Death knell for the Xterra. Is the 4Runner soon to follow?

[Jono.ful]

Just read today that Nissan is dropping the Xterra after the 2015 model year, which leaves the 4Runner as the only mid-sized body on frame SUV around.
Should we be worried, or is the small group of off-roaders and soccer moms enough to keep the 4R going?

 

[Cozmo2312]

Welp... Glad I've got one just in case.

/nohelptothethread

 

[Bilbo]

Looks like the Xterra never recovered from the Great Recession. Data from Good Car Bad Car. By the way, Nissan sold 991 Xterras in Canada last year, but is doing better this year with 1,011 sold to date.

 

[SKP-4R]

Huge spike in T4R sales in '14. Good sign that Toyota has no plans to kill the last body on frame SUV on the market.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

The Xterra and 4Runner are in two completely different leagues outside of both being BOF. My son had an Xterra and it was not even in the same ball game as the 4Runner when it came to refinement, ride quality and resale value. I don't blame Nissan for dumping it. How often do you even see one on the road anymore? I probably see 30 4Runners here if not more for every 1 Xterra.

 

[jrandom]

Too bad, I kinda liked the Xterra. I mean it would fit a 20 year younger me better than a 4runner.

I totally agree the fit and finish is also... well it is just not there. Nissans truck/suv line has always seemed to be lower on the quality side. Oddly enough even their own car line seems to be better built.

 

[jamgolf]

I have no experience with the Xterra but its sad to see that days of body-on-frame vehicles seem to be coming to an end unfortunately. Even the Land Rover LR4 will get a redesign for 2017, presumeably along the lines of unibody Range Rover Sport, and the current 2016 model year is going to be the last for that iconic vehicle too.

I hope Toyota keeps frame based 4Runner around for a long time, otherwise Jeep Wrangler will probably remain as the only dedicated vehicle of such kind.

 

[mnofpeace]

The Xter was on my list when i first started researching my SUVs. I wanted a 'truck' based ride, and i wanted a manual transmission too. the X and Wrangler Un were all i could find. but i came to the Toyo/Lexus camp after a few scares about the Jeep thing (leaking roofs, high speed shimmy, loud interior) and the Nissan engine/transmission collapse. It was always a well reviewed vehicle, so i kept my eyes open for one from month to month.

But then my wife, who rarely uses the runnr, suggested the sometimey need for a 3rd row pushed me right into the arms of the rnnr or GX. After a few test drives, you can see, the X doesnt really match to a toyo product...add that i work to own my vehicles until they die, meant i didnt want to own an X that would die in 6-10yrs, vs a Toyo product that would last me thru to 200K and beyond with normal maintenance.

Hopefully Toyota will keep the rnnr around for a couple more iterations, and maybe Nissan will come out with something to compete. But truthfully, im glad i got minez...before they kill them all...:bravo:

 

[T4R2014]

The Xterra and 4Runner are in two completely different leagues outside of both being BOF. My son had an Xterra and it was not even in the same ball game as the 4Runner when it came to refinement, ride quality and resale value. I don't blame Nissan for dumping it. How often do you even see one on the road anymore? I probably see 30 4Runners here if not more for every 1 Xterra.

Too bad, I kinda liked the Xterra. I mean it would fit a 20 year younger me better than a 4runner.

I totally agree the fit and finish is also... well it is just not there. Nissans truck/suv line has always seemed to be lower on the quality side. Oddly enough even their own car line seems to be better built.

The thing is that the Xterra was never meant to compete with the 4Runner when it came out, that's what the Pathfinder was for. It's just that the list of BOF vehicles has dwindled so rapidly in the past decade(not to mention the neutering of the Pathfinder) that they became more similar than not. The 4Runner was more luxurious and refined than the much cheaper and torsion bar/leaf sprung Xterra.

 

[03_4x4Runner]

Huge spike in T4R sales in '14. Good sign that Toyota has no plans to kill the last body on frame SUV on the market.

