Nissan Xterra Overview

Nissan's Xterra was a huge success when it was launched last year. It's not so much the engineering, but rather the style and the function-or maybe it's the marketing of that function.

Regardless, the Xterra is cool. It's cool to have a basket for your wetsuits on the roof rack, or an interior mountain bike rack; and it's cool to point out to people that you have these things. Xterra is retro at the same time it's a trendsetter: Its foundation is ruggedness, the foundation for the original SUV. This isn't a sedan in SUV cladding.

The Xterra concept has prevailed beyond Nissan's expectations and hopes; heck, it's still just catching on. About the only thing on the Xterra that's changed since its introduction last year is its prices, which has increased by $450 to $650 on some models.