You could totally up your off-road game with today’s Xterra. That is, as long as its price doesn’t have you thinking its seller is off his rocker.

In concept, the Smart Car makes a lot of sense. That’s especially the case if you live in a big city with small parking spaces, as they are wont to be. The thing of it is, here in the U.S. of A. we pride ourselves on our wide-open spaces. Sure, we have cities here and there, but get outside of those few urban hellscapes and it’s miles between you and pretty much everybody you know. And that’s the way we like it.

That’s because as Americans, the thing we hate the most is other Americans, and we want to stay as far away from our annoying neighbors as possible. Except that is, when we need to borrow a cup of sugar or something. Then the distance can prove a pain in the butt.

That’s all what makes yesterday’s custom an almost perfect car. It’s shorter than a two-year old’s attention span, which makes it perfect for parking in the city. It also rocks a 173-horsepower Suzuki mill for making any distance shorter, or at least more enjoyable. Unfortunately, perfection eluded its $23,500 price tag. That was too much for what might be a car with too many compromises, and down it went in a huge 83-percent Crack Pipe loss.

After such a loss the best thing to do is get away from it all and regroup with your thoughts. And the best way to get away is to get off the beaten path, perhaps in this far from beaten .

Now, the Xterra represents a breed that is dying off here in the States. The mid-size ladder frame SUV was once a huge category, and models like the Ford Explorer and Toyota 4Runner made serious bank for their respective parents. Today, fuel economy and a lack of small pickup truck models upon which to base the compact buff wagons has seriously culled their numbers.

Nissan still builds the compact Frontier pickup, however, much like the cheese of song, it stands alone. Former platform mates, the Pathfinder and Xterra have both gone in different directions, the former evolving into a car-based edition, and the latter to car heaven.

That makes this Xterra, in top of the line Pro-4X kit, a truck you don’t see all that much these days. Add to that the five-speed manual transmission behind the 261-horsepower VQ40DE V6 engine and you’ve got the off-road capable equivalent of the last Dodo bird. But don’t eat it!

Unless you’re doing hard time or are married to a Kardashian, four years is not a long time. Still, with average annual mileage being around 12K you might expect this Xterra to have upwards of 40K showing on its odo. In fact, it sports just a tad over 7,500.

The seller claims that an unaccommodating work schedule mixed with a plethora of other automotive options has led to the Xterra getting the short shrift when it comes to diving. That’s also seemingly the reason for the sale.

Other bits of interest here—the Red Brawn Pearl paint looks to be in as-new condition, as do the chunky six-spoke alloy wheels. It should be noted that everything about the Xterra externally is chunky. The stepped roof, which is matched with theater seats inside, carries a hefty tubular rack. Access to that is facilitated by steps molded into the boxy rear bumper. Various bumps, flares and indents easily identify the Xterra, while inside you get contrastingly anonymous grey plastic only broken by the Pro-4X badging on the seats and floor mats.

The truck comes with a number of modern conveniences, including a backup camera and bluetooth for your phone. The Pro-4X package ups the ante with skid plates underneath, Bilstein shocks at all four corners, and a locking Dana 44 rearend out back. The ad claims the truck to be an ‘unmodified factory original,’ and a bit of a unicorn owing to its low mileage and stick shift.

How much might that unicornholiness be worth? The asking here is $26,990, which honestly isn’t all that far off what the truck cost new. Of course, there aren’t any new ones any more. Nissan stopped production of the Xterra in 2015, replacing the truck-based SUV with the Rogue, a soft crossover based on the platform of the compact Sentra. Geez, if that isn’t a deflating sentence for any true off-roader to read then I’ve yet to see one.

What’s your take, could this lightly used Xterra be worth that $26,990 asking? Or, is this an SUV whose price, and time, has passed?

You decide!

Sacramento, CA , or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to onlytwowheels for the hookup!

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