Media Talk About Nissan Xterra, Named 2000 North American Truck of the Year
DETROIT (Jan. 10, 2000) - Today, the 2000 Nissan Xterra received the esteemed North American International Truck of the Year Award, adding to its impressive list of major awards. In addition to the honor of this award, here's what the jurors of the North American Car & Truck of the Year are saying about the Xterra:
Warren Brown, Washington Post - Home run! SUV refined.
Matt DeLorenzo, Road & Track - An honest SUV that doesn't try to be a luxury car alternative, nor tries to hide its truck underpinnings. The Xterra is a tremendous value, offers great V-6 power and with its roof rack and running boards has the "get outta my way look" that everyone secretly wants to have in their SUV. The step-up roof design for the rear seat gives the cabin a spacious feel despite the vehicle's relatively compact overall size. Nice touches include the built-in first aid kit and the handy roof-mounted cargo tray.
Denis Duquet, LaPresse/Le Guide de l'auto - This SUV has the best combination of style, price, ease of use and ruggedness you can find in that category. This time, Nissan has targeted right and executed according to plan.
John Gilbert, Murphy-McGinnis Media, Up North Newspaper Network - Instead of leather and plastic wood, you get skid plates and a Swiss-Army knife array of workable features aimed at making the Xterra a ready-for-fun vehicle. You might say the Xterra has "Xtreme" styling, which is an asset in the proliferating world of style-conscious SUVs.
Ken Gross, Freelance - Nissan's turnaround begins here: funky, contemporary styling, capable off-road performance, and decent road manners, the Xterra boasts a host of clever features every backpacker, extreme gamer, canoeist, mountain biker and fisherperson will appreciate.
Jim Healey, USA Today - Nissan Xterra is a refreshing counterpoint: An affordable, roomy, nicely styled sport-utility vehicle when others seem obsessed with bigger, more-expensive machines that are impractical and out of reach for many mainstream buyers. Priced like a RAV4 or a CR-V, but more distinctive and roomier than either, Xterra is on-target.
Dan McCosh, Popular Science - Looks good, runs well, and is affordable - increasingly rare quality today in an SUV.
Susan Mead, Freelance - Nissan's Xterra combines affordability and value, technology and fun in a truly new package.
Matt Nauman, San Jose Mercury News/Drive Online - Much applause for a SUV that isn't designed for the country-club parking lot. Here we have a functional machine with a bit of design flair that, most importantly, fits the budgets of the people who want to buy.
Jayne O'Donnell, Woman's Day, Working Woman - At last, a smaller sport ute that feels substantial. Sure, the gizmos on the roof seemed a bit much at first, but the utility became clear not long after. It's a great price and a great small truck. The best compliment of all - I'd buy one.
Alex Taylor, Fortune magazine - The exposed rivets and angular styling of the Xterra have struck a chord with younger buyers. Credit Nissan with finding a new way to subdivide the sport utility space.
Bill Visnic, Ward's Auto World - If there was any doubt that Nissan still is a force with which to be reckoned, the Xterra proves otherwise. The Xterra is a triumph of market acumen combined with fastidious value-consciousness in a market segment that has all but abandoned the entry-level buyer.
Howard Walker, St. Petersburg Times - The Xterra brings the sport-ute back to basics. With pricing from around $18,000, this funky-styled Nissan suddenly makes SUV ownership a reality for value-conscious buyers. And it's a blast to drive, fun to live with, and comes with proven Nissan quality and reliability.
Paul Weissler, Freelance - A real home run from the truck underpinnings. Super-styling, great packaging job and with the V-6, a good performer. And the ride tuning over the Frontier is enough to take away the too-truck-like feel of many SUVs derived from trucks.