2014 Nissan Xterra | new car review

Looks

The squarish head lamps, protruding wheel arches, 9.5 inch ground clearance, and plenty of ruler straight lines come together to form a rather boxy outer shell on the 2014 Nissan Xterra. Elegance or neatness for that matter, clearly weren’t anywhere in the recipe when putting the Xterra together, and as a result, it looks extremely out of place on any stretch of tarmac. Is this an SUV you’d be able to pull up to a fancy hotel in without being embarrassed? Erm, I doubt it.

Feels

Inside, it’s pretty much the same story. An abundance of hard plastics coupled with cloth seats give birth to the macho no-nonsense design of the interior. The extremely dated instrument panel that looks like it’s been pulled right out of the Sunny, along with the simplistic centre console, make the Xterra look and feel like a real economy vehicle.

Engineering

The drive selector switch placed below entertainment system is in all likelihood, the neatest feature on the Xterra. Offering a shift-on-the-fly option when swapping from two two wheel drive to four wheel drive mode when travelling at speeds of up to 100 km/h.

What’s on offer?

The 2014 Nissan Xterra wears a starting price of AED 108,000 that gradually rises all the way to AED 122,000 for the Off-road variant that comes equipped with machined alloys, off-road tires, Bilstein shocks and a rear differential lock. Under the hood, the Nissan Xterra hides a 4.0 litre V6 that produces 270 horsepower and 395 Nm of torque and is mated to a 5 speed transmission.

Summing it…

The 2014 Nissan Xterra lacks a sense of refinement and just feels archaic when placed beside its competitors. If Nissan had skimped on the price as much as they’ve tried to cut on features, the Xterra would have probably been able to compete. But with a price tag that is AED 13,000 more than the Chevrolet Trailblazer and AED 23,000 more than the Kia Sorento, the Xterra is quite simply, a lost cause.