Xterra Due For a Re-design?

Okay, it's been a while since I've frequented this forum so I'm probably out of the loop but has anyone heard any rumors about an Xterra re-design coming soon?

The Gen 1 Xterra ran for 5 years (00-04)
The Gen 2 Xterra has been made for 6 years now (05-10)

Most auto makers do a re-design of their models after 5 years or so. I'm actually hoping that Nissan leaves the Xterra alone and they don't add a bunch of stuff to it just to raise the price but I am curious.

I know that Nissan probably would keep a re-design under wraps but this stuff sometimes leaks.

if the Patrol redesign is any indication, you will need 2.5 kids in soccer, a credit line at Starbucks and a Choc Lab or two in order to own one.......

I have not heard of any new re-design but will keep my ears open

Well we have the chocolate lab but not the other two things. We're working on it.

I sure hope they don't kill it off... I likes me some Xterras

Well I heard that sales for the Xterra are down in recent years but I'm not sure by how much. I'm just not sure how much lower sales would have to go before Nissan kills it or turns it into a RAV-4 (God No!) It may be that Nissan hasn't re-designed it because they are instead just going to sale it for a few more years until sales really suck and they kill it. I think future gas prices might determine the Xterra's future.

I would expect sales to be down on a heavy truck based mid sized SUV with today's gas prices.

If you look at the most popular SUV's the last couple of years, most of them are either 4 cylinders (Escape) or at least a car based 6 cylinder with better mileage than the Xterra (RAV-4).

It's just tough for these car based SUV's to beat the Xterra's off road ability and towing capacity. But I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that 90% of owners don't care about off-roading and towing capacity because they neither off-road nor tow anything.

One of the things I really liked about the X's when I got mine was the ruggedness of the truck. I mean, let's face it, it's a tough beast. That being said, yeah, I KNEW when I got it that the mileage wasn't going to be good and was willing to accept that for what I was getting.

On the other hand, it's heavy because it is tough. The reason a lot of the "other" SUV's get better mileage is because they don't have the ruggedness of the X's. Let's say it again, IT'S A TRUCK, not one of those other car based SUV's. The price for that is mileage.

Do I wish it got better mileage? Sure. But I'm not going to turn this into another mileage whining thread. My point is, not-so-good mileage is the price you have to pay for what you get with an X.

Will Nissan redesign it? Will they kill it? I think the answers are yes and no. I think they will redesign it at some point. Will they kill it? I don't think so. While it does have to compete with the "other" SUV's, it beats them on the rugged history (and the following like us here!). IT'S A TRUCK, not a car. TRUCKS don't get the greatest mileage. Could they redesign it as a car-based SUV so it would get better mileage? Oh HELL NO! It wouldn't be the same. You'd lose the ruggedness AND people wouldn't buy it. THEN they would have to kill it. So, redesigning it, depending on how they did it, I think, could kill it. Would they be this stupid? I certainly don't think so. They've got a good thing here and they know it.

My .02...

-G

I hope they keep the Baja Style off roader, I really like that but I'm not due to get a new Xterra for 3 years. I really like the style and hope they don't change anything. A bigger engine would be nice though.