Help me choose an off road and expedition vehicle

[BajaTaco]

Boy, tough decision.

If it were me (in your shoes, with those choices) I would feel safest getting the Toyota because there is a good bet you will never even need to use that 100K warranty, even at 30K miles. Jeff's right, it's just a baby.

HOWEVER, for the price, a brand new Xterra is hard to resist! With the upcoming aftermarket stuff available, that would be one fun rig to play around with. I don't have enough history with the Nissans to have my own personal gut feelings on them, but I have always liked them. Damn, I don't know - I might have to just flip a coin!

Regardless, you should check out this thread at 4wdtrips.net and talk to this guy before you decide. He has been providing us with some great feedback on the new X.

 

[BajaTaco]

Oh yea, I forgot to mention, that I would choose the manual Xterra over the automatic. I'm just a manual kind of guy, but also you will notice in that report that he mentions the manual has a better crawl ratio (sounds like you experienced that on your test drive).

Also forgot to mention, the new Xterras have done away with the torsion bars and are using arms with coilovers, which is way cool.

 

[bigreen505]

Thanks for the link Chris. I'm leaning toward the Toyota a bit for reasons I'm not quite sure of, but we'll see what happens. I think flipping a coin might be a deciding factor. Also the fact the one is in state and one is not may weigh in as well.

 

[BajaTaco]

Good luck Bill :wavey:

Whatever decision you make, will be the right one.

 

[Darren]

Hey, Bill, I'm over here, too! I've been reading little pieces of this thread since you put it up and I had no idea this was you! Unreal. Good to talk to you again tonight!

It's a pretty tough choice between the vehicles you've checked out. That 4Runner you're eying is basically new, and like I said, if I wasn't as much of a 4Runner/Toyota fan of their quality, I'd have an Xterra. Too bad you don't have a bit more time picking one out, but I hope you end up with a good one. If you're going to the CNP get-together at the end of the month, I'll have to check out the new ride, assuming you have one by then.

Later!

 

[calamaridog]

I wish I had some feedback on the Xterra. I'm just glad it still has the solid rear axle and not IFS. I'm sure it will be nice if you go that route.


My parents have had 2 - 2002 4runners. The first one was totally destroyed when my mother had a head on collision with a 20 ton boulder while doing about 35mph. The vehicle handled the impact flawlessly; very safe vehicle. The passenger compartment was totally intact after the accident.

The Highway Patrol was amazed they were not more seriously injured.

They immediately replaced it with another one. It has been perfect for 60,000 mi. so far.


No matter what you choose, you will be a winner, and we hope to see some pics

 

[BajaTaco]

If you are not familiar with Darren Kilgore's Web site, http://www.mycolorado.org you should check it out. Darren is a fellow photographer with a beautiful 4Runner. If I get the Toyota his setup would be my ultimate goal, but would probably take a few years to get there.

Do I know Darren? Sometimes I am lucky enough to meet someone as famous. :bowdown:

 

[bigreen505]

Yeah, I'm new here and't didn't realize Darren hung out here too. The whole Expedition community is new to me, I thought everyone had gone rock crawler crazy and I was the only one who wanted a vehicle I could drive comfortably for long periods of time to a destination, even at the expense of not being able to drive over rocks the size of my house.

Chris, that link to 4wd.net was great, sounds just like me. I think I've decided that it just comes down to price at this point. Which ever dealer gives me the best price will be the winner. I am reconsidering the Off-Road Xterra again because of the diffs, I didn't realize they were the same as the Nismo Frontier. History has suggested that ARB can't figure out how to put a locker in a LSD diff, but since these are ABS based it may not be an issue.

Darren, thanks again for all the help last night (he spent more than an hour talking me through the maze of 4Runners, aftermarket parts, and Xterras)! I do plan on going to the shindig. I better start looking for some good images from this year for the slideshow, most of work has been commercial.

 

[gene]

The 2005/2006 Xterra is much better than the previous versions. Overall a really nice truck. Finally you get 2.67:1 transfer case. The older ones needed lower gears. The Trooper is a great car. I had one for 100,000 miles and it performed beautifully, nice low gears, more roomy and way better seats than the Xterra. My trooper got 16 to 17 mpg. By the time I sold it, there were fatigue cracks between the doors and window frames. No way to weld them without burning paint off the doors. The last 3 years (4 in my family) we used a Ford F250 Super Duty. It was my first full size and I was worried that it would be to big for off road. But to my surprise, with that V10, 75:1 crawl ratio and solid axles, that beast could crawl over big boulders and climb better than anything I have ever had (FJ55, various Toyota pickups, 2 Troopers, Frontier)! Plus I could now carry enough stuff to really enjoy my longer Mexico and Arctic trips. Gas mileage sucked at 12 MPG (manual trans). I sold it and started looking at 2006 Xterra vs. 2006 Tacoma Crew. They both are lucky to get 18 MPG. On a fluke,
I tried out a Dodge Diesel. You know what, super low gears, lots of space for true expedition amounts of gear, HD solid axles, 300,000 mile engine, biodiesel fuel compatible and whoa! 22 MPG!! I bought one and love it! $32,000 but I can stick your Xterra in the back of this truck and still get better fuel mileage than any of the little trucks. Anyway, just my 2 cents.

