Friday. May 714. 1999 — North Shore News — 27

THE Nissan Xterra features options such as the stepped roofline above the rear passenger door, the tubular roof rack, high-mounted rear doer handles, tubular step

bar, rear pod protrusion and stepped rear winclow. The sport utility vehicle should appeal to active members of the younger generations.

Kterra lesignet for active

ARE you a socially-
active, well-educated
Generation X-er who
likes to run, hike,
kayak, canoe, surf,
dive, snowboard, rock
climb, or mountain

‘ bike?. Are you a trend-
_setter?.Are you cool?

Well; according to
Nissan’s marketing depart-

-ment, you’re probably a typ-
-ical Nissan Xterra buyer.

-H you_-believe the mar-
keting experts, the new
Nissan Xterra is not just 3
sport-utility vehicle — it’s a
lifestyle vehicle.

“Xterra is about what
people do with the vehicle,
not so much what it might
do,” said Jerry Hirshberg,
president of Nissan Design
International in San Diego.

“It’s literally designed to
be a toolbox to help its
owners attack their active -
lifestyles,” he says.

That dotsn’t mean mid-
dle-aged couch potatoes
can’t buy ane.

Ie’s just that younger,
active people are more likely
to buy this vehicle (it’s all in

test
avive

; a
the demographics, stupid).

Why? Because the Xterra
is cool, right?

I mean, check it our. A
removeable roof basket for
snow boots or wet suits
weighing up to 14 kilo-
grams.

An aluminum tubular
roof rack designed to hold
snowboards or surfboards or
other stuff weighing up to
57 kilograms.

Tubular step-up bars.
There’s an optional interior
bike rack, a total of 10 tie-
down hooks and clips, front
and rear 12-volt power out-
lets, an optional hot/cold
storage box, and plenty of
small storage bins and seat-
back pockets.

*s lots of room to
suc stuff in the Xterra.

And check out the

styling, too.

Though the Xterra shares
the front-end of the Frontier
pickup truck from the A-pil-
lars forward, the Xterra
looks more aggressive.

Broad-shouldered fender
bulges and standard
P2635 /70R-¥5 all-season
radials give the Xterra a
wider stance.

Styling features such as
the stepped roofline above
the rear passenger door, the
tubular roof rack, high-
mounted rear door handles,
tubular step bar, rear pod
protrusion and stepped rear
window all add distinctive-
ness to what could have
been a boring design.

There’s another reason
younger people will be
attracted to the Xterra —
it's cheaper than the
Pathfinder.

Though prices werent
available at press time, it’s

expected to be close to
$30,000, fully-equipped.

That compares with a
base price of $31,398 for
the Pathfinder.

Cnilike a lot of so-called
“sport-cutes” which use car
plattorms with all-wheel-
drive, the Xterra-Nas a tradi-
tonal truck-like tadder
frame and a part-time, shift-
on-the-fly, four-wheel-dyive
system with high and low
ranges.

Te also has truck-like,

: independent, front suspen-

sion and solid rear axle with
leaf springs.

A limited-slip differential,
and four-wheel, anti-lock
brakes are also standard.

In Canada, all Xterras
come standard with a 170-
horsepower, 3.3 litre V6
engine — the same one used
in the Frontier, Pathfinder
and Quest (In the United
States it’s available with a

four cylinder engine).

A tive- speed manual
transmission is standard and
a four-speed auto is option-
al.

T drove the Xterra on-
and offroad and was pleas-
antly surprised ar how tight
the body felt over rough
roads, and at how stable
the Xterra was during cor-
nering on pavement even
though it has a fairly high
ride height.

The Mterra’s compact s
makes it (eel more nimble.
and manocuverable than
mid-sized sport-urility vehi-
cles like the Pathtinder.

The 170-horsepower, 3.3
litre, V6 engine has lots of
low-end torque, a valuable
asset for slow, off-road dri-
ving and for slow, around-
town driving.

[SPRING

social

There’s plenty of pick-up
off the line, and.good mid-
range passing power.

The engine is a little
“growly” under acceleration
and there’s some wind noise
at highway spee Sy but ath-
erwise the Xterra’s pertor-
mance is an excellent com-
promise between on- and +
off-road capabilities.

The Xterra is well-
equipped to go off road.

It has plenty of ground
clearance (213 mm/8.4
inches), a relatively short
wheelbase, short front
and rear overhangs, grippy
tires, and a good low range
gear,

However, I would have
liked to sce'an even lower
gear for steep downhill runs

See In page a8

S HERE!

Be Ready for Mountain
Biking & Spring Skiing

Bike Racks & Ski Carriers

Hiei

Specializing In:

TRAILER HITCHES

B.C.A.A. - A.R.A.
APPROVED CENTRE

ALL MAKE COLLISIGN REPAIRS
“LIFETIME GUARANTEE”

Alternative transportation arranged

TALHANS & Estimates *

Meet 9000 Consultation .
Wwialsis. 985-7455 «

Same Osy Service (most itches)
Bike/Ski Racks & Carriers - Sold & Instatled
Sport utility, Von & Pick-up Specialists
Ask us about ‘Demco’

Tow bars for AV'S!

Chesie Wich

FOR ALL YOUR PAINT & AUTOBODY NEEDS

162 PEMBERTON AVE. 983-9903 3

DOMESTIC & IMPORT SPECIALISTS
“QUALITY WORKMANSHIP”
PRIVATE INSURANCE 8 ICBC REPAIGS

EE AN

eed