Nissan Xterra

The Nissan Xterra is a sport utility vehicle, manufactured by the leading Japanese automaker, the Nissan Motor Company, Ltd, which is constructed on the Nissan F-Alpha platform. The Nissan Xterra is derived from the Nissan Frontier pickup and assumes the name XTERRA, which is the name of the off-road triathlon race sequence, which was sponsored by Nissan from 1998 to 2006.

The Nissan Xterra was introduced as the 2000 model year vehicle in North America. Actually, the Nissan Xterra was not the first compact sport utility vehicle of Nissan and the Japanese automaker had the Nissan Rasheen and Nissan Mistral, whereas the Nissan Terrano, a two-door sport utility vehicle was manufactured and sold by Nissan Europe from 1993 to 2006.

Three unique design cues, such as a distinct raised back roofline, unique back door handles, and a hump-backed rear gate, have remained throughout every model of the Xterra. The lifted roof enables stadium seating and the hump-backed gate cue offers space for a first aid kit. The back door handles are set on the C pillar like a Nissan design custom, which commenced with the 1990 model Nissan Pathfinder. When the 4-door, Nissan Pathfinder was released in 1989, the manufacturer chose to hide the door handles as a fraction of the C pillar variant to make it resemble a two-door truck visually, with a camper shell, with traditional front door handles.

The Nissan Xterra continues to be the entry-level sport utility vehicle as of 2013 in the United States. The price of the Nissan Xterra is less than the Rogue, which was launched in 2007 and higher than the Murano, which was released in 2002. Nissan Xterra approved the name from TEAM Unlimited LLC, a Hawaiian-derived for an unnamed sum of money. TEAM Unlimited possesses the rights to the earlier Lifeguard Challenges and the Xterra Triathlon. This facilitated the TEAM Unlimited to develop the Xterra brand.

First generation and features

The first generation of Nissan Xterra was from 2000 to 2004. During its initial two years the Nissan Xterra came in three trim levels, two trims were designated as XE and one trim was designated as SE.

The XE is the base trim of Xterra, which was powered by the KA24DE, Inline-4 engine that offered the vehicle the required power of 143 HP. This engine was mated to five-speed manual transmission, and it came with steel wheels, but lacked in accessories, like roof rack and step rails.

The XE model vehicles were configured with a number of option packages combining V6, 3.3-liter VG33E engine to get the higher power output of 170 HP. This engine was mated to either a four-speed automatic transmission or to a five-speed manual transmission, and it was featured with side step-rails, roof rack, and carpeted floor mats.

The SE trim of Nissan Xterra featured with equipment as standard, which was offered as optional equipment the XE trim of Xterra. Canadian Xterra models in Canada from were restricted only to the V6, VG33E engine, and they were available only with part-time all-wheel drive mode from 2000 to 2004.

After undergoing major updates up to 2014, Nissan announced its end of production of Xterra following the 2015 model year. Up to date, the automaker has no plans to provide a substitute to the Xterra. Nissan has neither established nor denied the demise of the Xterra.