Nissan's Xterra is, well, it's cool. It's cool to have a basket for your wetsuits on the roof rack. It's cool to have an interior mountain bike rack. It's cool to be rugged. It's cool that it's retro at the same time that it's a trendsetter. And now it's cool to have a supercharged engine, a new option for 2002.

With its special blend of style and function, the Xterra has been a huge success ever since Nissan launched this compact sport-utility in 2000. The Xterra concept has prevailed beyond Nissan's expectations and hopes; heck, it's still just catching on, and for 2002 it has a more powerful engine, an updated interior and a restyled front end with new headlights and a bulging hood.