I have a Jeep Cherokee, runs great, 13 years old, starting to get really beat, but man is it strong.

But, it is time for a new truck. I have read a lot about the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Nissan Xterra, I am starting to move towards the Xterra, since to mean anyway, it seems like Nissans version of Jeep's Cherokee, somewhat small, tons of power and speed, without so much effort on creature comforts(a good thing, why would I spend an extra grand on heated seats?)

The problem is, there is only so much I can learn from the manual and online.

I am looking for a car that will last me just as long as the Cherokee, somewhere around 13 years and 162k miles. Is this the car for me? It sounds like a lot of people are having computer problems with their 2005s. What are your opinions on the 01-04?

If you are in the market for something that is peppy and worthy of 4x4 then the X is for you. The older Xs are underpowered but still a fun ride.

Drive them both and decide for yourself. It's a no brainer but worth your time on knowing what was improved, etc.

I don't think it would be fair to say that the new models are having computer problems... I will say though that the rear leafs are weak sauce. Do some serious poking around here. There is a wealth of information... and then some.

what computer prolems? I think one guy had a failure of some kind..maybe he welded on his frame without disconnecting the ECM. there was a inconsequential BCM tsb as well, 06's and late '05's are not included.

The grand cherokee handles more like a car, it's really well engineered from that standpoint. the X is really basic and durable, but with a hightech powerplant. It's a nice combo and can be had for low 20's all day long.

the x is the only way...sorry thats a biased opinion....

My thoughts exactly!

A few people on here have had a couple problems. Any vehicle will. That said I bought mine when they first came out as in the first load from the factory I waited for the car carrier to arrive with the first ones and I haven't had any problems other than a plastic trim piece coming loose. I traded a Bimmer that I had zero problems with and don't regret my purchase one bit. I highly recommend the Xterra over the Jeep anyday of the week. I've driven both and the Jeep doesn't even compete in my opinion.

I've had my '05 for a month and I have had zero regrets. There are three things that I miss about my Cherokee, its turning radius, its better visibility out the sides and back (although my co-worker has a new Grand Cherokee and she has trouble seeing to the sides and out the back, too), and that stock the roof line is a lot lower. Even at 6'2" it's a stretch to get my bikes up on the rack on the Xterra.

What I love about the Xterra compared to the Cherokee is it's smoking fast and quiet, it's got a great stereo, it's got the most driving leg room of any vehicle I've ever owned, the Off Road came with decent tires, the transmission is waaaaaaaaaaaaay smoother, with the front seats slid forward and the rear seat bottoms removed I can sleep in the back of the Xterra (stretched out even!), the rack is actually solid unlike most other OEM roof racks, the storage in the floor is great for things like a shovel, jumper cables, flashlight, and a couple of camping things I can just leave there, there's more but the main thing is the Cherokee was scary over 85 mph even when it was new, but I had a hard time keeping the Xterra under 95 mph on my last trip over the backroads out in the desert.

With the many bike rack options, there's no need to put the bikes on the roof. The bike rack I have was purchased back in 1995, and is no longer availble, but Swagman has one that works very similarly. Check this out...









Still have full access to the rear hatch, even with the bikes still on the rack, and can still tow with this setup. FWIW, the bikes still clear a trailer even during tight turns. This beats having to juggle bikes up on a roof!

I too had a cherokee previous to the X. Mine was a 94 with 197k on it. I loved it like no other car. It could go anywhere, it fit me nicely (I am 6'6") and it had little to no mainenance problems. When it was inspected, the mechanic said that he could see the carpet from under the car, so i decided it would need to be replaced. I was seriously looking at the tacoma quad cab, but couldn't swallow the near 30K price. I then looked at the entry level suv offerings from honda, ford, and nissan. After coming from the jeep, I knew I wanted a truck based SUV for the ability to do the things that only trucks could do (go out on the beach, hit the trails, tow, etc...) so that combined with the price and nissan reliability steered me to the xterra. I have not looked back!
Mike

Yeah, the reason that I'm still using my roof rack is that I had all the Yakima parts already and I don't have a hitch installed. The only thing I needed to buy were some towers that attach to the Xterra rack, and I got those used on Ebay. It's solid but tall.

I'll eventually go hitch rack but that means picking up a hitch and the rack. It was too much for me right now.

I was thinking about the Tacoma quad cab long bed but it was expensive and the wheelbase is loooooooooooooooong. I basically wanted something that could carry four comfortably and that I could sleep in the back of when needed. I couldn't even sleep in the back of the Jeep angled and definitely couldn't in a 5 foot pickup bed.

