At Brians request, here is a bit of a write up and my impressions of this entirely new model Nissan X Trail.
My first company cars at Volvo, we’re Volvo’s I had an S80, nice car. Then in 2011 I wanted to go to a larger car and the only options then was the Nissan X Trail.
I am lucky enough to get the second from the top model, so have had well specked cars since then.
The last of the older body shape (basically the same model since the X Trail was introduced into Australia) in 2011 was a really nice car, well sorted, extremely comfortable plush leather seats, so much storage I couldn’t fill it, including a top centre of dash massive lidded storage bin, and four cup holders just up front.
Heaps of room in the back for payload, as the back tailgate was almost vertical which swallowed pretty much anything Bunnings or IKEA could throw at it.
It was the first CVT transmission car I’ve had, and it was ok (just) and these models I had all had the 2.5L engine, the lower spec models had a 2 litre for some reason.
Good on fuel, a great long haul car, great ride, fairly quiet and heaps of room.
This was the last model with a full size spare.
The next model was the first of the body shape that has just been discontinued and replaced by my current car.
What a shit box this was.
Same drivetrain but a complete new model, so body and interior were all new.
All of the storage was gone, and for someone who’s car is my second office, this was a shock.
The angular tail gate stopped any decent load in the back.
The engine rattled loudly when started like there was no oil up top, the air cond never worked properly from the day I got it until the day I handed it back, it squeezed, rattled and rode hard and the suspension almost banged over everything. Not to mention the seats had about the same comfort as a church pew.
2 failed batteries over the years I had it, one in my driveway, the other at 10pm at Sydney airport when I was trying to get home after a late flight.
Horrible on fuel, the transmission was terrible and it had no idea what gear it should have been in at any time.
Glad to see the back of it.
The next one was basically the same shape as the above platinum grey car, but was a totally different beast altogether.
Great to drive, seats were (a bit) better, engine and transmission were very well sorted, and on a good drive, without even trying I’d easily get between 6-6.5L / 100k. Quite good, yes I know I don’t have to pay for fuel, but I still like to make sure the car is doing well for economy.
Ride was much much better, steering was better, but still the same body and ordinary storage.
Both of these had space saver spares.
So a couple of weeks ago along comes this brand new model, all new Nissan said, and also introduces a new Nissan logo.
Looks good I thought, quirky but ok.
The tail gate has a massive overhang on top of the number plate, when viewed side on, it’s quite strange. (See Shadow in the above pic)
Initially when I got in, I noticed you sit right in this car, it’s all encompassing around you, very safe feeling I thought.
Even after lifting the seat up to rectify my short stature to be able to see over the steering wheel, you still feel enclosed, not in a bad way at all. The seats are simply out of this world, some of the most plush and comfy seats I’ve ever sat in.
The drivers side still has 8 way electric adjustment, however the passenger seat which used to have 4 way electric, has now reverted back to full manual adjustment.
The centre console is very high, and now has a pretty good sized storage bin/shelf under it.
Full electronic shifter, and now for the first time an electronic park brake.
A fairly decent centre multi media screen for the first time in an X Trail, but Apple car pay & Android auto are still not wireless, so needs to be plugged in every time.
My daughter in laws 2021 Kia Picanto has both, and are both wireless.
It seems Korean cars, and now Chinese cars, are lightyears ahead in connectivity and multi media and that sort of thing compared to this and other Japanese offerings I have seen. Even the basic safety offered in the Korean cars & Chinese cars base models are better than mid spec Japanese.
The vision from inside is very good, and no real blind spots at all.
All windows are auto up and down, and it even has the “hold” feature on the key fob that will auto close all windows when locking, or auto open all windows when unlocking if the button is held for a few seconds.
Rear leg room is limo quality, and like my last model, the rear seats are higher than the front, all people who sit in the back for the first time all comment at how good the high back seats are for their forward vision.
The rear view mirrors are much bigger than the last car, and are terrific to look out of.
The auto dimming interior rear view mirror is a little hit and miss, but it’s not to bad.
One feature I’ve never used before is the auto high beam.
Weird to get used to, but it works perfectly and faultlessly.
Basically on a dark road, the high beam will come on by its self. The nano second it sees another car coming towards you, immediately the lights are dipped. Very good once I understood it.
Now the cruise control is all new for me in this type of car. My wife’s BYD has auto steering etc, but I’ve never used it.
So, on a trip recently to Kiama, I thought I’d give it a go.
It works very well, and if you fight the wheel it gets tiring, so I just let it do its thing, and it pretty much drove its self to Kiama once on the motorway. I just keep a hand on the wheel so it knows I’m still there.
The system seems very well sorted, and I wonder how my dad (who, learned to drive trucks first and foremost during WWII) would react to this new which craft.
On cruise control all the way down, I achieved 5.9L/100 kms. That’s extremely good for a car loaded with my wife and I, and two grandkids and all their associated crap.
The ride on this car is vey plush, and extremely comfortable and is one of the quietest cars I’ve driven. The tyres are a great size and extremely quiet.
The doors are triple rubbered and really close like a bank vault, at 100kmh there is very little road or wind noise at all. Very impressive.
The tail gate has the strongest struts made by man, there is no way I can grab that tail gate from high up and close it in one go, super strong struts, if you have a bag or two of shopping in your hand, forget it.
Even though this is also a 2.5L, it is totally different to the last car, and is exceptionally quick if your not used to the quick response, short throw accelerator pedal.
The flappy paddle shifters are fun, but the novelty wore off pretty quick.
This time I was given the AWD model and 7 seats, so the grandkids sat right up the back to and from Kiama.
One niggle is I pretty much can not see the HVAC control icons at all, ( they look great in the pics) they are super small. Air cond is good, but I don’t think it’s quite as good as the orange car.
The third row of seats do not have their own vents, but they do get a 12v socket, and their own cup holder.
The huge array of active safety systems all work exceptionally well and are not like the nanny ones Brian has mentioned, they are easy to live with and work well and do their job perfectly.
This car has a space saver spare, but you need to lift the third row of seats to access it.
I will do a second post with some images in and around the car.
This is probably the first X Trail I’d highly recommend. Nice car.
