Lots of good points. Details like the absolutely amazing interior, with easily cleaned surfaces, even non-skid surfaces, and removable liners. Insanse Rockford Fosgate Stereo. As much power as you will ever need, a 5spd Auto set up for quick shifts from 1-2 and back. Tons of thoughtful storage, even a water bottle holder. A clocked drivetrane for a flat pan which will be an asset with a lift and real skid plates. Also VDC which is a blast doing the baja thing, and HDC, a fun gimic usually found on very high end rigs.

It actually has front and rear LSD units. They are accomplished through an excellent performing computer system that modulates brakes. SO kind of fake LSD, but lock in the back and youll find the front "fake" Lsd working as good as any lsd you have ever tried, and maybe better. It sure surprised me. SO much I dont plan on a front locker, when one comes available until most other mods are done first!

The biggest weakness is the rear leaf springs that bottom out BADLY. Its ugly, and will require a fix. The electronic actuated t/case is not good either. I even put it in fail mode my first trip out.

I've got both, a Wrangler and Xterra

my wrangler kicks my xterra's butt offroad, but rides like complete a$$ on road, but that is due to mods. one thing you should think about is the long wheel base rubicon (the unlimited).

my jeep




I can't drive the Jeep more than 2 hours on the road. When I go on a far away wheeling trip, I take my Xterra.

my X





my jeep basically only gets driven offroad, it's a toy, I wouldn't want it for daily driving. It sounds like an Xterra is the best in your situation.

see, now there's a post i was looking for in the beginning of this thread.
(hoping not to hear)

still thinking xterra is way my choice, but here's another question for you guys.

What other SUV (not a wrangler) beit full sized or mid sized like the Xterra, that can perform as well as an Xterra offroad?

It was my novice assumption that the X was probably the best SUV other than a Wrangler for offroading

Other thoughts?

There is simply not much out there, but its coming and the new H3 would be an excellent comparison, if you can stand no power, bad visibility and GM unreliability.

The new FJ40, coming count next year as well is worth a solid look.

A Toyota Tacoma or Nissan Frontier are fine choices as well if you are into a pickup option.

I have not heard much good about the new Fourunner, but it might be worth a look.

The only serious competitor for reliability and capability I see is the sleeper FJ40 for 06. Price is supposed to be very low, but lets see if it truly gets the proper off-road goodies.

Just remember the basic rules, reliability, traction, articulation, maneauverability, ground clearence. And if it has no locker option and of course low range, walk away, thats in-excusable today.

Kenn Bart!!!

He has an '05 X. Not to many aftermarket products for it yet.

Lance (Xcement) put 33's on his '05 and only had to take a heat gun to the wheel wells so he could push them up.

duh...i knew that haha oops! well get an 05 offroad and then WAIT for the aftermarkets! hows that?

just waiting on the incentives to boost up one more good time. then i'll be in the club for real.

33's? no lift? smooth! what are the stock tires? i can't find out for the life of me. i'm supposing they're 28-29?

Metric 32's I believe...like 265/75/16's or something.

The Rubi is great if you're really up for driving a Jeep. I had an X, and now have a Rubi. Wheeled both of them significantly. While the stock Rubi does many have technical advantages over the stock X, the biggest difference offroad is the maneuverability due to the wheelbase. The TJ will run circles around the X. You'll probably spend half as much on mods for the Rubi, Jeep parts are cheap. A big determining factor is "what's the weather like there?". We've had a very nice summer here, and I've had the top down and doors off about 80% of the time. Feeling the sun on your face and wind in your hair is awesome, and no other vehicle can compare (except perhaps a bike). Plus there's the chick-magnet factor (sorry soccer-mom X-owners). :p As far as reliability, my Rubi is over 30k after 1.5 years, and hasn't had any problems (except a front wheel that's currently wickedly out of balance). I had more problems with my Xterra than I have with this.

Now the bad part is that you have to wholeheartedly accept the fact that it rides like a Jeep. Its quite a rough ride, and insanely loud with the soft top on. The stereo can keep up, but its not exactly audiophile-quality. I have no problem taking road trips across the country in my Jeep, but you do have to pack light. Any camping trip with more than 1 passenger is pretty much out of the question. I have to leave my two 30lb dogs at home when camping with my girlfriend. A trailer for gear is always an option, but I haven't made it there yet. Roofracks are also a possibility, but since the aerodynamics are already that of a brick you may not want to make it worse (plus you don't want to f* with the already high CG). Gas mileage sucks (although my 2001 X did, too). I get about 14.5 mpg, consistently. I don't know what the guys in the new X's are getting.

If you want something insanely fun to drive, and like the elements, and/or plan on a lot of offroading, get the Jeep. Otherwise stick with the X. Personally, if I was looking at an Xterra-type vehicle, I'd bypass it for something with less macho-image and better fuel economy. I like my Jeep, though, and have no plans on ever going back.

Not really a fair comparison due to the different weather (rain vs dry), but... I geocache and there was one cache that I thought I had to try.
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_det...&log=y&decrypt=

Some of the logs are intersting to read.

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=78f0c7d0-86fc-4aa3-b4d4-00617df64081

and

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=24dae22f-a61f-45af-a462-3d34200e80d8

and

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=4f2aacad-48b6-4e9a-baa2-636f529ae92d

and finally!

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=84e83e0a-733c-469c-8ce5-e2d94ea984fb

The short story is this. Three Jeeps (two Rubicons) tried making it up and failed, my stock 05 OR X made it up with very little trouble.

was reading another thread about ifs vs sfa and the like.... here's a question i'd like directly answered.

