R50 vs R51 V8 questions

[aedavis]

 

I posted the following in the R50 section but it isn't getting many responses.  Thought I'd post here and see if any R51 owners have an opinion.  Thanks

 

I've been driving an R50 Pathfinder for about 6 years now.  Initially I bought it as a work truck, but since I've retired I just use it for running around, camping in the mountains and desert, and towing my dirt bikes around.  Mine is clean and runs fine (2002 LE with 214K miles), and I don't have any reason to part with it except one of my kids wants to buy it from me.  There is a 2008 V8 Pathfinder for sale nearby and I've been considering it as a replacement for my R50, but I'm wondering what the driving experience will be like coming from the smaller SUV.  I like the R50 for its size, light feeling, and 'nimbleness'.  I have always been interested in the VK56 powered R51s, but if they feel like a land whale despite the big engine, I wouldn't like that.

 

For context, I have a 100 Series Landcruiser I use for towing my boat, but as nice as it is it feels like driving a school bus compared to my R50.  I am wondering if an R51 will feel the same way. 

 

Has anyone who has spent time in both an R50 and R51 comment on the driving feel of both?  One of the reasons I like my R50 so much is that it is pretty car like in handling, but still capable off road for moderate stuff.   I wouldn't want to give up that small feel.

 

Heres a pic of my R50:

 

Here's a pic of it next to my Landcruiser.  There's a pretty big difference in size.

 

Edited February 17 by aedavis

[Nd4SpdSe]

I can't exactly compare, but myself I went from a gen1 Xterra Supercharged to my V8 R51. I want to say that an Xterra is a bit smaller then the R50 but not by much, but my Xterra had a 2 inch body lift and a 3 inch suspension lift where the R51 almost matched it in size.

 

Size wise I didn't feel much of a difference except in the length in the back. The size, extra width inside was actually nice. For drivability I don't think the extra size is that significant and would be adapted as if you were just changing to and different vehicle. If you were getting into an Armada however, that's a whole different boat.

 

 

 

 

[aedavis]

Thanks for the response ND4SPDSE, and others.  I ended up test driving the V8 R51 and agree with everything you said.  It felt very similar to my R50 size wise, other than length.  It certainly wasn't cumbersome and seemed to handle pretty responsively, or at least as much as you can expect from a truck.  It felt pretty tight too, though the seats felt flat and less supportive than my R50.  I would have bought it except for one glaring problem.

 

It reeked of cigarette smoke and I could barely manage to sit through a 15 minute test drive.  It also had the airbag light on, but I may have been willing to work around that.  The smell was too much - I was pretty disappointed because while I liked the size, clean condition, and V8 power, the stench was unbearable.  I know some people have reported success with ozone machines and other stuff, but I wasn't willing to take the risk.  

 

Anyway, I'm going to watch for other R51 V8s, or Pro4X Xterras and see what comes up in my local market.

[Nd4SpdSe]

Not a problem. I'm also seeing your post in the R50 section and the replies in there.
I kinda went through the same thing. The first V8 I drove was a bit beat up, especially for the price. I ended up passing on it but liked the truck so shopped around for one in good shape and had mine literally shipped from across the country. I never thought about being had by a smell tho. I hate smoker cars. Sometimes you need to remove plastic panels to get all the smell and tar cleaned up to help with the smell.

I haven't spent much time in an R50 but the seats in my R51 are my favourite. It`s the perfect road trip vehicle except for it's fuel consumption. While I really miss my Xterra the more the R51 gets caught up in mods the less I miss it. Part of me wishes I made the switch years before, that's how much I like it, but I do miss the manual 5-speed and the direct throttle cable, but it's a worthwhile trade off to get the V8 power, especially for towing. The IRS is kinda annoying for lifts. I'm also double-locked now so any disadvantages of the IFS/IRS should be negated. Replacing the radio is also much more complicated and expensive, but I`m happy that it's finally done and have Android Auto in it. You can tell Nissan's paint quality isn't the same as in previous years. I do really like the heated steering wheel. I know there were comparisons that the R50`s interior is better then the R51. I kinda agree. I didn`t like the gen2 Xterra and Frontier cause it felt cheap, but the R51 is just nice enough. My old Xterra did have a sunroof, which isn't on the gen2, so I'm really happy to have one in the R51, and a two-way as well.