Review

Pitted against such competition as the Kia Borrego, Lexus LX570, Suzuki Grand Vitara, and Toyota Sequoia, the Nissan Xterra walked away with the 2009 Four Wheeler of the Year's top honor (Feb. '09). As with all of our winners, we put in our order for a long-term test vehicle and have been busily rolling on the miles since it was delivered at the office.

TheCarConnection.com has driven the Nissan Xterra and presents its expert opinion in this Bottom Line. For even more information, TheCarConnection.com has researched available road tests pertaining to the 2009 Nissan Xterra, with useful and insightful pieces included in this full review.

The foothills of the Bradshaw Mountains north of Phoenix are laced with trails that run along the tops of narrow ridges and through gullies at the bottoms of deep gorges.

The hybrid and now-in-development electric cars may be all the rage publicly, but walk into a Nissan dealer and you’re likely in for a surprise when you discover the Xterra is the vehicle those dealers can’t keep in stock.

When gas prices zoomed above the $4-a-gallon mark last year, Nissan slowed production of this sport utility vehicle. Well, prices are down and despite crankin’ up ye olde Xterra production, you’ll likely find a shortage, dealers throughout the U.S. report.

The 2009 Nissan Xterra may be more refined, but I just don't like it.

I want to.

I think it looks really cool when you walk up to it. The straight-line design conveys a kind of high-tech ruggedness. The vehicle's face is smushed as if a giant grandmother squeezed it just a little too long. There's an appeal to the Xterra.

And when you see people riding in one, they always look so happy -- and young. These are the people who kayak on Monday, bungee jump Wednesday, skydive Saturday and then go clubbing.

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The week we tested the Nissan Xterra we had two snow storms and one ice storm. I was grateful that all I had to do to gain confidence in the Xterra's traction was to reach down to the rotary switch on the dash and turn it from 2WD to 4WD HI. The Xterra handled all that Mother Nature threw at us that week and did it well.

This comfortable rough-road performance is somewhat mitigates by a rocky on-road performance. While the Xterra is designed primarily for off-roading, it's on-roading performance isn't anything to write home about.