Look at the chart. It is all about the economy and redesigns. When the 4th gen came out in 03 sales went up. When the great recession hit sales dropped.
With the improved economy and the 14 makeover (along with lower gas prices) sales increased.

 

[Boardmember]

Bilbo - where'd you get your data?

Also, prior to the "neutered" Pathfinder, Nissan made that vehicle pretty capable and very high quality. Certainly at the time, comparable or exceeding the 4RUNNER. I even had a Sport edition w a 5-speed on the floor. Wish I still had it, but traded it for a truck. I mean a truck with a bed.

 

[Jono.ful]

yeah, I completely agreee with what you guys are saying about the finish on the Xterra. My wife as a '13 Pro 4X, granted it was a little less money than my '12 SR5, but the interior finish is horrible, cheap plastic everywhere, the stock head unit is garbage, the ride on the Bilstein suspension is horrible, and aside from the off road goodies, there are practically no options or amenities at all. Leather wasn't even available, we had to get it Katskined.
but still, it is sad to see another BOF bite the dust.

 

[77Bronc]

The Xterra and 4Runner are in two completely different leagues outside of both being BOF. My son had an Xterra and it was not even in the same ball game as the 4Runner when it came to refinement, ride quality and resale value. I don't blame Nissan for dumping it. How often do you even see one on the road anymore? I probably see 30 4Runners here if not more for every 1 Xterra.

In November of last year I was in Pittsburg on business and had another meeting in Bethlehem. Instead of flying I drove across the lower portion of PA in a 4WD rental XTerra. While it was a good truck, I can assure you it is no where close to my 2015 TP. No comparison. Now that I own one, I see them everywhere.

Even though I was honed in on a 4Runner at the time, the XTerra was on my radar. That one trip helped me cross it off the list.


I am sorry we are losing these vehicles, what they did to the Pathfinder should be punsishable with jail time, I feel these changes only support continued production of the 4Runner.


77.

 

[DesertCanyons]

Xterra going by way of the Liberty

The Nissan Xterra is of a size and shape that wants to compete with the Jeep Wrangler unlimited 4 door. It's at a price point of the basic Jeep Wrangler or Sahara, not the Rubicon. But the Jeep is so hugely popular that the Xterra didn't have a chance. The Jeep Liberty was a better car. It was well built, rugged but heavy and not fuel efficient, and Jeep discontinued that one too.

 

[Bilbo]

Bilbo - where'd you get your data?

Also, prior to the "neutered" Pathfinder, Nissan made that vehicle pretty capable and very high quality. Certainly at the time, comparable or exceeding the 4RUNNER. I even had a Sport edition w a 5-speed on the floor. Wish I still had it, but traded it for a truck. I mean a truck with a bed.

[MENTION=126406]Boardmember[/MENTION] The sales data come from GOOD CAR BAD CAR.

Just to follow-up, I've added the sales data for Nissan's Pathfinder and Toyota's Highlander.

 

[LandCruiser]

Good sales aren't reason enough to keep making it, they might think making it a crossover will make it more competitive to the Pathfinder and Explorer which went unibody years ago... along with the bigger GM crossovers that replaced the minivans. The 4runner is pretty close in size and function to the Highlander, so I wouldn't be surprised if Toyota axed it altogether.

I never know what Toyota is thinking, because they made a dumbass statement about a year ago about having a commitment to BOF SUVs, then promptly killed the FJ Cruiser not long afterwards. I sometimes think that their US marketing department and the mothership don't speak to each other.

The cynical viewpoint is that there will always be some kind of Tacoma for those who want to go off road, and the 4-door versions can be appointed as nice as the 4Runner--so for the small percentage of people who use these as overlaners, 4x4s, rock crawlers, etc. there will still be a Toyota... while the rest of the mall crawler crowd will be better served with the fuel economy and car-like ride and dynamics of a crossover.

I know that the next vehicle I will buy (second truck) will very likely be a Tacoma. Still haven't decided if I want the current gen or the next gen model but lack of finances will probably steer me towards the current one.

