripes with it: Stock tires sucked. I replaced them within a year with Bridgestone Dueler AT REVOs (best out there for all-terrain). Gas mileage was average at best. It seemed to me the interior and exterior plastic parts were low quality. The price for this truck is so low considering what you get but it appeared the parts were low quality. They showed discoloration from the sun within 1 year. If you didn't clean bugs off the front end after a freeway trip or two, they kind of made a permanent discoloration. It was annoying. A bird dropped a bomb on me once and I left it there in the summer for a few days until I could clean it. It left a permanent mark on the cargo cage on the top of the truck. The rear seats folded down but you had to actually remove the bottom seat pad to fold the seats down all the way. I would generally leave them down for the space but if I didn't know beforehand more than 1 person needed a ride, I wouldn't have my seat cushions with me since I left them in my garage. Generally though, it was a good buy and performed well for me and looked good. I am all about performance and this could perform if I needed it to do so. I would recommend it overall, but it wasn't perfect. I never had one problem with anything on it and it never needed one repair after 25000 miles.

I saw they came out with a 2005 Xterra, which was supposed to be new and improved. I was dying to see what it looked like and what they had changed. I didn't think it would be so drastic. I first saw photos of it and fell in love with it. They improved all of the body complaints I had. I felt it used to look too long and the front end looked weird from the side but good from the front. The new one looked like all the new Nissan trucks. It now fit in the family and I happened to love the new Nissan designs. But, still, I have a new car more or less. It isn't even 2 years old. How can I justify buying a new car? It'd have to be awesome. After seeing a hearing about it, it looked good, but not worth getting a new one. It just wasn't practical. Then they put out ads as their web site and went into greater detail about what they have improved. Now it was getting interesting. You can go yourself to www.nissanusa.com and see for yourself, but I'll list the ones that caught my eye:

1. Redesigned interior. You have to see the previous and new model to understand how much better it is. Console is night and day different. Much more ergonomic.
2. Stock engine on ALL models (S, Off-Road, SE, all have 4x2 and 4x4 option) is now 265 horsepower and 4 liters. This is more power than the highest model before. There is no more wimp model available.
3. Push-button 4x4. It used to have a gear shift you had to engage. Now you just turn a nob and you are rolling a 4x4, if you got that. But why would you get 4x2? None of the new ones that first came out even had 4x2 available. None also had manual transmission although that I DO like. It is available though.
4. WASHABLE CARGO AREA! The back and now the backs of the rear seats have no carpet. It's a black washable material that is unreal. No more stains from my dirty boots or clothes or dog. You just wipe it down. That alone was such an improvement I couldn't believe it. When I saw it in person, it alone almost sold me.
5. Front passenger seat now folds ALL THE WAY DOWN. You can fit much more longer items in the truck now without having to put it between the 2 front seats and annoy you the whole way home. I got some wood from Lowe's once and had it on my shoulder practically, but not in the 2005.
6. Seats are all a washable material.
7. Gas tank is 21.1 gallons versus 19, which was still good. I can go for a very long time before I have to fill up.
8. Gas mileage is better by 1 mile per gallon so far in my first 2000 miles.
9. Front end redesign.
10. Wheel base is wider and longer. The wheels were moved farther from each other left to right and front to back. It is noticeable when I drive it. It feels more sturdy.
11. All plastic parts I felt were low-quality are now high quality. All top notch stuff for this type of car. It's no Mercedes of course, but for what it is, it is nice.
12. Top cargo box now has a cover. If you've seen the Xterra you know it has that cargo box and rails on top that give it a sporty look. Before, there was a cargo box but you had to buy a new to cover it so your gear wouldn't fly out when you drive. Now, it has a stock plastic cover for it. Minor but smart.
13. I didn't get these options, but on the Off-Road model, it has a ton of different features the other 2 don't have like skid plates on more parts, hill descent control, gas shocks, better washable seat material, and solid off-roading tires. I wanted one but couldn't find one in my area right away.
14. In the far back of the truck there is a storage box too. You can stock more things under the washable cargo area. This is very helpful.
15. Stock tires on all models are BF Goodrich and not great but not a no-name POS tire. I still put my Bridgestones on my new truck and put the new BFGs on the one 2003 I traded in (the dealer let me switch them and split the cost with me as a deal-sealer.)
16. Price is the SAME despite all the improvements!

There are more improvements too. Check out the web site. Basically, it's like Nissan sat down and said "OK, what do current Xterra drivers want to fix about their trucks?" and they made them all. It's great.

I got the S model, $27,500 more or less. The Off-Road is around $29,500 and the SE is $31,500. This can change by 1-2 thousand either way depending on the options. I got the S because it was the color I wanted (Canteen – a dark green), had all the options I wanted (4x4, automatic, all-weather mats for front and back). They don't have the Canteen color for the Off-Road model and I don't go off-roading enough or in areas that are that challenging that I need all the off-road extras. My base model is more capable then the best model from the previous years without a doubt. The base model, the S, is so good, I couldn't believe it. The SE is the same as the S but it has fog lights, hardcore sound system, bigger tires (17" versus 16"), and better rims. The S model is perfect for me. I forgot to add one cool thing. All models come equipped with a tire inflation monitor, which seemed silly to me except when I had a flat and didn't notice it. My X told me about it and then when I looked at it, I realized my rear tire had caught a nail and it was down to 50% of the recommended PSI. I wasn't noticeable when I drove or even when I looked at it really, but my truck was right! Probably saved me a blowout on the freeway.

Now I had only read about these things and when I saw them in person I was MORE impressed. There were initially 2 total available in the Seattle-Tacoma area. 2 dealers had 1 each. 1 of them was exactly the one I wanted. Had they been a color I didn't like or both SEs, I wouldn't have gotten one. But they had the only color I wanted, I just got promoted and could afford to get a new one, got a good price for my 2003, and a few others deal-sealers (free lifetime oil changes, replaced my tires, good APR for a brand new model, no money down). Considering what a popular truck this will be, the price was low and they gave me a great deal. Had to be done. It's worth every penny and all the people at Nissan did a great job.