- Location
- Bountiful, land of rocks
So we've been trying to figure out what would replace the wife's ZJ after 10 faithful years of service. She narrowed it down to 5 choices and we went and drove them yesterday. The winner TOTALLY surprised me and I 100% agree with her choice.
We drove the Liberty, Wrangler Unlimited, Honda Pilot, Nissan Armada and Nissan Xterra (kind of a strange list, but those are her choices). Both of us felt like only one was worthy of our $$,$$$ and now we're in the investigation stage of the purchase (you know, what are common problems, what year ranges to purchase from, etc.)
We think we've decided on an Xterra. There's only a couple of things I don't like about the rig, but for the most part, it seems like the way to go for us (her). If the Wrangler had ANY kind of a motor, it would have made things a little harder, but the 3.8L just doesn't even compare. The LIberty kind of finished a distant second and seems to be a decent vehicle this time around. It can get out of it's own way, unlike the Wrangler, which honestly doesn't feel safe with such a poopy little motor.
Her listed results and ranking
Xterra (loves the size, power, handling and most of the features)
Liberty vs. Pilot (Liberty was kind of fun, but the Pilot was very comfortable, although boring--similar performance and you can pick advantages between each other)
Wrangler (no power, wind noise {that really didn't catch either of us by surprise} with a nice suspension and solid feel)
Armada = too big and hard to park, she just liked the Xterra better
My thoughts
Xterra - (impressive power for a 4.0L V6, seems fairly well built, affordable even new, and good bang for the buck) Hands down winner, IMHO
Wrangler - I WISH this thing had even 75% of the power of the Xterra. I think it would make all the difference. It could barely get out of it's own way, let alone merge into traffic with any authority. I was fairly disappointed (again). Our 4.0L ZJ has 135K and I really think the tired motor would outperform the 3.8L. Tough to pay $$,$$$ for that, IMHO. If this rig had the 4.7L V8, it would be incredible. It would even be served better by the 3.7L V6 in the Liberty, IMHO. It at least felt like it was trying to do something instead of just make noise.
Liberty - I was quite surprised to even like this rig as much as I did. It fits in there a close third to the Wrangler (that might tell you how disappointed I am in the Wrangler comparing things head-head?)
Armada - Towing capacity, and power are quite respectable. Holy expensive, batman. Kind of feels bigger than it really is, but it's definitely not nimble like any of the other rigs. It really doesn't fit in this category at all. WAY too many gadgets that distract from the overall purpose of the rig.
Pilot - well, I didn't really know what to think of this thing. It's kind of sterile. Somewhat capable and had some interesting features and a few clever ones. Definitely not an offroader, but could get by in some cases (probably fine for what my wife would use it for-I really thought she'd pick this one). 7 seats are kind of a bonus for when you need them and they fold flat for when you don't.
So, what's the skinny on Xterra's. There's not a whole bunch of posts on RME regarding them.
Things I didn't care for.
1) you're stuck with a dial instead of a shifter for 4wd. How freakin' lazy are you if can't shift your vehicle into 4x4? How often does it break and what does it cost when it does? (not a place for electronics, IMHO--what if you ACTUALLY NEED 4WD where it breaks? I'd ***** about that tow bill for YEARS)
For the record, the ONLY one in our group that had a shifter available was the Wrangler
. Bunch of lazy Americans around.
2)IFS -- you all knew that would come up. Not like there's much choice anymore, though. To give it a little credit, though, it seemed fairly beefily designed in the control arms and other stuff. I doubt it would/will give us much trouble from a suspension standpoint. I wonder about the halfshafts and diff and what not. I really don't know where that strength would stand.
Questions for Xterra folks:
1) When did the 4WD shifter get phased out of production?
2) When did the 4.0L come on and become impressive? Last time I drove a Nissan, I think it had a 3.3L(?) and I was QUITE underwhelmed. I think that was probably 2002 or so?
3) IFS: How strong is the steering junk and the CV shafts and whatever else? Will that stuff hold up to 33" tires with some use/abuse? (I'm not trying to make it into D60, but will it serve as well as maybe a D44 up front?) What are wear things to look for up there if we bought a used one?
