The Nissan XTerra reminds me of my 1999 Jeep Cherokee Sport I used to drive. Firstly the suspension is pretty stiff over the smaller imperfections, but there’s still a lot of bounce in the front springs. While that may seem a bit annoying driving in the city, it makes for good articulation off-road. Secondly, when I shifted the XTerra into four-wheel drive, turning becomes a wholly different affair. Especially with the steering wheel near lock in either direction, the power steering fights against you, and the car is reluctant to turn sharply. I encountered this problem in my old Jeep, and was surprised to find it in a new vehicle. It’s not a big deal, just weird, and probably alarming to a driver who hasn’t encountered it before. The third similarity was in the simplicity of the layout of instruments and switchgear—a good thing in my opinion.
