Nissan’s Xterra Might Be On Its Way Out

It seems that we are about to say goodbye to a long-standing member of the automotive community: the Nissan Xterra, which has been with us since 1999, will be going out of production at the end of 2015, according to Edmunds.

The vehicle has been sold in Nissan dealerships without major changes since 2009, when it received a few design updates. The drivetrain and chassis harken back to 2005.

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With its 4-litre, 261-horsepower V6 and standard manual transmission (in the PRO-4X model), the Xterra is one of the few remaining off-road vehicles, alongside the Jeep Wrangler and the Toyota 4Runner (another important member of this segment, the Toyota FJ Cruiser, was put out to pasture last year). The Xterra earned itself a solid reputation, and we still see some of them on our country's roads.

Sales were actually not that bad: in 2014, 991 Xterras were sold in Canada (1,070 in 2013 and 931 the year before that). So why get rid of it? According to Edmunds, the Xterra is another victim of the ever-tightening environmental and safety laws; its V6 isn’t exactly green, and its architecture would have needed massive updates to pass safety standards.

If this turns out to be true, 2015 will be the last year to get a brand-new Nissan Xterra. If you were waiting for the right timing to buy one, this is it.