My praise/gripes on the interior:

+ Stereo has CD text display and possible MP3 support
+ Passenger airbag lockout
+ TWO dash mounted power outlets
+ Voltage and oil pressure gauges
+ HAND-BRAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
+ Turn-dial 4WD
+ More cargo space in the back
+ Glove box so big you could hide a baby in it
+ More small item storage (above radio, under center dash cluster, next to shifter)

- Blinged out steering wheel (looks like it'd be too fragile or get scratched/dinged up too easy)
- Short shifter (manual) -- too sports carsy, not very truck-like (I like my 03's big shifter)
- fewer tie-down hooks in the rear cargo area - what will I do with my bungie collection!?!?!
- Rear cargo covered in too much plastic - I can already see my ammo boxes beating the hell out of it

'07 can't come fast enough for me now

[B][/B]
Have you seen the price of life lately?
Anytime a "new and improved" model comes out the base price goes up. I can't see them selling for the same price they are now. In a year, reasonable pricing will start at $30,000. I'd be willing to bet on that.

Ok, then they should at least brought it inside under the rear cargo mat. An offroading vehicle should not have it on the bottom of the vehicle exposed like that. Land Rover got it right... I was sure the "next" Xterra would have done it right. Oh well, like I said... I'm waiting another 5 years for the '10 Xterra. Maybe they'll get it right by then.

You mean the bug-eyed version doesn't already have these features? That's pretty sad... :rolleyes:

BTW, anyone notice the step rails are back (or did someone already say that)?

Hmm...knew I'd seen funky enormous fenders somewhere before...glad Nissan at least squared off the new X's fenders.



"Hey Tiffany, look over there! The new 2005 Xterra!"

The new X isn't so bad with a blacked out grill, but the flared fenders and tailgate bulge are so big they look like caricatures of the current X. The bulge takes up half the tailgate for crying out loud.

But...more power and some great new features, so all in all, I'll have to reserve judgment till I can see it in person.

- Blinged out steering wheel (looks like it'd be too fragile or get scratched/dinged up too easy)

Looks good to me! My only minor gripe there is that it has the cruise control and probably the stereo controls (SE model?) on it. I don't like controls on the wheel. WOuld rather they do it like the Europeans and put the cruise on a control stalk (because they don't move around on ya there!). And yes, I realize that's where the controls are on mine too. Not preferred, but not a deal breaker. The stereo I can always control the normal way anyway, so the buttons would just be for looks I guess.

- Short shifter (manual) -- too sports carsy, not very truck-like (I like my 03's big shifter)

You're kidding, right? You must be the only person on the planet that likes the 16" shaft, huge tent, and long throws. WHen it comes to shifters, size matters, but shorter is better!

- fewer tie-down hooks in the rear cargo area - what will I do with my bungie collection!?!?!

You haven't been paying attention. The Utili-track will allow you to put multiple tie downs on the floor, plus you can move them around. When was the last time yours were right where they needed to be?

- Rear cargo covered in too much plastic - I can already see my ammo boxes beating the hell out of it

Sure beats getting mud and grease in the carpet. Maybe Nissan will offer a carpet mat for you? More than likely though, the utili-track will allow you to mount boxes and such that will hole things from sliding around.

They aren't "back," they are just shown on that model.

If I'm spending $30,000 or more it's gonna be on an Armada. More bang for the buck.

Sorry, poor choice of words. At the beginning of the thread, someone said something about Nissan finally doing away with the step rails. My response... they're back!

I don't know if they would ever do away with the step rails since 99% of the X owners keep them on.

Yeah, you're probably right since it's a unique design feature. BTW, when I saw the '02 picture like the one below, that's what sold me on mine. Now that I've seen the '05 version, it's growing on me.

AGAIN, YOU CAN CURRENTLY SPEC A 2004 XTERRA AT A $31K MSRP, so don't think it'll be insane that the 05 could run up there fully-trimmed.

Now can this be the last about the freakin' price? It's pure speculation anyway, let's wait until Nissan comes forth with pricing this fall.

:rolleyes:
Brent

Another I just noticed (I'm sure has been mentioned in this monster of a thread)... no side molding? I can't tell you have many times that has saved me on my X from dents and scratches.

Only in these recent pictures...the earlier pictures in the thread show side moldings; there was even discussion of how low they were & how big they were & how the body is concave at their location while the moldings themselve are convex.