Also, I still haven't sold my Cherokee and I've been driving it this weekend since my gf took the Xterra to Mammoth, and I definitely miss the legroom, and stereo hahaha, in the Xterra.

never liked the hitch racks simply because my bikes got tangled and beat up eachother...and the always danger of getting rear ended and losing thousands in bike damage. There are def pros and cons to both the rack and hitch mounts, so its hard to say which is better for everyone

If my Xterra got rear ended, the bikes would be the least of my worries! Then again, your bikes probably cost more than mine!

I have used this rack for more than 20,000 miles. Hauled bikes across the country. Same rack, another vehicle, lake Yellowstone in the background (frozen).



I usually put bungy cords on each bike, and the way the cradle is designed, each bike is held apart, so the only things touching are the tires.

The original poster is considering the new grand cherokee which is not comparable to the old XJ cherokees.

The GC is much nicer on the road than the X. it's a well engineered uniboy with ifs. I have had one sliding in the rain (on purpose) and you can put the wheels right where you want them. it handles better than pony cars of 10 years ago.

the X is quite civilized too and the stability contol is good to have as a failsafe. The X chassis seems more rugged and probably less prone to squeeks down the road IMO. If you are unbiased, it's a tough choice since DC has been known to heavily discount these trucks down to xterra discounted prices as well. You can also get a 4.7l v8.

My X with 1,200 miles on it is in the shop for engine repairs. There is no timetable for its return at the moment. By no means is my experience even remotely typical. The VQ40DE engine has every sign of being an excellent powerplant. I just got the bad apple (err... lemon).
That being said, I have been driving my 1997 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4X4 the past two weeks. I find it ironic that it's the vehicle that's running right now, especially with 98,000 miles on it. It still runs strong, crosses water a third of the way up the doors, chews up any trails that I take it on, etc., etc.
I bought the X thinking that I'd have a more "reliable" vehicle. I'm now rethinking that idea. My Cherokee has had no major problems, and best of all it's so simple that I can work on it myself. Yeah it's shaped like a brick and cannot safely be driven over 75 MPH, but who cares? It's paid for and runs great.
My biggest problem with the X is the treatment that I've received from Nissan. I've talked to three levels of their customer relations management, and they don't give a damn that they sold me a flaming POS. In as many words they've told me that "shit happens." This is the last Nissan I will ever own. It's sad because I actually like the X.

Thanks for the answers guys.

fastdrmr what do you mean "rear leafs", do you mean the rear suspension? I have heard it makes some noise(not a big deal).

FlyFishingX,what kind of engine problems are you having? For everyone else, how hard is it to work on your Xterras, engine-wise? The cherokee is really simple, I learned how to fix cars through the few problems I have had with the Cherokee. My dad is a mechanic who fixs everything from 18-wheelers to sedans, so I at least always have someone honest around.

A few more questions,

1)To those who have had the cherokee and the X, how much more "advanced" is the engine layout compared to the JC? A user said that he could work on a JC, but not an X, is there any underlying reason?

2)How helpful were the dealers you guys bought the cars from? I want to know, because I always figured that if i bought it from a lot I would always have someone I can talk to about problems or some type of warranty. If the dealer's are not that helpful even with a warranty, I may aswell but it from some random guy.

thanks

The nissan dealers here in san diego co have been super, and I meant plural "dealers" because mossy nissan has a monopoly, pratically, on nissan sales in this region- so all the shops are the same.-this helps with dealer trades too since there were probably 300 xterras to choose from.

I think flyfishing's problem with his Xterra motor is that he has a hard to find problem and Nissan won't just ship out a whole replacement 4 liter for him. I hope that they do, since it would bolster my confidence in the company. I have heard some good and bad about toyota either giving away free motors or stiffing people on other problems that are a known toyota issue, so I'll reserve final judgement for Nissan. all the makes will screw you if you give them a chance.

I think the Xterra wil be easy to work on in general, but the motor has a fair amount of technology on it and it is still new enough to be an unknown as far as what can be done with common tools and techniques. The 90's jeeps will be legendary for the 4 liter- the worlds simplest (modern era) fuel injected motor.

lastly, the rear suspension does not have enough travel from level rest and the bumpstops are basically too harsh. a 2 inch lift and/or a different bumpstop solves this problem. the rear suspension is the only complaint out of various reported anomolies that I have personally experienced . I think just about anybody who has ever driven off road with these new X's has experienced the bump stop issue. My nissan has met my expectations and has bested initial build problems and return trips to the dealer that any detroit iron I have ever bought did.

