Despite the novelty of Nissan's Xterra they're becoming much more visible in Southern California. Driving home one night on Melrose Avenue in our red Xterra, copy editor Deborah Greenbaum saw a blue one and a green one within one block of each other, and the next day spotted a mustard-yellow version. She wondered if its appeal would withstand the test of time, or crash and burn like so many other trends.

Either way, she found it a fun vehicle to drive. "It's rugged, has very responsive steering, is funky-looking, and once you're on the freeway in the truck's 'happy zone' it speeds along effortlessly. It's easy to maneuver around the city -- with that responsive steering you can weave in and out of traffic without a second thought."

Managing editor Karl Brauer's wife Stacie was also impressed with the steering, suspension and braking; surprised at how stable it felt even though it's an SUV. However, for Stacie, "the combination of weird rear window shape (caused by the location of the first aid kit) and baby seat mounted in the center of the second row made rear visibility poor." Overall, Stacie said it was fun to drive because, "she could imagine that she wasn't crawling through rush-hour traffic with a screaming toddler but, rather, she was crossing tumultuous creek beds and canyons as rocks clicked beneath her tires."

Well, we couldn't bring Stacie along this month when three of our staffers took the Xterra, Isuzu Rodeo and Land Rover Discovery off-roading in Gorman, Calif. Our drivers found the Xterra to be confidence-inspiring and rugged; it was less creaky than the Discovery, more sure-footed than the Rodeo, and, at least one driver thought, easier to drive than both of them (despite the Xterra's less-expensive cost). "Everything is intuitive -- while in the Disco you have all these controls that interject themselves (traction control, hill-descent control, etc.), and the Rodeo is a joke with its terrible handling -- the Xterra just quietly lumbers up and down the road; it's like a big, goofy dog." Greenbaum, a first-time off-roader, found the Xterra's transfer case easy to operate, commenting that it gave her lots of control so she felt confident and safe in the self-assured Xterra.

Right before this off-road adventure, the Xterra's first-aid kit proved to be more than just a gimmick. Our road test editor had a little 'run in' with a bus in Santa Clarita, Calif. Dan desperately needed an Egg McMuffin and so, while two drivers gassed up the Xterra and the Rodeo, Dan ran across the street to Mickey D's. On the way, he crossed paths with a bus that decided to brake as Dan was jogging right behind it, and...boom! Dan hit the bus, and he got a bruise on his arm and a nasty cut on his hand. The bus reported no injuries. But, help was right there -- in the form of a black canvas bag nestled in the Xterra's trunk door. Our staffers whipped open the first aid kit, our copy editor took upon herself the nasty job of cleaning and dressing Dan's wound, and all was OK. The first aid kit had many sizes of Band-Aids, gauze, ointments, etc., and was just perfect for our mishap. Next time, Dan, use the crosswalk and look both ways.

Our copy editor was able to haul a small bicycle in the Xterra, while managing editor Karl Brauer fit a full-size mountain bike into the truck. Both drivers were impressed by how easy it is to fold down the rear seats and remove the cargo cover. While he was loading the mountain bike, Brauer had "this sudden realization that I was living a Nissan commercial...I hate to feel like I fit perfectly into a marketing man's vision, but at that moment I was the embodiment of Generation X!"

Some complaints this month include an idiotic placement of the cruise control on/off button. It is all the way over on the lower left side of the dash, where you can hardly see it. For at least one driver, the steering wheel blocks that part of the dash so she couldn't see if the little green light was on or off, and there's no light in the gauge cluster. Plus, the cruise-control operation buttons are on the steering wheel. That's great, but she wonders why all of the controls aren't there. However, she found the cruise control increased and decreased speed responsively.

Some of the interior materials on the dash and surrounds are too plasticky and rubbery for Greenbaum's taste, but she liked the leather-wrapped wheel. "But our interior seat fabric is hideous. Give me plain charcoal gray instead of this goofy, '70s print with little cutout boxes."

Gripes included flimsy sun visors, no vanity mirrors, and a driver's seat that doesn't go up and down. "I am short. This is not a good thing," writes Greenbaum. Another bad thing was the fear instilled in Xterra drivers by covered parking structures. Stacie kept thinking that the roof rack was going to catch on a low pipe and get ripped off. Thankfully, only the antenna scraped the ceiling, but the high ride height plus roof rack was not reassuring.

Surprise and delight features included the large center storage bin, well-placed cupholders, awesome running boards, and the fact that the cutesy rear door handle placement grows on you. Now, if we could only get used to Lenny Kravitz, we'd be set.


Total Odometer Reading: 10,931
Best Fuel Economy: 17.1 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 11.8 mpg
Running Average Over Life of Vehicle: 15.3 mpg
Body Damage Repair: $0
Maintenance Costs: $0
Problems: None.