The Morning Call and Mcall.com's view

It’s an old adage in the car business that it is easy to sell a young man’s car to an old man, but not the other way around. So, it’s not hard to figure out why car companies are always searching for the fountain of youth.

Nissan took the Frontier, its hard-riding compact pickup truck with a cheap interior, and made it into the Nissan Xterra, a hard-riding sport utility vehicle with a somewhat cheap interior. So why is it that the Xterra seems a better deal? Beats me.

Maybe it’s attitude. Attitude goes a long way with the `backwards cap” crowd, and attitude certainly endows this buggy with an aura lacking in the austere Frontier.

Maybe it’s the Xtreme color, a blinding taxi-cab-like shade of yellow. Maybe it’s the Xtreme shape, which has bumps and bulges in all the right places, including a bumped-up roof line with a rugged aluminum tubular roof rack that’s as good to look at as it is to use. The rack (optional on the base XE trim level and standard on the upper level SE) also contains a special removable gear basket, which holds up to 30 pounds of stuff. It’s ideal as a place to store wet bathing suits and gear you’d rather not see inside the vehicle. And dude, check it out, the rack will even hold a surfboard.

It’s the fact that this SUV is designed as a mobile piece of gear, one that fits in with a bike, kayak or canoe that makes it work.

One step inside the vehicle reveals that most of the interior of the uncomfortable Frontier was carried over to this vehicle, including the cost-effective dashboard, which will never win any fashion or design awards. It works well enough, although the radio is placed below the climate controls, which isn’t very convenient. The radio does have nice large buttons, important in an SUV. After all, trying to hit a small button while bouncing around in the brush can be a challenge.

The truck as a sports equipment metaphor continues on the interior. The seats were covered with a waterproof fabric that enhances the look and functionality of the interior. The 50/50 split folding rear seats include cushions that remove totally to provide a flat cargo area. There are thoughtful 12-volt power points, retractable cargo cover and 10 tie-down points.

Of course, Nissan also offers plenty of accessories in addition to the seat covers. They include a front end bug bra, pet guard divider, carbon fiber trim pieces, rack attachments and other pieces.

The interior’s basic, sporty nature belies the truckish nature of the vehicle overall. This isn’t one of those cars disguised as an SUV. This is a real truck on a ladder frame, with the sort of handling you’d expect. That means this truck is more at home in the rough stuff than going to your niece’s wedding. Handling around town is sluggish. This isn’t helped by a lack of oomph in the engine compartment.

The base engine is a 2.4-liter double-overhead-cam 16-valve four-cylinder engine that puts out 143 horsepower and 154 foot-pounds of torqu e. The better choice is a 3.3-liter single-overhead-cam 24-valve V-6 with 170 horsepower and 200 foot-pounds of torque. While its an improvement over the base engine, especially if you’re considering an automatic transmission over the standard 5-speed manual, the test truck’s 3,964 pounds negates any thoughts of swift progress.

Front disc/rear drum brakes feature anti-lock and worked without any muss, fuss or bother. The front suspension is a sophisticated double wishbone design, while a solid axle brings up the rear.

So this isn’t a soft, luxury SUV with a quiet ride, thankfully. There are plenty of SUVs like that. So this is a punk snear, a spiked spit-in-your-face Xtreme SUV. Maybe that’s why Nissan is selling every one it can get. In some parts of the country, it’s selling for $5,000 OVER sticker. It’s not THAT good a truck. Even if, like dude, it’s not your father’s sport utility vehicle.

2000 Nissan Xterra XE V-6

Engines: 2.4-liter DOHC 4-cylinder or 3.3-l iter SOHC V-6

Transmissions: 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic

Tires: P235/70R15

Wheelbase: 104.3 inches

Length: 178 inches

Curb weight: 3,964 pounds

Base price, base model: $X

Base price, test model: $21,499

As tested: $25,195

EPA rating: 15 mpg, 19 mpg highway

Test mileage: 15 mpg