Nissan teases Xterra return
Nissan teased a revived 2029 Xterra at the New York Auto Show and confirmed it will return as a body-on-frame truck offered with either a gas-only V-6 or a V-6 hybrid powertrain. The teaser frames the Xterra comeback as a rugged, truck-based SUV option for the 2029 model year. (caranddriver.com)
Nissan has confirmed the Xterra is coming back as a truck-based sport utility vehicle, with a launch targeted for late 2028. (usa.nissannews.com) The company disclosed the return on April 14, 2026, in a long-term product announcement and said the Xterra will lead a new group of body-on-frame models. Nissan also said those vehicles will use V-6 and V-6 hybrid powertrains. (usa.nissannews.com) At the New York Auto Show, Nissan showed the first teaser image of the new Xterra’s front end, with three rectangular amber lights set high in the fascia and a black bumper below. Car and Driver reported Nissan product planner Ponz Pandikuthira confirmed there will be a gas-only V-6 as well as a V-6 hybrid. (autos.yahoo.com) Body-on-frame means the sport utility vehicle uses a separate truck chassis instead of a car-style unibody shell. That layout is the one Nissan used on the original Xterra, and it is the format buyers now get in rivals such as the Toyota 4Runner and Ford Bronco. (kbb.com) The timing fits a market that has shifted back toward rugged, off-road-focused sport utility vehicles after Nissan dropped the Xterra in 2015. Kelley Blue Book said the original model was sold from 1999 to 2015, and MotorTrend said Nissan has been signaling a return as buyers flock to vehicles like the Bronco, Land Cruiser, Wrangler, and 4Runner. (kbb.com) (motortrend.com) Nissan’s plan has also changed over the past year. MotorTrend reported the company had earlier pointed the Xterra name toward an electric future, but later shifted to a body-on-frame model with a V-6-based hybrid as Nissan pulled back from some electric-vehicle spending. (motortrend.com) The new Xterra is expected to be built in the United States, and several outlets point to Nissan’s Canton, Mississippi, plant as the likely factory. Car and Driver said the vehicle should go on sale for the 2029 model year after a late-2028 launch. (autos.yahoo.com) (motortrend.com) Nissan has not released pricing, full specifications, or an on-sale month yet. For now, the company has moved the Xterra from rumor to product plan, and the next concrete step is a fuller reveal before the late-2028 launch window. (usa.nissannews.com)
