As some of you may remember me or my rig I lost my truck to an accident a few years ago. I currently drive an 08 Acura TSX which I enjoy but I very much miss the SUV market. I'm not in the place right now to take on a Disco 2 as a hobby project truck. Which is what they are in my opinion. But in the world we live in and the amount of horrible drivers there are in NC and the southeast in general I miss the confidence and safety of an SUV. So much so that although i love the mpg of my Acura I have been searching second generation Xterra's(2010-2014) and 05/06 Montero's. The one true competitor to the DII in my opinion is the Toyota 4 Runner or a Tacoma but while I understand the high quality of those vehicles I still find them over priced.

It seems to me these would be pros and cons of an Xterra vs a DII
-More sensible as a DD
-More reliable and parts availability
-Doesn't take premium gas
-More utilitarian interior which could be a pro or con depending on how you look at it
-No ****ty door seals or window motors/locks that constantly leak or break
-Newer model with more modern features vs a generally old vehicle
-Not being OCD and constantly checking for leaks and looking at the scan gauge for coolant temps
-Stock 16 inch wheels

Cons:
-Rear leaf spring suspension
-Not as good looking. Though of the available alternatives I do think the 2nd gen Xterra is one of the best look wise
-Not as good quality leather seats
-Lack of cockpit feel of the DII
-Not as good aftermarket
-No sunroof
-No V8 but we all know Land Rover over stressed the 4.6 and generally did a poor job in its implementation.

Would love to hear your opinions for discussion and any previous owner comments would be much appreciated.

 

 

I dont remember what gen it was...but they had an issue with the radiator leaking into the transmission...

 

Gen 2 the transmission cooler was built into the bottom of the rad, it could develop leaks

 

What's your budget? Have you looked at LR3 prices lately?

 

I had a 2011 Pro-4X the the factory rear locker. I never really took it off-road. I was in the middle of building it out(rock sliders, bumpers, skid plates...) when the wife decided we need a camper van instead.

The SMOD (Strawberry Milkshake of Death) was a problem in the Gen II's 2005 - about 2009, I think they fixed it sometime in 2009/2010. It was a problem with the Auto transmission cooler being integrated into the radiator and the coolant corroding between the two and mixing with the trans fluid. A real mess!

Anyway, besides that, they are very reliable, great platform. I really like the way they look and would have another one in a second. Especially as a DD.

 

I owned a Gen 1 Xterra and that engine was a HUGE lump of coal.... Only Lemon I've ever owned out of all my 4x4's. Thing even got stuck in the parking lot to an off road park! Even the Gen 2's with the 3.3L = ewwwww. The only Xterra worth a darn was the last couple of year models with the 4.0L. Gen 1/Gen 2 vs a LR = LOL as far as off road. Drum brakes, rear leaf springs, poor ground clearance, poor approach/departure angles, couldn't fit a set of 31x10.5R15 tires without getting out a saw, and almost zero aftermarket support. Only reason I bought one back in the day was due to me being a Mitsubishi Montero guy and I figured after hearing such great things about the older pathfinders that the Xterra would be great, well it was the largest 25K mistake I've ever made. Just take a Gen 1/Gen 2 rear seat for example, to fold it the seat bottom basically has to come off/out of the vehicle... Also look under the front seats, you'll find what looks like plastic bags holding the cushion in. I liked the dash, the interior overall, and the roof basket. That's about it. The fog lights were so cheap the lens was plastic and they used like 35w bulbs. People didn't realize they were special and when they blew they used regular 55w bulbs = small fire or a lovely set of completely melted fog lights. You had to upgrade to older pathfinder glass lens in order to run 55w bulbs vs the 20.00 each Nissan special 35w wonders.

A RRC, D1, and D2 has features that only the later 2005 & up Xterra's even dreamed about and we're talking LR's from 1987-04 (not even going to mention the LR3 which would be a space ship vs an Xterra). If you want a cheap & great off road toy a D1/D2 will run circles around the Gen 1/Gen 2 Xterra. If you just want a cheap Japanese 4x4 then grab an Toyota 4Runner or Gen 1/Gen 2 Mitsubishi Montero.

 

I know everyone loves to kit out their D2, but for those that have done the HGs recently and stay on top of maintenance, do they really make such horrible DDs? I trust my D2 as a DD, just about the same I'd treat any vehicle encroaching 200k miles.

 

 

I had 2 Hardbody's & 1 1992 Pathfinder. All were SE 4x4's and currently have a 2000 Frontier SE 4x4. All had manual transmissions. Never had any problems with any of them. I'd trade my Disco for a 05 or newer Xterra Pro4X any day. I'd look for one with a 6 speed manual.