Recently Time Magazine had an interview with the Nissan CEO. He has really brought the company back from the brink. All of Nissans current products (except the Titan and Armada) score very high on all consumer surveys and magazine tests. The warranty is great as well. Granted GM has a 5yr/100k warranty but who wants to always have the truck in the shop. Honda, Toyota, and Nissan are all great but and the levels of quality that seperate them are slim but i would put them in the order listed previously. Buy what you need and not on impulse!!!

Tim

If you're looking to replace your rubi with an SUV, then in my opinion, you can't go wrong with the '06 OR xterra. Comparing the VQ40 engine with the current taco engine or the FJ engine, the power, quality, and reliability are significantly favoring the Xterra. I have also heard about the tranny problems reported with the newer Toyotas, and have heard nothing similar about the Xterra. My girlfriend has had her heart set on replacing her exploder with a taco for the last 3 years, and after test driving one, I convinced her to test drive a 2nd gen X. Now she wants an OR model (is it just me, or are they impossible to find anymore??). The factory rear diff locker is a nice addition as well. The FJs are available with lockers, but once you start adding options to make it a decent offroad vehicle, you're looking at a price tag just under $40K. Not to mention the cost of better tires, etc. My girlfriend's brother just bought an FJ with factory lockers, and paid $38 with a pretty good discount.

If you really want a good feel for the quality of the Xterra, look through the forums and some of the archives. My Xterra has been a submarine and is still running like a champ, so personally I'd have to say the Xterra is the best vehicle you can buy in its class for the price. A fully locked Rubi may be more capable offroad, but the cost of getting an Xterra and doing the SAS and adding lockers produces a more on AND off-road capable vehicle for much less money. I've also noticed that rust seems to be more of a problem on the Jeeps.

Good luck!

I H8MUD,
Welcome to the board,I can't figure out why some on this board feel they need to flame someone who has a legit question. Dumbasses...
I have 111k on my 01 Xterra. It was originally my wifes truck and when she wanted a car we traded in my 01 Dodge Ram with a lift 35's etc., and kept the Xterra. The Ram had 50k miles on it and it was literally falling apart. Although I religiously maintain the X it has taken plenty of offroad abuse without consequence. It is somewhat modified ( Lift,exhaust,cold air intake, steering system, bumpers) and goes most anywhere I want to.
At 111k miles it still has fewer rattles than our 98 Chevy ZR2 had when it was brand new.
Although not powerful (1st Gen), it's a great truck and I will drive it until the wheels fall off.

Thanks for the repies. Right now I am waiting to hear back from the dealer.
They are trying to locate an '06 Offroad for me.
They said they would give me a killer deal on
The "S" and "SE" models on the lot.
The "S" is probably all I really need.

I work for Honda and drive a Nissan.
It's my second one. I went Nissan again just because Honda doesn't have a truck that I want.
I was close to buying a Tacoma but the sales guy had an attitude like I needed him more than he needed me.

So glad I bought my Xterra. Still makes me smile when I get in to drive it.

Sorry I'm not illiterate, just distracted. We brought the nissan to the toyota dealership to compare them side by side. We told the nissan guys that that's where we were headed and they weren't impressed, until we bought the sentra

SHIFT 2.0 Sentra or 1.0 Sentra?

...not that it matters :p

As for the topic, I'd say that Japanese manufacturers in general are leading the pack. Nissan may be behind both Toyota and Honda, but it's not by much and when you look at the quality of Nissan's trucks and you look at the quality of American "engineering" you really get an idea of how much pride the Japanese put into their work. It's quite amazing and really backs up the stereotype of lazy Americans rather nicely. I like it.

When shopping the Japanese brands, it really comes down to features to me. If I like the power of the X over a FJ or a friggin Element, I go with the X. I went with the X because of the features, price, power, and styling. It's the complete package for me.

Happy New Years!
Mike

Nissans are nice cars.

Nissans are becoming much more reliable (with the exception of the Titan and Armada, because this is one of Nissan's first attempts w/ such a big engine, where things are likely to go wrong). Nissan used to be not terrible, but not great at the same time. Toyota was a long time ago a piece of junk...but now the best in reliability there is...however, they don't put nearly the power into their vehicles that Nissan and Honda do...so they have less chance of breaking down. If you want POWER and RELIABILITY, go with any Nissan, or a Toyota Truck.

