does anyone find them to be under powered? im thinking about purchasing one and im wondering if the non supercharged ones are sluggish or anything and if going for the s/c is really neccesary?
any help for a noob is appreciated

Nope, and I enjoy the cheaper gas.

I had a 200hp sports car prior to owning the X. It's a truck with a lot of tourqe. I'm perfectly happy and knew exactly what I was getting.

i like mine without the supercharger too.. the only time it lacks is going up hills. but i think its better than paying all that money (for my needs of the xterra anyways!)

Well, if the option had been available when I bought mine I would have gotten it no question. Even the supercharged Xterra is far from quick, but the non S/C is dreadfully slow; especially if you live in a region with lots of hills like I do. I would gladly pay the extra gas bill.

That said, the power is one of the few beefs I have ever had with the Xterra and you will like it either way.

Well i didnt see S/C when i was getting mine.

But i had chance to drive in one since then. I didnt really noticed much stuff to miss, specially now, when i got FIPK2 under the hood (put it to hilly test drive today). With prices for petrol round this parts - naaah.. I probably would lately cough up some money for exhaust and will be happy as pig in $hit

The way I look at it is this. A $1.50 a gallon on 19.4 gallon tank is $29.10 vs. $1.70 per gallon on the same 19.4 gallon tank is $32.98. Your difference is $3.88 a gallon.

I did have an 03 2wd Xterra non S/C and I thought the 180 hp out of it was fine, very responsive. I did have to turn off the AC to get up bigger hills though, I don't have to do this with my 02 S/C. I did a test drive on an 02 non S/C before I bought my 03 and I thought it was a little under powered. It's probably in my head though I can't believe the 10 extra hp in the 03 would make much of a difference.

I don't mind paying the extra $4 a gallon though. BTW I bought an 02 S/C because it was the only 4WD I could find used with low miles. If I had it to do over again I would probably have gotten my 03 X 4wd non S/C. Be aware that the S/C generates alot of extra heat too. All in all I'm happy with my 02 S/C.

I would test drive both, put them both through their paces take them on the freeway and tear em up so you get a real good feel for the differences in both types and see what you think.

87 = 1.49
93 = 1.79

I drive 16k mi a year.

A S/C will get on average 5 percent lower mpg (20 mpg SE/ 19 mpg S/C). Doing the math...

SE yearly gas cost is .149 X 16,000 = $2,384

S/C yearly gas cost is 16,000 X .05 = 800 so then you would do 16,000 + 800 = 16,800 X .179 = $3007.20

Driving 16k miles a year, considering on average the S/C got 1 mpg less than the SE, and living in the area of Maryland which I do, I save $623.20 a year on gas. That translates to $52.00 a month. Seems like a pretty big deal to me just to get some extra horses which I don't really benefit from (towing capacity of a SE is the same as an S/C).

Dude, switch gas stations because you are getting ripped off.

I'm not getting ripped off read Malcom's post above it's his numbers $1.50 vs. $1.70 I'm using.

I should have said $4 a tank not gallon. I also don't drive as much as you do Suspect2. I average around 12K a year. Lucky me I guess, my work is about 8 miles away.

The premium fuel thing is no big deal for me anyway I have always run premium in the hotter months in all my Nissan's since 92'.

Look here if you want to see what others are getting as far as fuel economy or lack there of can be. http://www.xterraownersclub.com/cgi-local/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=70;t=000158

Wow, .30 difference between premium and regular? Wow dude, it's closer to .20 here......so using my numbers cuts your savings down to $320 a year and only $26 a month over my S/C.....I'll keep my S/C which helps driving in the mountains and hills....to each there own I guess!

BRX

The Xterra is a slightly underpowered truck. With a supercharger it's a slightly less slightly underpowered truck.

Get what you want. If you don't want a slightly underpowered truck, get an "X" with a supercharger. If you don't want a slightly less slightly underpowered truck, go down the road to the Dodge dealer and get a Durango with a V-8.

Just know what you're getting before you buy (read: Research a lot and test drive the hell out of one). And don't just drive it around the block. Make sure the salesman lets you "take it for a spin" for a couple of hours, and drive it on whatever terrain you'll be driving it on regularly.

If you spend most of your time on the freeway in "cruise," take it out for a 30-40 mile "spin" on the freeway. If you regularly drive through mountains, make sure you pull a really good hill or two on that test drive.

Just know what you're getting before you plunk down 20K plus and you won't regret it later.

I have the SC plus a 5-speed - the two combined make for a very driveable vehicle.

The two biggest places I appreciate the supercharger - when I go to dive into the carpool lane on the freeway (getting ready to do that in about 5 minutes) - the extra boost gets me across three lanes of traffic with no fuss and when I was on the roadtrip to Smyrna for the plant tour - I didn't have to downshift maintain speed, even on some pretty good hills. Some of that is the 5-speed, some of that is the added power the supercharger gives you. My cruise control maintained constant speed with no problems. Makes my highway driving that much more enjoyable. I rarely downshift to pass on the freeway too - to me that's a major "quality of life" enhancement that more than justifies the SC. Extra power always on demand - you can never have too much power

So, while it may not be a "snap your neck" performance increase (the X is a truck after all), I find it does make the X a much more driveable vehicle overall. It's not just one or two improvements, in my opinion my overall ride has improved. And yes, I have driven normally aspirated (i.e. non-supercharged) Xterras for extended periods of time as rentals - i.e. weeks at a time, not just dealer test drives - I took over a year to decide which Xterra to buy and for me it paid off. I have absolutely no regrets because I knew EXACTLY what I was getting I wouldn't do it any other way!