Exactly what Mike said... with a little bit of downward momentum on the rear of the truck the frame (via bumpstops) hits the axle and it is felt and heard as a thump.

A lift will remove this problem.

This is my only complaint but I have been happy with the solution.

DO IT! You will not regret purchasing an X.

Feel free to ask any other questions, but please do a quick search on the site as it is probably covered extensively.

Good luck!

it is difficult to encounter the slam stop on the street. speed bumps and normal elevation changes extend the suspension which results in a long travel for the spring and the shock to work on the terrain.

the problem encountered off road is such that the axle is 2-3 inches from the bumpstop during normal level travel and suddenly you hit a whoop, or a 5 inch ledge or crack in the dirt while traveling at say...25 mph and it slams and thuds audibly. it feels like the truck is going to break itself.

I can get it to slam coming down out of driveways onto flat pavement while turning slightly. this compresses one corner of the rear and you can sometimes slam it that way..on purpose..otherwise, it is hard to duplicate on the road since they are generally smooth.

I have a slightly modified timbren overload cushion/bumpstop solution on mine, but the best would be to add 1.5 to 2 inches of lift in combination with these bumpstops. I believe I will go ahead and try to get the calmini spacer/shackle setup this summer.

Nothing is perfect...this is the stupid part nissan passed off on us..it could be worse.

Wow, we're in very similar situations, although mine doesn't sound as bad. I have a 1997 Cherokee Sport 4x4 which I was very unlucky with, and now with 2000 miles on my X I've run into a bit of bad luck with it. Last Thursday my power outlets stopped working and I've checked all fuses and the wiring looks fine to my untrained eye, and then yesterday the stereo stopped working. I haven't taken it in yet but hopefully it will be something obvious. I hate electrical problems. I have had a sporadic battery drain on my Cherokee the whole time I've had it, it happens so rarely that no one has been able to diagnose it.

Thanks for the warning. My Cherokee is pretty scary when the fronts bottom out but so far I've only taken the Xterra out twice on higher speed off-road stuff and I haven't experienced bottoming it hard yet.

[/QUOTE]Wow, we're in very similar situations, although mine doesn't sound as bad. I have a 1997 Cherokee Sport 4x4 which I was very unlucky with, and now with 2000 miles on my X I've run into a bit of bad luck with it. Last Thursday my power outlets stopped working and I've checked all fuses and the wiring looks fine to my untrained eye, and then yesterday the stereo stopped working. I haven't taken it in yet but hopefully it will be something obvious. I hate electrical problems. I have had a sporadic battery drain on my Cherokee the whole time I've had it, it happens so rarely that no one has been able to diagnose it.[/QB][/QUOTE]

Yeah, they invited me to come look at the defective part yesterday. It's a couple cam chain guides that probably cost 75 cents to produce. They are plastic and had significant bubbling and pock marking, making for a rough surface. It was more than a little disconcerting to see the entire front end of my engine strewn out on the floor and the tech's workbench. The thing looks complicated as hell compared to the accessible inline 6 in the Cherokee. The VQ40DE is a zero clearance engine, so if they make any mistakes reassembling it, they'll have to give me a new motor. I am just hoping that there aren't any leaks. You never like to break a seal on an engine—especially a new one.
As difficult as it is to find humor in my situation, you have to admit that it's fricking pathetic that this job is costing Nissan over $2,000 for defective parts that couldn't cost much more than a buck to produce. I just wish it wasn't my engine!!

Wow, how'd they zero in on that? Hope it ends up as good as new. The heater core broke on my Jeep after 10,000 miles and the dash was never the same after that. I gotta get my X in to check out the electrical problem, I hope I don't have too much problems getting it fixed, I've just been driving the Cherokee the last couple of days.

I am very close to buying an 06 X trime with the power package. I was going to buy an 05, but the one I found was an ugly maroon and the guy tried to sell it to me for 22000 and some change, with 12000 miles on it. The local dealer can get me an 06 for around 22546.

One last question, how often do the rebates come around if I dont buy it by may 1st I miss out on 1500 in rebates. Should I just wait?

Also, any tips with dealing with these guys? From guys who already had to deal with the dealership games? Anything I can say to bring the price lower?

The sticker price is around 24000, but that is not (i dont think) with the rebates. Plus I found that the true market value is around 22546. Will the dealer laugh in my face when I show up with the TMV price?