2000 Nissan Xterra

2000 Nissan Xterra

DETROIT - Nissan officials told reporters that an affordable SUV was a key element in the company's comeback plan. The goal was to prove that you could own a functional sport-utility without having to build an extension onto your garage or own an oil refinery.

Likened to "a backpack on wheels,'' the Nissan Xterra is positioned as a compact sport-utility vehicle that is ''in-your-face functional.'' Built off the Frontier pickup chassis, Xterra is designed to attract younger, more price-sensitive buyers, leaving the ''upscale, sophisticated'' customer to covet the bigger Pathfinder.

Designed with Gen-X mountain-bikers in mind, Xterra features flared wheel-wells with tubular aluminum step rails and a multi-adjustable roof rack with a removable load basket. Inside, there's stadium-style rear seating, thanks to the step-up in the Xterra's rear floor and roofline, as well as an accessory bike mount to haul a pair of bicycles safely in the cargo bay when the 50/50 split rear seat is folded down.

Available in two- or four-wheel-drive, Xterra comes with either a 143-horsepower inline four-cylinder engine or a 170-horse V6 that can tow up to 5,000 pounds. Four-wheel ABS is standard. Pricing was not announced, but expect it to be similar to Toyota's RAV4 and Honda's CRV compact SUVs.

Nissan expects to sell better than 50,000 Xterras a year, beginning this fall.