Current Xterra Owner, Considering '05 V8 4x2 Sport

R

robman

New member
Aloha,

I have been scanning through the forums here doing some prelim research on the 4 Runner. I am a current owner of White Supercharged loaded Nissan Xterra. Its been a fun ride and I am not yet sure I want to give it up.

I find myself looking at the 4 Runner Sport because I like the styling for the most part. In and out looks nice, and the V8 sounds like healthy motor. My First car was a '91 Tercel that I drove for 12 years without any trouble and I am considering rejoining the Toyota family.

Please answer the questions below if you have a chance, I think it would help me out allot.

-How do you feel about driving a V8 Sport and never taking it off road?

-If you could do it again, would you still buy the same truck?

-What accessory do you wish you had sprung for when you made your original purchase?

-Is there anything I should avoid?

Any other suggestions?


Thanks in advance,

Robert
 
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-How do you feel about driving a V8 Sport and never taking it off road?
I drive around the city ALOT and I have a V8. These no problems at all cept that you might be wasting more gas then you need too. You might consider geting the 4WD one, its a little bit better for resale value and if you ever need it.. it's there. You would rather say.. "i spent my money that I don't use alot" or "I wish I had 4wd and there's no way of getting it now"


-If you could do it again, would you still buy the same truck?
Of course.. we have two! One in black, one in silver.


-What accessory do you wish you had sprung for when you made your original purchase?
none really, everything came with the car as I got a limited... maybe if they included a supercharger.. :D


-Is there anything I should avoid?
avoid doing stuff like paint protection, in my mind its a waste of money. I like to do alot of the car maintenance by myself especially waxing/polishing/washing. Its much better if I did the protection on the vehicle rather then leave it to the dealership. They say for the protection that you don't need to wax/polish, and its true... and like I said before.. if you want it looking nice.. don't even bother with spending money at the dealership on this.

best of luck on the new purchase and welcome to the toyota family.
 
iForce, if you have the chance go with the 4-Runner, I too am a former Xterra owner. I loved the X when I had it, but once you get into the 4-Runner you'll realize how superior a truck it is.
I would also recomend the 4WD as the option to get if you can.
I can't give you much input on the 8 but can say the 6 is definately powerfulll enough.
Good Luck
Pete
 
go with the 4wd v8, you won't be disappointed. the v8 is a well proven engine and now has more power in the 2005 model. good luck!
 
robman said:

How do you feel about driving a V8 Sport and never taking it off road?
Click to expand...
I'm driving V6 and not taking it off road and feel great with that...:D


If you could do it again, would you still buy the same truck?

For sure...... The best truck under 30.000$


-What accessory do you wish you had sprung for when you made your original purchase?

NONE !!! You can get many of them on ebay or from internet for much cheaper.

-Is there anything I should avoid?

Sorry...I don't have any...


Hope this helps...
 
yes, I definitely agree on best truck under $30,000.


I got the 2005 Sport V8 4x4 for $29,500 before taxes that is.
 
I've driven a supercharged X and didn't really like it. I thought it felt cheap and that my 4Runner was a lot better constructed, no offense.

To answer your questions, I've never had the need to take my 4R off-road but I do kind of wish I could if I wanted to. I would do it again in a heartbeat, it's the best SUV I've found in the price range. I would probably get the V8 Sport Edition if I were to do it again though.
 
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I have a V8 Sport and never took it off road. It doesn't bother me at all. I love driving the 4Runner wherever I go. I don't even mind sitting in traffic when I am in my 4Runner! :D

I would definitely buy another 4Runner in a heartbeat!

The only thing I wish I had were the leather seats that are heated and power. The only thing is those are available only on the Limited.

Nothing that I know of that you should avoid.
 
Robman,

Have you driven a 4Runner yet? We can explain away all day here, but I think the best thing to do is go try one out and see if it's what you're expecting. I like X-Terra's, but the Runner will be very different to say the least....In a good way in my opinion :)

Also, I would hazard that 70% of 4Runners (particularily 4rth gens) will hardly ever go off-road, and 90% will probably never REALLY go off roading, so I wouldn't worry about it much. I like to go mess around in the bush whenever possible, but in all honesty, 90% of the time I'm in the thing I'm just driving to work or around town.....and I think that's true for many owners.
 
What about the all new Xterra??

Nissan made some excellent changes with the new one. Are you considering it also?

If not, how about the Pathfinder? I'm just wondering why you wouldn't consider another Nissan, especially considering these two new models are just out.
 
Hi All,

thanks for the great responses. In response to HITMAN, I have considered the all new xTerra. It looks pretty nice but to get a loaded one will get me very close ot the 30K mark while a nicely loaded 4Runner would seem to cost about the same and I'd get a little more car.

