2003 Nissan Xterra

midsize SUV / 4-door SUV

2003 Nissan Xterra 4-door SUV
2000 Nissan Xterra shown

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria Rating
Moderate overlap front: original test
A

Key

GGood
AAcceptable
MMarginal
PPoor
Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Moderate overlap front: original test

Tested vehicle: 2000 Nissan Xterra XE 4-door 4wd
Rating applies to 2000-04 models built after September 1999

The Nissan Xterra was introduced in the 2000 model year. All 2000 and later Xterra models manufactured after September 1999 include structural changes to improve occupant protection in frontal crashes (note: information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on or near the driver door).

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has evaluated the crashworthiness of a 2000 Xterra with the structural changes in a 40 mph frontal offset crash test into a deformable barrier.

Evaluation criteria Rating
Overall evaluation
A
Structure and safety cage
G
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
A
Chest
G
Leg/foot, left
G
Leg/foot, right
M
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Dummy movement was reasonably well controlled. During rebound, the dummy's head hit the B-pillar. There was far too much upward movement of the steering wheel.
A
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Evaluation criteria Measurement
Test ID CF00020
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 11
Left (cm) 10
Center (cm) 13
Right (cm) 9
Brake pedal (cm) 9
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 4
Right (cm) 10
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) 15
Rearward (cm) 2
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 3

Driver injury measures

Evaluation criteria Measurement
Test ID CF00020
Head
HIC-15 617
Peak gs at hard contact 96
Neck
Tension (kN) 2.4
Extension bending moment (Nm) 35
Maximum Nij 0.42
Chest maximum compression (mm) 40
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 0.3
Femur force - right (kN) 2.1
Knee displacement - left (mm) 1
Knee displacement - right (mm) 0
Maximum tibia index - left 0.34
Maximum tibia index - right 1.05
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 3.8
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 5.3
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 139
Right 165

About the original moderate overlap front test