Ever since the all-new 2022 Nissan Frontier mid-size pickup truck debuted in the fall of 2021, Nissan fans, Nissan dealers, and off-road enthusiasts have been clamoring for Nissan USA to bring back the dearly departed trail master that was based on the last generation Frontier truck. The legendary Nissan Xterra is the classic 4×4 you really want.

Nissan’s compact SUV first landed on the scene back in 1999 for Canadien buyers, and a year later in the United States, right at the dawn of America’s love affair with rugged-looking sport-utility-vehicles. In the case of the Nissan Xterra though, its exterior looks actually gave a realistic hint at what lay beneath its tough, contoured body panels and molded-grey lower body cladding. “Everything you need, nothing you don’t” was the ad slogan Nissan created to launch Xterra and they meant it.

The new Xterra was developed at Nissan Design America in La Jolla, California, making it the first Nissan completely conceived, developed, and manufactured in the United States. The president of Nissan Design International (NDI), once described the Xterra as “a garage tool that says, ‘treat me rough’ — it’s designed to look better dirty than clean.”

This was a real, honest-to-goodness SUV, even in standard 2-wheel-drive configuration, (4-wheel-drive was optional). Both generations of the Xterra, (1999 – 2004 and 2005 – 2015) spoke to those who wished to go beyond the proverbial “beaten path.” In fact, the name “Xterra” actually came from a series of cross-triathlon races, (three-sport races which include swimming, mountain biking, and trail running) founded on the Hawaiian island of Maui. The XTERRA Global Tour was sponsored by Nissan from 1998 to 2006 when Nissan licensed the name “XTERRA” for use on the new Xterra compact SUV.

The Xterra used old-school, body-on-frame construction plus underbody skid plates like a proper SUV should. Both generations also used what’s called a “two-box” design with rear door handles mounted vertically in the c-pillar. Out back, the Xterra featured an asymmetrical rear window, an innovative tailgate bump-out for a first-aid kit accessible from inside, and a two-tiered roof that allowed for stadium seating in the second row. Mounted to the stepped roof, was a lower, front roof rack with a removable gear basket and a more conventional, tubular roof rack at the rear, upper roof. Pro-4X models came standard with a pair of built-in off-road lights at the front of the roof rack.

Nissan followed up the success of the first-gen Xterra with an even more boldly styled off-roader in 2005 when it launched the second generation ute along with an all-new frontier pickup truck. While the 2nd-gen Xterra was relieved of duty after the 2015 model year, the Frontier pickup truck soldiered on through the 2021 model year.

Amazingly, the current 2022 Nissan Frontier pickup truck (an all-new design inside and out) does still share one important feature with the previous truck…the fully-boxed steel frame. This allowed Nissan to cut some tooling costs during the development of the new 2022 Frontier. This simplicity in design would also make it easier to bring back the Xterra based on the new Frontier. Just lop-off 20 inches or so of the Frontier’s 126″ wheelbase, enclose the rear half with a unibody, making it a 5-door SUV and voilà, you’ve got a brand-new Xterra.

The classic Nissan Xterra is still beloved by so many that Nissan USA even has a page dedicated to the discontinued model on their website. “For those looking for Xterra capability, go see the all-new Nissan Frontier pickup truck”, it says. The Nissan page is even complete with a “no longer in production” designation to drive home the point. If you’re thinking about looking for a “gently used” Nissan Xterra on the used car market (if you can find one), be prepared to pay around $18,000.00 in today’s market.

With all of the improvements Nissan has made to the new 2022 frontier, we can only imagine how capable, efficient, and rugged a 2024 Nissan Xterra would be. Take a look at our “artist conception” of a new Xterra at the top of this blog. It’s got the trademark Xterra raised rear theater seating, the tubular roof bars, and gear basket, plus a pair of off-road lights built into the front of the roof rack, just like the original in Pro-4X trim. Oh, and just like the current 2022 Frontier, our concept version of a new Xterra, features a kick-out rear bumper step. (The second-generation Xterra featured a lower rear-quarter step built into the side of the rear bumper, behind the wheel arch).

Come on Nissan, give the people what they want…a new generation Nissan Xterra. We’ve got our checkbooks ready.

Written by Mark Arsen for LeithCars.com.

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