You could easily get confused with Nissan X-Trail as Nissan Qashqai at very first glance, but the cool third-generation X-Trail has a lot going for it, moreover the sharp yet recognizable styling. First and foremost, it is one of the handiest SUVs on the market, along with excellent passenger room and the choice of seven seats.
The X-Trail’s cabin resembles to the Qashqai’s too, yet that’s not awful thing. Not only is it elegantly design and well-made, it’s also endowed with equipment on top-spec models. It’s not exciting to drive by any means, but it’s graceful, composed and contented.
That said, it does cut almost a second off the diesel’s 0-62mph time, moving it down to almost 9.7 seconds from 10.5 seconds. Maximum pace for diesel is 117mph, which evaluates to the Nissan X-Trail petrol engine that produces 124mph. It can’t be featured along with four-wheel drive, however. It’s also worth observing that opting for the 4×4 drivetrain gets the edge off the performance of the base diesel engine advance – 0-62mph drops to 11 secs, even though top speed (116mph) is hardly affected.
2016 noticed Nissan answer critics of a lack of power mainly with a new Renault-sourced 2.0-Litre diesel engine. Generating 174bhp and a greeting 380Nm of torque, it can control the X-Trail from 0-62mph in a rational 9.4 seconds, but it’s the extra in-gear punch that is most welcome. The sturdy 2.0-Litre unit increases the towing weight by almost 150kg, and is more skilled of lugging seven passengers about if you wish on using your X-Trail to the full. Disgrace, then, that it sounds rather clattery under load, taking the edge of sophistication.
The muscular 1.6-dCi diesel engine produces 128bhp, and a decent 320Nm of torque – exactly the identical torque figure as the previous X-Trail’s 2.0-Litre diesel engine gave, though power is down a little bit. As a result, it’s just as punchy, but all thanks to the smaller capacity, stop/start and a 90kg weight saving, the latest X-Trial is 20% more efficient. Test takers have also driven the fresh 1.6-Litre turbocharged petrol unit, though its 160bhp figure is a little improved than the diesel, it doesn’t feel any faster in a straight line. That is primarily due to the inferior torque figure, which can create it feel a bit slothful unless you rev it out.
The X-Trail includes a very spacious boot that knocks most opponents into a cocked hat. Along with the seats up it proposes 550 litres, which is about 150 litres more than the Ford Kuga can congregate. The Hyundai Santa Fe now beats it with 585 litres. By only folding everything down flat and the X-Trail appears into its very own with a gigantic 1,982 litres cargo inlet comparing very satisfactorily with the 1,603 litre Kuga and 1,680 litre Santa Fe.
The grand X-Trail has some very tidy practical touches too, similar to a boot floor that moves up and down to produce horizontally-separated loading areas – in fact Nissan declares the versatile X-Trail has 18 different configurations particularly for the load area. The Nissan’s towing capability is quoted as a striking 2,000kgs, with the latest 2.0-Litre diesel the one to go for if you intend to utilize that maximum figure.