Oh, and as others have said, the premium fuel is no big issue. For me, Costco has premium fuel for 10-12 cents difference from regular. Even if it was 20 cents like some have mentioned above, big deal - I bought an Xterra instead of a typical $35-$45K SUV, so I'm still ahead even with paying for the premium fuel

And while you are at it, be sure to read a good tips site for buying a car - I like:

http://www.carbuyingtips.com

but there are pleanty of other good ones out there too. Be sure to fill out the spreadsheet from chapter 4 once you do decide which X is the one for you so you will know if you are getting a good deal or not.

Don't be afraid to go to multiple dealers (I faxed over 30) and yeah, don't go in person unles you like abuse - several of us have sample faxes you can tweak and use that are quite effective.

Most importantly, read up! The more informed you are, the more money you save - the more money you save the more is in your pocket - a good place for it opposed to the dealers pocket

All I can say is that I've not once found it absolutely necessary to have more power/punch than I have with my non-SC engine. It has always done what I've needed it to in any off-trail situation, and there are plenty of times I ask for everything it's got.

Brent

thanks for all the replies everyone premium fuel isnt a concern since thats what i have to use with my current vehicle
ive been on both ends of the spectrum i had a f150 riding on 38 inch tires being pushed by an inline 6 which was rediculously slow and now i have a fairly quick vw with a modified vr6 so while i knwo a truck or suv will be slower by nature i just wondered if it was underpowered to the point where it was frustrating
i need to get just a bit more to be comfortable with a downpayment then i can realisticly take test drives an dnot go nuts wishing i could buy that day
thanks again

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Firebraun:
[QB]

Just know what you're getting before you buy (read: Research a lot and test drive the hell out of one). And don't just drive it around the block. Make sure the salesman lets you "take it for a spin" for a couple of hours, and drive it on whatever terrain you'll be driving it on regularly.

If you spend most of your time on the freeway in "cruise," take it out for a 30-40 mile "spin" on the freeway. If you regularly drive through mountains, make sure you pull a really good hill or two on that test drive.

QUOTE]
A 30-40 mile test drive?? Wow thats alot of miles to put on a brand new truck most people dont wana see their "new" truck with some mystery 200-400 miles from 5 some people driving it for a test drive around here a 10 mile test drive is a cruise and a half. usually its just around the block and back.

Been real pleased with my non s/c. I knew of the lack of power both from this board and a a very extensive test drive from a friend and the dealer. Around town I turn off the overdrive to give it a tad more pep.

>>>QUOTE] A 30-40 mile test drive??
My local dealer gave me the keys and said have fun and bring it back in one piece.

So we've established the SC has more power, how about the other options that are part of the SC package? For conversations sake, the 2k price tag increase of an SC covers the actual Supercharger, 17" rims, real sweet seats, titanium colored interior, etc. Now if you were to supercharge the xterra, it would cost 2k alone just for an aftermarket install. Premium fuel or not, the other added options out-weigh the cons for me.
Roger

Very happy with the SC. I would have wanted to get it if I didn't, so I got it. I would have been saying the same things as the naturaly aspirated guys are in this thread. Not worth it ect... You are only saying it because you don't have it! Everybody is happy with what they own.

Indeed, I was one of them - even worse, I was going to be happy with a non-supercharged Automatic.

One test drive of an 5 speed SC changed my mind real quick.

If you have never had the power, it's kind of hard to miss it

In the end, that's all that matters. A vehicle is a big purchase - drive a friends/club members or go rent one to confirm you will be happy and have no regrets.

It's cheep regret insurance and you will be less likely to be one of these people feeling compelled to change truckes withen two years (and get hosed on depreciation in the process).

Actually, it's not even that bad.

In invoice pricing (you are paying invoice, right?):
For 2003 the base SE is $24,971
For 2003 the base SE SC is $26,187

That's a whopping difference of $1200 (from edmunds.com - forget their TMV BS, go to http://www.carbuyingtips.com and fill out the spreadsheet in chapter 4 for a real bottom line price).

You can't even get the rims alone for that. Sell the rims to pay for the SC if you have to

Edit: BTW, it comes with five rims - the spare is full sized and has the nice rim as well!

Actually I have to back everyone around here on the mid-atlantic coast. Gas gets expensive and the difference between s/c and a non-s/c v6 isn't worth the extra expense with the interest in long or short run.

Just buy the non S/C one, put intake exhaust on it and then throw the pathfinder engine in down the road.

Then I would buy my vehicle from some other dealer. There's no way in the world I'd plunk down 20K+ after only a drive around the block. If the dealer wants to sell me something, they'd better be prepared to let me test it out to my satisfaction.

True, most people don't want a new car with a "mystery" several hundred miles on it. I don't give a shit about them. I want to try what I buy first, and I'll keep shopping until I'm given that opportunity.

Proof that there are dealers out there who understand people like me and want to sell them cars.