4) Common breakage points? What do I look out for and in what years?
I googled the Utah Xterra board, but it's not the most active it didn't look like. Where's other decent info?
We drove the Liberty, Wrangler Unlimited, Honda Pilot, Nissan Armada and Nissan Xterra (kind of a strange list, but those are her choices). Both of us felt like only one was worthy of our $$,$$$ and now we're in the investigation stage of the purchase (you know, what are common problems, what year ranges to purchase from, etc.)
We think we've decided on an Xterra. There's only a couple of things I don't like about the rig, but for the most part, it seems like the way to go for us (her). If the Wrangler had ANY kind of a motor, it would have made things a little harder, but the 3.8L just doesn't even compare. The LIberty kind of finished a distant second and seems to be a decent vehicle this time around. It can get out of it's own way, unlike the Wrangler, which honestly doesn't feel safe with such a poopy little motor.
Her listed results and ranking
Xterra (loves the size, power, handling and most of the features)
Liberty vs. Pilot (Liberty was kind of fun, but the Pilot was very comfortable, although boring--similar performance and you can pick advantages between each other)
Wrangler (no power, wind noise {that really didn't catch either of us by surprise} with a nice suspension and solid feel)
Armada = too big and hard to park, she just liked the Xterra better
My thoughts
Xterra - (impressive power for a 4.0L V6, seems fairly well built, affordable even new, and good bang for the buck) Hands down winner, IMHO
Wrangler - I WISH this thing had even 75% of the power of the Xterra. I think it would make all the difference. It could barely get out of it's own way, let alone merge into traffic with any authority. I was fairly disappointed (again). Our 4.0L ZJ has 135K and I really think the tired motor would outperform the 3.8L. Tough to pay $$,$$$ for that, IMHO. If this rig had the 4.7L V8, it would be incredible. It would even be served better by the 3.7L V6 in the Liberty, IMHO. It at least felt like it was trying to do something instead of just make noise.
Liberty - I was quite surprised to even like this rig as much as I did. It fits in there a close third to the Wrangler (that might tell you how disappointed I am in the Wrangler comparing things head-head?)
Armada - Towing capacity, and power are quite respectable. Holy expensive, batman. Kind of feels bigger than it really is, but it's definitely not nimble like any of the other rigs. It really doesn't fit in this category at all. WAY too many gadgets that distract from the overall purpose of the rig.
Pilot - well, I didn't really know what to think of this thing. It's kind of sterile. Somewhat capable and had some interesting features and a few clever ones. Definitely not an offroader, but could get by in some cases (probably fine for what my wife would use it for-I really thought she'd pick this one). 7 seats are kind of a bonus for when you need them and they fold flat for when you don't.
So, what's the skinny on Xterra's. There's not a whole bunch of posts on RME regarding them.
Things I didn't care for.
1) you're stuck with a dial instead of a shifter for 4wd. How freakin' lazy are you if can't shift your vehicle into 4x4? How often does it break and what does it cost when it does? (not a place for electronics, IMHO--what if you ACTUALLY NEED 4WD where it breaks? I'd ***** about that tow bill for YEARS)
For the record, the ONLY one in our group that had a shifter available was the Wrangler
. Bunch of lazy Americans around.2)IFS -- you all knew that would come up. Not like there's much choice anymore, though. To give it a little credit, though, it seemed fairly beefily designed in the control arms and other stuff. I doubt it would/will give us much trouble from a suspension standpoint. I wonder about the halfshafts and diff and what not. I really don't know where that strength would stand.
Questions for Xterra folks:
1) When did the 4WD shifter get phased out of production?
2) When did the 4.0L come on and become impressive? Last time I drove a Nissan, I think it had a 3.3L(?) and I was QUITE underwhelmed. I think that was probably 2002 or so?
3) IFS: How strong is the steering junk and the CV shafts and whatever else? Will that stuff hold up to 33" tires with some use/abuse? (I'm not trying to make it into D60, but will it serve as well as maybe a D44 up front?) What are wear things to look for up there if we bought a used one?
4) Common breakage points? What do I look out for and in what years?
I googled the Utah Xterra board, but it's not the most active it didn't look like. Where's other decent info?