 

[BlueTrooper]

My guess is that the Xterra would be a little more fuel-efficient, and the Trooper cheaper, and roomier.

Have you driven the Trooper? How a vehicle feels and rides, subjectively, is very important. One of the things I love about them is the headroom they get from the more traditional, boxy shape.

If you do go that way, there is a lot of info available right here on Scott's site, as well as looking at the discussion on Aaron's mod thread.

Also, check to see if the Trooper has the limited slip diff option (noted by the code G80 on the ID plate in the engine compartment).

Good luck!

(Maybe I should have read all the pages of the thread first, and realized that the Trooper was out of the running! Am sure there are lots of used bargains out there if you are still interested, though!)

 

[bigreen505]

Fuunny you should mention that Roy. I just found a 2001 LS with 31k for $10k. We'll see.

 

[jeffryscott]

that's a lot of left over money for mods ....

10k for a 01 with 31K is SO much cheaper than either the 4Runner or Xterra - you could easily outfit it the way you want and then some for your 25K budget.

The Trooper is roomier than the other two as well and it should have the balance of the 10 year/100,000 warranty Isuzu offers.

Roy is right, if you haven't driven any of the above vehicles definitely do so. Toyota's tend to have you stretch out, the Trooper and Xterra have you sitting much more upright ...

Assuming the vehicle is not a lemon (always a chance with any used vehicle) you really can't go wrong with a Trooper if you like how it drives and sits and feels.

It is so difficult making these decisions, at some point you just have to say "This one."

Good luck, Jeff

 

[Life_in_4Lo]

seems like a new Xterra is out of your $25K budget. A new car alone w/o mods is about that. Tax, lic, insc, etc...it adds up.

Account for the fact mods always cost more than you thought and you will easily top out $35K before you are done w/ the Xterra.

$10K base will leave you plenty for mods, maintence and travel money if you have a ceiling of $25K.
But beyond price, you should get something you will really enjoy. Is it $10+K in your pocket will make you smile or a 0 odometer new rig in the driveway? No wrong answer imo, just your preference.

 

[bigreen505]

Thanks guys,

Jeff,
I have no preference in driving position between the Toyota and Nissa, both were fine. I do, however, have some concerns about the crash protection of the Trooper reported in Consumer Reports, especially compared with the Toyota and Nissan.

Life in 4 lo,
The Xterra does go over budget, but not by as much as you think, and can be built more slowly. Assuming everything goes as planned I would have about $27k in the X when it is finished.

So I guess I have a bit of reporting back to do. I drove both a new X (manual and auto) and a 2002 4Runner, though not the one I am considering. The 4Runner was a very unremarkable vehicle, which is both good and bad as nothing struck me as being particularly bad. I did have much less space inside than I was expecting based on the numbers. Power was underwhelming, but probably on par with my Pathfinder. It seemed to have okay power low and high, but nothing in the middle, where they Pathfinder is all in the middle (3500-4500 rpm).

The Xterra seemed nice, but handling was truly attrocious. My Pathfinder can take city corners 10+ mph faster! We are talking about a 15 year old truck with a 2" lift compared to a new vehicle that has handling described as car-like. I don't get it. I know I have spent a lot of time dialing in the suspension on the Pathy, but still.

My wife is coming with me tomorrow to drive them and see what she likes. I am leaning toward the X, but still not quite sure (and have not looked at the Trooper yet). My big gripe about the 4Runner is the exhorbitant used prices for the Gen 3 runners -- they are more than the current 4th Gen 4Runners. I thought it was a fluke at one dealer, but a trip to Edmunds.com confirms this. One the other had, the used market is strong for these trucks and if I decide to sell in a couple years I can get my money out. On the other hand if I drive it for 15 years there is no benefit.

I dug up a '99 4Runner limited that I am checking out tomorrow and will report back again. If anyone is interested in these trucks that I am passing up I am happy to divulge where they are. :wavey:

 

[calamaridog]

The used prices on the 4runners and Tacomas is very high but the prices on Land Cruisers is relatively low.

When I test drove the first Xterra I noticed it handled quite poorly, much worse than the Jeep Liberty we ended up with. I'm surprised the new one isn't a whole bunch better.

The Trooper sounds very interesting for only 10k...

What about the 4th generation 4runner? I've seen 4x4 with the V6 for less than 22k.