Howdy all,
I posted a long winded review of our 07 Xterra Off Road a while back. Here is the link if anyone is interested:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12288&highlight=road
We just broke 10,000 miles on the odometer and I thought I'd write up a quick review.
Fuel economy: Averaging around 17 mpg in town and right at 20 mpg on the highway driving 75 mph. We just completed a 1500 mile trip down to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and beyond to Prescott and back to northern Utah and averaged 18.9 overall. We had a Thule bag fully loaded with light, bulky gear (4 sleeping bags, tent, 4 folding chairs, 2 8x10 tarps, some rain gear) on the roof rack and around 200 pounds of water, food, camp stove, stove fuel, tools, recovery gear, luggage, guns, ammunition, etc. Two adults and two kids. Our best economy was 20.6 while driving 45-60 on two lane paved and gravel roads. Our worst was the stretch from Las Vegas to St. George running 10% ethanol fuel, 110 degree heat (full a/c) and 80 mph speeds. We achieved 16.9 mpg on that run.
Reliability: No problems so far. A very faint metallic squeak when releasing the clutch pedal under load (throw out bearing?) when the vehicle is cold. Of course the dealer can't duplicate the noise but they did note the complaint in my service file and said that they would take care of it under warranty if it got worse. Everything else on the vehicle works as intended.
Miscellaneous Complaints: We hit some rough wash board roads down in the Kaibab that made the Xterra's suspension come unglued. The typical Xterra bottoming out problem when hitting bumps under load. More of an annoyance than a problem and should be able to be solved with some Timbren stops. Plastic is scratching easily in the cargo area. A slightly tackier surface would help to keep stuff from sliding around when not fully loaded.
Miscellaneous Praises: Love the power and smoothness of the engine. The 6-speed manual makes driving the Xterra fun and engaging. The steering wheel audio controls are wonderful and a great safety feature to help keep your eyes on the road. The sound system sounds good. CDs don't skip even on rough washboard. All the switch gear is intuitively easy to use. The second glove box is handy for storing cameras and binoculars. The cup holders are perfectly sized for 1 qt. Nalgene bottles. There is good storage room under the rear seats for shovels, jacks, etc. Also the false floor in the storage area is handy for chains, ropes, and other recovery gear that you don't want flying around the cab in the event of a roll over.
Overall impressions: We are still happy with the vehicle and feel that it is a good compromise between on road handling and power and expo-style off roading. Our next modification will be an Engel fridge after dealing with soggy food and melted ice the whole trip.
Brian
I posted a long winded review of our 07 Xterra Off Road a while back. Here is the link if anyone is interested:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12288&highlight=road
We just broke 10,000 miles on the odometer and I thought I'd write up a quick review.
Fuel economy: Averaging around 17 mpg in town and right at 20 mpg on the highway driving 75 mph. We just completed a 1500 mile trip down to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and beyond to Prescott and back to northern Utah and averaged 18.9 overall. We had a Thule bag fully loaded with light, bulky gear (4 sleeping bags, tent, 4 folding chairs, 2 8x10 tarps, some rain gear) on the roof rack and around 200 pounds of water, food, camp stove, stove fuel, tools, recovery gear, luggage, guns, ammunition, etc. Two adults and two kids. Our best economy was 20.6 while driving 45-60 on two lane paved and gravel roads. Our worst was the stretch from Las Vegas to St. George running 10% ethanol fuel, 110 degree heat (full a/c) and 80 mph speeds. We achieved 16.9 mpg on that run.
Reliability: No problems so far. A very faint metallic squeak when releasing the clutch pedal under load (throw out bearing?) when the vehicle is cold. Of course the dealer can't duplicate the noise but they did note the complaint in my service file and said that they would take care of it under warranty if it got worse. Everything else on the vehicle works as intended.
Miscellaneous Complaints: We hit some rough wash board roads down in the Kaibab that made the Xterra's suspension come unglued. The typical Xterra bottoming out problem when hitting bumps under load. More of an annoyance than a problem and should be able to be solved with some Timbren stops. Plastic is scratching easily in the cargo area. A slightly tackier surface would help to keep stuff from sliding around when not fully loaded.
Miscellaneous Praises: Love the power and smoothness of the engine. The 6-speed manual makes driving the Xterra fun and engaging. The steering wheel audio controls are wonderful and a great safety feature to help keep your eyes on the road. The sound system sounds good. CDs don't skip even on rough washboard. All the switch gear is intuitively easy to use. The second glove box is handy for storing cameras and binoculars. The cup holders are perfectly sized for 1 qt. Nalgene bottles. There is good storage room under the rear seats for shovels, jacks, etc. Also the false floor in the storage area is handy for chains, ropes, and other recovery gear that you don't want flying around the cab in the event of a roll over.
Overall impressions: We are still happy with the vehicle and feel that it is a good compromise between on road handling and power and expo-style off roading. Our next modification will be an Engel fridge after dealing with soggy food and melted ice the whole trip.
Brian
