Road Tests: Long-Term Test

The Xterra became an official Edmunds.com long-term car this month - yup, it got hit! Around here, we don't really consider a long-term vehicle one of "ours" until some highly skilled Southern California driver has christened it. Sure enough - less than 14,000 miles into our test drive- the Nissan was assaulted by a rental Chrysler Cirrus sedan while innocently parked in a hotel parking lot.

The collision came after Mr. Cirrus Driver made that all-too-common mistake of engaging drive instead of reverse. This was accompanied by enough throttle to send the Cirrus up a 6-inch curb, over a five-foot-wide stretch of walkway, and into our Xterra's front grille. As physics dictates, the stationary vehicle took the brunt of the impact from the moving vehicle, leaving our Xterra's grille bashed in, the front bumper dangling, the air conditioning system hissing, and a once-proud Nissan emblem lying on the pavement. The Cirrus came away with little more than a scratched front bumper. This incident came just two days before filing our March long-term update, so we have no repair estimate as of yet. Check back next month to learn how much damage the renegade rental car caused.

Prior to the accident our time with the Xterra had been generally positive. While some staffers describe the ride and handling as "truck-like" (possibly because it's based on Nissan's Frontier?), managing editor Brauer was happily surprised by the vehicle's comfortable ride and steering characteristics. "Steering feel is exceptional for a low-priced SUV. There's very little slop and it even offers a faint amount of feedback about what's going on under the front wheels - something I didn't expect from this type of vehicle." Brauer also likes the ride and, after experiencing the Xterra's stellar off-road performance last November, feels the Nissan offers a commendable compromise between off-road prowess and on-road comfort. He does admit, however, that the tires are really noisy when making sharp turns in the Edmunds.com parking garage. Even though Mr. Brauer drives through the garage at a safe and sane pace, the howling echo created by the Xterra makes it sound like he's power sliding through every corner.

While we're on the topic of sliding, features editor Scott Mead had the displeasure of piloting the Xterra through the high mountain passes north of Los Angeles during a winter storm. Mead quickly discovered that the Xterra's off-road abilities don't translate to bad-weather prowess. He specifically noted a complete lack of traction when trying to power out of a few inches of snow. "The tires on this thing are useless when it's time to drive through deep snow. Even with all four wheels turning the Xterra just sat and spun in place." Mr. Mead also lamented the Xterra's lack of passing power on mountain roads where passing zones are few, far between, and relatively short. Even getting by a slow-moving truck turned his knuckles the same color as the surrounding snow. Even more troubling is the fact that despite the Xterra's lack of power, it still manages a paltry 13 mpg when driven hard (which it often is just to keep up with L.A. freeway traffic-when it's moving).

Complaints aside, we will miss the Xterra in the coming weeks while the folks at M2 Collision in Santa Monica try to put it back together again. However, it will be interesting to see if we have trouble locating replacement parts for such a new vehicle. We'll let you know next month.


Total Odometer Reading: 14,051
Best Fuel Economy: 17.7 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 13.3 mpg
Running Average Over Life of Vehicle: 16.0 mpg
Body Damage Repair: $0
Maintenance Costs: $0
Problems: None.