*drum roll to those of you knowing what's coming*
*and no it's not is ifs better or worse than sfa*

my question is, is it futile to lock the rear axle and not the front like in the 05's?

is it a vein attempt to make a "go anywhere" vehicle a "true offroader" sort of scenario? or is it a totally hip addition to it (which i feel is the obviously clear answer)?

other related pre-emptive questions that would inevitably follow THAT question are things like, how much would it cost to make my front axle locked out? how much more of a badass would the x be with a locked front? would it put unusual wear and tear on the vehicle? ETC ETC... answer as many of these as possible. *even though i should start a new thread for this*

Lots of X's get front lockers...made by ARB...air lockers.

As the X is driven around in rear wheel drive most of the time...and, the ARB lets you leave the front unlocked when you don't need it...the wear and tear issue isn't a big deal.

If you have a front locker and the wheel is cut to full lock and you are flooring it, sure, there's more stress on the CV joint...but I don't know anyone who blew one that way yet (I'm sure some people have though, its inevitable)

I've seen jeeps blow lockers though, so its not just an X thing....its a locker thing.

A locker is about $650, and you'd need a compressor to actuate it, say another $200 or so....the labor might be more of an issue as it sounds like you are unfamiliar with the mechanics end...figure a round $grand for the locker.

A locker helps an IFS rig more than it helps a SFA rig...as the IFS is more likely to have one tire hanging in mid-air, etc....like a Hummer.



Will you just buy the X already?

The answer is NO. The rear axle provides the bulk of your traction off-road, therefore is the most important axle to lock. The reason is as you climb weight shifts to the rear axle. So you always want to lock the back first. I am sure a front locker will be out eventually, but honestly I dont care. The electronic front LSD is so good I only break traction on the most sevier terrain, and only because I rub the under carrage. I am planning on lift and armor first. This is coming from someone with front and rear lockers on his current trail rig. On my first big wheeling trip I crawled as well as some front and rear locked Xs, and even did better at times!

Absolutely not. In my Rubi I probably use the front locker only 1 out of every 5 times I use the rear. A rear locker helps A LOT. The front locker is primarily of use in clawing the front tires up over single, large, near-vertical obstacles (read "rocks") that the rear tires can't push you up. Plus, unless the conditions you are in have very poor traction (lots of slip), a front locker makes steering difficult. A locker on eiher end, in any vehicle, WILL make it a lot easier to break things (axles, CVs, diff). When using a locker you have to really keep the skinny pedal under control. A locked axle doesn't care much for driveline shock (a revved-up, fast-spinning tire suddenly gaining traction and stopping movement). Lockers kick ass, but drive responsibly with them (you should anyway to minimize trail damage).

oh i'm totally going to get one. it's just a matter of whether i want the silver one with the ec mirror and NOT a pointlessly expensive sound system (which is the package i want but not the color i want)... OR the night armor one with the expensive radio...which i'm pretty sure i want the night armor one.

i'm torn
black
silver
night armor.

so there's a ghetto quick poll for u guys. help me here. vote!

Let me add that the 900.00 for the Fosgate is definately worth it. And I challenge someone to have an aftermarket stereo system with 6 disk in dash, rarely skipping, even off-road CD/MP3 player and a stereo with big, managable controls for off-road, huge preset buttons, manual tuner...wont find it anyways.......
AS well as steering wheel controls, 2 booming sub woofers under the seats and sound quality that is crystal clear at levels that make the mirrors shake into a blurr.
Installed for 900.00. The challenge is on!

that's a good thing because the only black xterra i could find was WITh the dang sound system in it... so it better ROCK. because i'm a big fan of an aftermarket system. perhaps it'll save me money in the long run.

and the damn tow package was on it too

how does 28,350's OUT the door on an OR 4x4 Xterra with a rockford/tow/microfilter/cargo trey thing/carpeted floor mats sound?

sound about good?

I believe thats EXACTLY what we paid.

I currently own a '95 YJ and the '05 X. One thing that hasn't been mentioned regarding the comparison is the cost of insurance. I pay the same amount for liability ONLY for the Wrangler as I do for full and complete coverage on the X.

Also, I won't let either of my kids drive the Jeep. It is, in my opinion, a very dangerous vehicle for a new driver. You need skill to control that thing under evasive manuevering situtaions. The short wheelbase and no ABS on the Jeep lock the rear wheels almost instantly under hard braking. The insurance is high on that truck for a reason...

Insurance is interesting. I was shocked when I called my agent originaly to ask about the 05 X. We had 2 old beaters insured for liability on one and full on the other, and the X only added 75.00/ month to our rate. I was expecting way worse for a new SUV!

Sorry to be Capt. Bringdown. In a similar vein to the insurance discussion just raised: do you think you would be more or less likely to walk away from a collision if you were driving an X or a Jeep? I think the former.

hey, i got him down to 28,050's out the door... and that's with the good system/microfilter/mats/cargo organizer trey thing/ec mirrior/towing/. So I'm feeling good.

JUST FYI guys... I GO TO PICK IT UP TOMORROW.

Super Black OR 4x4 by God. Wish me luck.

Since I have folks constantly checking up on this thread... I'll continue to thread jack this and switch topics.

In brief... what all does a SL do that a BL doesn't and vice versa? My thoughts are that lifts are merely so that you can afford larger diameter tires. IS that totally wrong? It doesn't seem like lifts affect the actual ground clearance because the rear ball joint still hangs low, and whatever other underpinnings there are that I'm not informed enough to know their names....

Am I wrong to assume that the clearance doesn't really go up? Or am I delusional, and incapable of seeing the ball joint going up?

(also, is it worth getting the pinstripe on my X? i have VERY little time to know about this, considering i'm picking it up tomorrow. so let me know guys and gals!)