X-Terra not trail rated?

My point exactly. According to the sales guy, Jeeps are, as of right now, the only SUVs that are trail rated. What's disturbing is that seemingly reliable periodicals such as Consumers Digest and Consumer Report fail to point this out. It makes you wonder if the other manufacturers aren't greasing their palm in some way.

 

Husker, I remember Fox reported on this issue a while back. As I recall, it is the Jeep people who were alledged to be greasing the palm of the Trail Rated guys. It came to light when the Chinese were going to introduce a 4x4 into the US, but did not want to do it until they got it “Trail Rated.” They felt that their model met all the requirements, but was arbitrarily turned down. I think the Chinese were full of crap and the thing just didn’t meet the stringent Trail Rated requirements. Somebody ought to Google this as my memory on the actual events is pretty sketchy.

 

I found the story about the Chinese company not getting trail rated. http://www.gwm.cn/html/product/trailrated.asp

 

That article says many things that make little sense to me. some examples.
"SUV for trail are rating to be US".
"For taking off to road this trail."
"Make for to use letting brake employed again departing."
"Yellow is most best #1 for buffet parking."
"Large traction is best for non parking in remotes."
I could go on forever, but I will stop there. Most likely the trail rating was denied for lack of properly communicating the correct info to the testing agencies.

BT

 

Just an FYI ... you have the IQ of a toasted waffle. "Trail Rated" is term made up by Jeep. No other vehicle can possible be "Trail Rated" because Jeep owns the term. I'm sure that at least a dozen people in this thread have already pointed that out to you but I'm afraid to read this thread for fear of becoming dumber.

Seriously ... just give up on life now. If you fell for the "trail rating" thing it's only a matter of time before QVC bankrupts you. Either that or you're going to take a loan out for $100K so you can rescue that poor South-African who needs the money to unlock his vast riches (at least $600mm) which he will gladly pass 22% of to you for your troubles.

I feel dumber just for replying ...

Bill

 

I have a feeling you're going to feel even dumber in a bit...

 

Bill, you don't need to feel dumb - we've all been in that situation before. I felt the same way when we went to the dealership. Jeep did in fact establish the Trail Rated term. I for one am glad they did, because there is a lot of mis-information floating around out there apparently about the different SUV vehicles.

Jeep did this to keep people from buying vehicles that aren't trail-rated. I for one am glad they did. After he explained it to us, it made me mad all these other companies doing false advertising about their units. It made me think of my aunt Jean that used to tell me you can't believe everything you hear.

 

"Trail Rated"...nice sales slogan. Reminds me of "Chrysler TC by Maseratti" or "the BMW eater" (GM ad on Cadillac Cimarron, circa 1982). A toast of Bourbon prior to a chilli cookout.

 

Way to bump a 9 month old thread there little buddy

 

Man, why'd you bump it up? I just wasted part of my life reading this nonsense.

Oh well.

 

So, is the Nissan X-rated, then? If so, who in their right mind would buy a Jeep!

 

The X-Terra just got trail rated.

 

Really? Did they get a sticker set from Ebay or something? Maybe Nissan is buying Jeep??? What's the story? I could see them getting TRALE RATED but not TRAIL RATED....

 

I am sure they were able to get it directly from Jeep. Chrysler seems to be in need of some cash..

 

Just FYI...friend of mine works in the parts dept at a local Chrysler/Jeep dealership and says these new SUVs are NOT trail rated.

 

So you are saying that Jeeps are so good that no other company will ever be able to make an off road vehicle that can receive this prestigious honor? That Jeep literally owns the rights to going off-road successfully? I am amazed that an American company could pull this off. Take that Land rover! I'm getting a Jeep Compass!

 

it's not that the other SUVs aren't any good off-road, but the Jeeps are trail rated - it's sort of like a certified pre-owned car - it's still a used car but it's certified so it's worth more.

 

From JeepFan.com

Definition: Trail Rated signifies that the vehicles have passed off road testing by the Nevada Automotive Test Center (NATC) -- which evaluates vehicles for traction, ground clearance, off road articulation, maneuverability, and water fording.

Just to make it blindingly clear: I don't claim that the preceding information is accurate blah blah blah ....

 

I'm pissed off!! I bought an '07 Xterra and I planned to take it off-roading every now and then. I've taken it off road a couple of times when I went fishing and I even drove it accross a shallow river one time. I never had any problems or got stuck but now that I know it's not Trail Rated, I won't fell comfortable taking it off of the pavement. I talked to the dealer and he told me it was path rated. I don't believe him and even if he's telling the truth, a path just isn't the same as a trail. I'm gonna see if I can trade it in for a Jeep.

 

Trail rated is an registered trademark as others have stated. It's marketing from Jeep.

The Nevada test center tests all sorts of vehicles. The jeeps get trail rating stamps from themselves, other companies test for other reasons.

http://www.natc-ht.com/V_TRCS.htm

As for off road vehicle use, any solid 4x4 truck with decent ground clearance, decent tires and locking transfer case and differentials will do wonders with an experienced off road driver, be it a Suzuki Samurai, a Jeep, Toyota, Hummer, Nissian, or another brand of 4x4.

 

Trail rated and off-road rated are totally different beast. Without researching I will chance a guess that the X-Terra does not have a locking center differential or the option of high/low 4wd gearing like my '02 4Runner has.

 

The point is, only Jeeps are trail rated at this time. If you want to buy another SUV, be my guest, but don't think just because it's 4WD that it's trail rated or even close.

 

this is true. it could be that this or that suv is off-road rated by some third party, but only jeeps at this time are going to fall into the trail-rated category, locking diff or no. Nissans are NOT trail rated at this time, nor are TOYOTAS.

 

From the jeep website... "Trail Rated is a registered trademark of Chrysler Group LLC."

Aka, of course no other SUV can be "trail rated" jeep owns the rights to it...

 

From older literature, "Trail Rated" (while being a Jeep trademark term) referred to a stock vehicle successfully navigating the Rubicon Trail.

There is a Toyota that managed this (The FJ) : http://www.autoblog.com/2005/11/14/toyota-fj-cruiser-gets-trail-rated-on-rubicon/

As is pointed out, Toyota can't say "Trail Rated" because of trademark issues.