Toyota and Honda have been on the top of the list of maintenance and reliability, no question. Nissan is high on the list but not that high, nor is it on par. Do a quick google search and you'll see.

I've owned my x for just about a year now, it has 37,000 miles on it, and i have had the common problems, windows no longer working, noisy A/C pulley's that need replacing. etc. etc. Im scared the exhaust manifold will go at any time...

With that said im really happy with it, and it has withstood some good abuse, but i wouldnt say the quality is the greatest. There's a reason Nissan is able to sell the x for considerably a cheap MSRP.

There's a reason Nissan is able to sell the x for considerably a cheap MSRP

I paid $44,000 out the door for my 06 X I would not say thats cheep

well...i don't know if I'd call it cheap...but it's less expensive than most comparable SUVs given the power of the engine and the overall package. I'd also need to look at how the Canadian dollar stands up to the US Dollar.

Why does that sound steep to me? on the nissanusa.com website, i can build an x offroad, automatic with every option ticked, for $30,710 USD. Unless your state taxes are through the roof i think something's wrong. Somebody shed some light on this, here in Canada our car prices are considerably more exensive than yours.

im not trying to be smart with you, im just asking...

My wife and I have owned a few cars. I have always gone with Nissans and my wife has tried different vehicles. She learned that comfort AND reliability are important We are both huge believers in Nissan now.

Good Luck!

last time i checked, he's from ontario, which is in canada...something also has to be said about the value of the USD vs. canadian dollar. In other words...a car in Japan can cost millions of yen, but the value of a yen is very little.

While you are correct, I figured I would use your post to point out a little misnomer about the Japanese yen. The Yen roughly equals the U.S. cent (not dollar). Like the cent, the yen does not have a smaller measure of currency. The Japanese 'dollar' is 100 yen. In exchange rates, I think it's currently 120 yen to 100 cents (1 US dollar).

So, a 25,000 dollar Xterra would cost 2,500,000 cents, or about 3,000,000 Yen.

oops my mistake, didnt see that he was from ontario..

with that said, damn $44,000 canadian, we pay way too much? thats at least ten thousand more (canadian) than if we were to buy it in the states.

Its a lot but man I do love this truck

Why is everything always so damn expensive for our northern neighbors?

A few reasons. Our dollar is worth less than yours, so once you do the conversion, it's a higher dollar value, although not as bad now as 2 years ago.

We have a federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) on all items we buy and most provinces also have their own sales tax on top of the federal tax.

Supply and Demand also has something to do with it. There is less of us, therefore less demand.

Shipping is also a factor because Canada is the largest country in the world and again our population is not as large as yours meaning it's more expensive because fewer items are shipped.

In my opinion, based on what my family has owned, here is how it breaks down.

Nissan (2 vehicles owned) - No major problems, would purchase again

Ford (5 vehicles owned) - No major problems, would purchase again

Chevy (3 vehicles owned) - Some reocurring problems, would think about purchasing again

Honda (2 vehicles owned) - Crap, one was replaced under lemon law. Would not buy again

Mazda (1 vehicle owned) - No problems, would buy again if something interested us

This is just my families experience.

The more expensive price tag used to be a factor when our dollar was in the toilet, however it did not shift to a lower price to better represent our strong currency as it (imo) should have.

It would be cheaper to jump the border, buy the X, pay the Canadian duties and taxes and do the conversions the law insists on.. but what a pain in the ass. Unless you live in a border town, it's a huge time issue.

That being said.. Canadians will pay a higher price, so the companies don't need to adjust their pricing to acknowledge our dollar. That, is pretty much that.

And it wouldn't be so bad if we didn't read this board everyday and watch the yanks buy their new rigs for $28K USD =)

I agree with you Kelli, canadian dealers did not adjust their price with the change in dollar value. And it's not limited to car dealers, all stores still have the same pricing on US merchandise as 2 years ago.

The only thing that is cheaper is the stuff coming from China because they keep making it cheaper.

interesting. yes, it's about 120 yen to a dollar.