Also, I am going to avoid buying another first-year redesign and this generation 4R has been out for a couple years and the new v8 seems nice. The refinement of the 4 Runner seems to be spot on. Don't get me wrong, I love the xTerra and in all likelyhood I will keep it a little longer but the responses here are promising.

Northof49, I haven't driven it yet. But I doubt I'll learn more from a 10 minute test drive than I would from reading your posts here. :)

Aloha and thanks,
Robert
 
yeah, stay away from 1st year redeisgns. heated seats, those are great!!! love mine! are you every leaving hawaii? don't know if you are military? if you're not leaving hawaii, you won't need them and you probably will not want leather there unless you go with seat covers given the heat. but i think the limited only comes with leather.
 
I went from an 02 Xterra SE to the 4R. Absolutely no comparison in build quality. Also nice to get get rid of all that exterior black plastic trim. I don't believe you would ever regret the switch to the 4R and the toyota family:D
 
As a past 2000 xe xterra v6 owner, loved that truck but it had so many problems around 85k-

1. Electricals would fry if i had the headlights on for more than an hour. All the gauges would go out on me. Went on the forums post and they said you might have to strip down to see where the wiring was grounding out. Crazy thing is it started affecting the ECU.

2. Always maintained the truck but had blown headgasket.

3. Suspension was totally blown. It would do this loud creaking sound when i turned the wheel all the way either direction. Didnt even take the truck offroading..

4. The dark grey plastic bumpers and mud guards were fading-wtf?

So now i traded in the junker and got 05 t4r sport 4x2- well worth it. Who can ask for anything more? :D Compare that with the 00' xterra v6- more hp, torque, speed and comfort for the t4r.
 
noodlesfusion said:
As a past 2000 xe xterra v6 owner, loved that truck but it had so many problems around 85k-

1. Electricals would fry if i had the headlights on for more than an hour. All the gauges would go out on me. Went on the forums post and they said you might have to strip down to see where the wiring was grounding out. Crazy thing is it started affecting the ECU.

2. Always maintained the truck but had blown headgasket.

3. Suspension was totally blown. It would do this loud creaking sound when i turned the wheel all the way either direction. Didnt even take the truck offroading..

4. The dark grey plastic bumpers and mud guards were fading-wtf?

So now i traded in the junker and got 05 t4r sport 4x2- well worth it. Who can ask for anything more? :D Compare that with the 00' xterra v6- more hp, torque, speed and comfort for the t4r.
Click to expand...

Yup, those first year productions are horrible. I haven't seen those types of problems after 18 months but I did have a faulty faulty supercharger that was replaced under warranty at 8K mi.
 
and sincey ou've had such a bad experience with first year production vehicles, I can see why you wouldn't want a first-year production toyota.. . but everyone on here can safely assume that the 2003 has just as little problems as the 2004, 2005.

When Toyota decides to redesign a vehicle.. it gets it right the first time.
 
Yeah even though the 2k3 V8 4runner was a 1st year production vehicle, the engine is proven. Its been used in the LC and the Tundra for years now and its bullet proof. Thats the heart of the beast and its pounding strong...
 
1st year production is a lame excuse for a reason why the car has problems, take for example Ford they have been building Fords for over 100 years, the cars progress but don't really change, vehicles get redesigned and changed but pretty much stay the same, their still running on the same powertrain components, certain problems should never happen, with years of experience and building these things they should be perfect;):
 
I agree, its a terrible excuse but its not mine, its the manufacturers. And the fact the the engine is tried/true in another model is only part of the total equation.

I also look forward to improved models. Nissan is famous (maybe they all are) for improving models after initial release.

Examples:

2002 Nissan Altima: Complete redesign
2003 Nissan Altima: Redesigned many interior components. Nothing functional just looks a heck of allot better.

2001 Nissan Sentra: Complete redesign
2003 Nissan Sentra: SER Model released with stronger engine and other improvements.

2000 Nissan Xterra: All New Vehicle
2002 Nissan Xterra: Minor redesign adding a Supercharged Model to the lineup

Heck, Even the 4R

2003 Toyota 4R: Complete Redesign
2004 Toyota 4R: Modified Existing V8 with improved horsepower

So I suspect the new '05Xterra will have its first year glitches. The new VQ40 is a modifed version of the tried/true VQ35 but it IS indeed a new motor. The truth is that its not the motor that worries me with Nissan. They have been making great motors but I bet '06/'07 we'll see a sport edition of the xTerra maybe with some better interior trim, a few more horses, and a few less bugs.

All this rambling to say, I wont buy a first year release like my Altima again. Unless I am really fond of the vehicle and desperate for a new vehicle.

Aloha
 
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