Originally posted by GtoRA2
I was speaking from my personal experience with Toyota, (granted I am bitter of there treatment of my mother) I will NEVER own another car with Toyota on it.
If I was going to wheel something new I would buy a Jeep Rubicon (I did as a mater of fact).
I wheel all the time with an 03 Xterra and it does OK, can't go the places I can on trails but it was way better in sand.
They are marketing this as an off road capable vehicle like the original was.
That market is the Hummer H2 and H3, the Nissan Xterra, the Powerwagon, and the Jeep Wrangler.
The Mopar products are the kings of the hill off road. The H2 and H3 and 05 and Newer Xterra is really what this is aimed at since it is also an IFS Car.
I bet 2 years after Toyota puts this thing on the market, someone comes out with a solid axle swap for it .
I own a 2000 Xterra. Like you say, offroad it does okay. A few things would make it more capable. Locking diffs, solid axle, better armor, etc... That said, I'd stack a stock Xterra or Pathy against any H2 or H3. There are advantages to being a lighter and narrower vehicle.
As for the solid axle swap... if they come up with one I bet it's going to be expensive. Calmini currently has an SAS kit for the Xterra. IIRC, it's roughly $2500 or so. Still have to find an axle and that's going to cost $1000 or more. One of the guys on the XterraOwnersClub BBS did the swap. He was up to over $6000 on just parts. For that kind of money and hassle, I think I'd rather buy a vehicle that already has solid axles and locking diffs.