What I really like about it is the door seams are in the body and not over hanging onto the roof

I like the new Xterra! I think it looks great. Is the rust standard or optional on the 05?

No, it can't be the last because I want to add something!

A lot of people aren't realizing something very important. One of the reasons the original Xterra was kept at reasonable prices was because most of the parts were out of the Frontier parts bin. Since Nissan is taking parts sharing a few steps further (Pathfinder, Titan, Armada, Frontier, and Xterra!) this time, their manufacturing costs should still be kept low despite the increase in interior and drivetrain costs.

My point here is that the increases that will be seen will probably have more to do with inflation and overall manufacturing costs than they will with actual increases in "Xterra" specific costs. Make sense? I think it's safe to say that the Xterra will remain competitive in it's segment and the price increases will be small relative to the improvements. If I'm wrong when pricing comes out then sue me for all that I don't have!

Standard, like Nissan would do anything about that

I'm too tired to read all 26 pages of this thread, but I do have some comments on what I did read.

Nissan gave us 2005 Xterra brochures while in Moab. The Xterra in Brent's pictures has a leaf spring rear, while the Xterra in the brochure has coils. It also had skid plates all over underneath so there shouldn't be any issues with oil pan placement.

The interior is very nice. The front seats fold flat forward, and the rears fold flat without removing headrests. The entire cargo area is a durable plastic material for easy cleaning and incorporates a channel design that allows different accessories to be installed into the floor.

It has brake actuated traction control. Spin a tire, tap the brake, it stops spinning and the other gets the power.

The badges and ass-end look much better on a silver one. Notice how the rear passenger windows will no roll all the way down ?

The steering wheel sucks. I want room at 9 and 3, and I don't want the little bulges, the ones in our WRX give me hand cramps.

Price should remain the same.

It is better in every way than the current generation Xterra.

TremorX has zero taste.

And stop with the lame-ass "they copied someone else" or "it looks like something else". It looks like an Xterra, and they copied no one.

Hmmm, so maybe I wasn't imagining things at the June showing? Now I guess the question is, were the brochures made before a decision was made to cut costs and go with leaf springs, or was the prototype built before a decision was made to go with coils? My guess is that the coils were ditched after the brochures were made, since the June prototype apparently had coils and the most recent does not. Then again, maybe the leaf springs now were a cover-up? Guess we'll find out in the fall!

Maybe the lid on the gear basket is removable

look at these 2 pics

looks like it is off in the this picture
http://www.nissanusa.com/m/cma/v/fuv/fuv_xterra_gal_lg06.jpg

on in this one
http://www.nissannews.com/multimedia/nissan2005/xterra/800px/06_2005_xterra.jpg

Or in June at the plant tour…

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ramness:
Maybe the lid on the gear basket is removable

look at these 2 pics

looks like it is off in the this picture
http://www.nissanusa.com/m/cma/v/fuv/fuv_xterra_gal_lg06.jpg

on in this one
http://www.nissannews.com/multimedia/nissan2005/xterra/800px/06_2005_xterra.jpg [/QUO TE]

Yeah, you can tell in other pictures too that the hinge looks like it slips right out. BTW, that first picture you linked is my new desktop...I LOVE the way the beast looks directly from the front!

Like Ian I skipped to the end. My gripes:

1) It looks like it has rack and pinion steering. What we have now is more durable for offroad use. Can Calmini replace/upgrade it?

2) The front suspension looks weak, more like a car. The knuckles are at least twice as tall as ours with wimpier control arms. Where the tires mount give you a pretty good moment arm to bend the knuckle in the middle of it. I see breakage in the future.

3) The steps in the rear corners. How tough is it to use the tire? Everything you need and nothing you don't. Bullshit. It will be more expensive to replace and easier to damage. It's design creep and shit that really doesn't do much for you.

4) The skidplates may protect you from the random twig sticking up, but they aren't sturdy enough to do shit. They aren't much better than tin foil. More desing creep bullshit. At least there are built in mount points for real skids.

5) Does it look like it has lower ground clearance? Breakover angle looks like crap. From what I've heard all future SUV's will be lower to avoid lawsuits from rollovers and to lower the bumpers to match typical heights for cars.

I'll have more later. I see a vehicle that looks like an Xterra and is built less beefy and is not suitable for the offroading some of us currently do in our Xterras.