Just remember that as a segment of the car buying public, Toyota really doesn't give a damn about those people who really care about the 4Runner being BOF because we're a tiny percentage of the buying market... and most 4Runner customers would probably love a crossover variant. I'm willing to bet many can't even tell you which are the drive wheels or what BOF means.

/2 cents.

**** you Toyota.

 

[nuclear]

Good sales aren't reason enough to keep making it, they might think making it a crossover will make it more competitive to the Pathfinder and Explorer which went unibody years ago... along with the bigger GM crossovers that replaced the minivans. The 4runner is pretty close in size and function to the Highlander, so I wouldn't be surprised if Toyota axed it altogether.

I never know what Toyota is thinking, because they made a dumbass statement about a year ago about having a commitment to BOF SUVs, then promptly killed the FJ Cruiser not long afterwards. I sometimes think that their US marketing department and the mothership don't speak to each other.

The cynical viewpoint is that there will always be some kind of Tacoma for those who want to go off road, and the 4-door versions can be appointed as nice as the 4Runner--so for the small percentage of people who use these as overlaners, 4x4s, rock crawlers, etc. there will still be a Toyota... while the rest of the mall crawler crowd will be better served with the fuel economy and car-like ride and dynamics of a crossover.

I know that the next vehicle I will buy (second truck) will very likely be a Tacoma. Still haven't decided if I want the current gen or the next gen model but lack of finances will probably steer me towards the current one.

Just remember that as a segment of the car buying public, Toyota really doesn't give a damn about those people who really care about the 4Runner being BOF because we're a tiny percentage of the buying market... and most 4Runner customers would probably love a crossover variant. I'm willing to bet many can't even tell you which are the drive wheels or what BOF means.

/2 cents.

**** you Toyota.

If the 4Runner was axed, I don't think everyone would automatically run to the Tacoma as their next vehicle. They serve very different functions and many like the enclosed back of an SUV as opposed to a pickup bed. Adding a cap isn't the same either, plus they are usually ugly.

 

[KidVermicious]

The Xterra and 4Runner are in two completely different leagues outside of both being BOF.

You're right, two completely different trucks. The Xterra has always been small, nimble, and truck based, while the 4Runner has suffered from bloat and "feature" creep in it's 4th and 5th generations.

If it weren't a Nissan, I'd have an Xterra right now, it's much closer to what the 4Runner should be IMO.

 

[jwkilgore]

It all depends on what the engineers and marketers decided 5-6 years ago. Assuming a 2018 rollout in 2017 (4 years after 2014 mid-gen refresh), the next gen's design will be 98% finished by now. From now until rollout will be final tweaks and road/track testing.

Assuming they decided for another BoF generation, I believe the death of the XTerra and FJ Cruiser lines signal that a BoF 4Runner will flourish. There used to be four off-road capable people-hauling BoF SUV's competing for the same market share, now there are only two. I'm including the four-door Wrangler Unlimited in this category. A lot of people love their Jeeps, but with Chrysler's history I just can't see myself buying a new Jeep any time soon.

An off-road CUV is quite possible (see the Jeep Cherokee and Ford Explorer), but Toyota already has a mid-sized unibody CUV in the highlander. Redesigning the 4Runner as unibody doesn't make much sense. If they make the 4Runner a unibody it won't be a separate line; instead it will be a variant of the Highlander. They'd share the same frame, but the 4Runner variant would have 4WD, an off-road suspension, and different trim.

 

[KidVermicious]

If the 4Runner was axed, I don't think everyone would automatically run to the Tacoma as their next vehicle.

I said this in another thread, but the vast majority of 4Runner owners could do everything they do in a Highlander or Sequoia, and the ones that actually need/want a proper truck/SUV and don't like the Tacoma can look to the GX or a Land Cruiser. Fact is, the 4Runner is in a horrible spot in Toyotas lineup, almost everything it offers can be done by better by another member of the fleet. The only thing keeping the 4Runner viable is that it looks slightly different than all those other options, and those looks may not be enough to keep it alive. Especially not if Toyota wants to move it to a unibody and/or fully independant platform anyway, which is likely.