Our spunky, candy-colored Xterra made its way into the open arms of our copy editor for the steamy month of August. Having only recently overcome her contempt for vehicles of the SUV ilk, Erin was a little surprised to find herself happily anticipating her time in the lofty sport-ute. She was undeniably wooed by the cheerful design of the Xterra, and she suspects that most extreme-sporting Gen Xers are as well, hence the name. It's pretty obvious which niche Nissan is targeting with this one.

She was a little disappointed, however, when she hit the accelerator, "What a sluggish brute!" she exclaimed. Admittedly, she was spoiled from her stint in the Jeep Grand Cherokee, with its virile V8. Nonetheless, the Xterra was decidedly lacking in accelerative power, although it maintained momentum well once up to cruising speed. Erin also noticed a fair amount of dive when she hit the brake pedal, which often elicited unwelcome groans and clucks of disappointment from her passengers.

As our technical editor noted last month, taking corners in the Xterra is a little unnerving; it felt excessively tippy, even for an SUV. And, although Erin didn't find the ride to be too terribly rough in general, it was awfully jarring over irregularities in the highway and speed bumps. She had to remind herself that SUVs are still trucks, even though everyone treats them like cars these days.

Like so many others, she also found fault with front-seat comfort in the Xterra. Although the seats were roomy, they just didn't offer any support. It was like sitting on a slightly cushioned park bench —- Erin found her back hurting frequently after extended periods of battling traffic.

Now, on to what Erin liked about the Xterra. "The vantage point is great...when you're around cars. Unfortunately, this cute ute is diminutive compared to some of the larger SUVs from Ford and Chevy that dominate the highways. But it's certainly cool looking, no doubt one of the most dapper sport-utes out right now." Ergonomics are also one of the Xterra's strong suits, with logical, comfortably placed HVAC and stereo switchgear. Also, the center console is perfectly sized for storing CDs.

The air conditioning system itself, however, caused Erin some grief. She noticed that, after switching the air conditioning off in order to allow either direct or recirculated, un-cooled air to flow into the cabin —-- whether to improve gas mileage or just because she was getting chilly —-- an unbearable stench would emit from the vents. And it wasn't just for a minute while the HVAC system adjusted to the change in input; it just kept right on stinking! It was very annoying —- she would either have to open the windows and expose herself to wind roar, thus drowning out the sound of her CDs, or turn off the vents altogether and suffer in the stale, stagnant air inside the vehicle. This may sound like a nitpicky point, but there are those people who would sometimes like to just allow the outside air to flow gently through the vents into the vehicle; rolling down the windows can lead to hair in the face and watery eyes. So we thought it worth noting.

Yes, Erin and the Xterra had some good times, but she didn't give up the keys with too much of a fight. She probably would have appreciated it more if she'd found some opportunity to take it off the beaten path.

Total Odometer Reading: 19,194
Best Fuel Economy: 18.5 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 13.4 mpg
Running Average Over Life of Vehicle: 16.1 mpg
Body Damage: $0
Maintenance Costs: $0
Problems: None.