Nissan X-Trail > Reviews (18)

I bought this vehicle in may 2004. It is a cdi sport 2.2 diesel with the 136 bhp engine. I paid £19400 for it which was a fair price but no bargain, this was because demand was outstripping supply at the time.

Looks
For me it looks the buisness, externaly the lines are good and the rear spoiler adds to the look.
The interior needs a little getting used to as the clocks are centrally located and not behind the steering wheel which proves to be a good position for viewing the clock.

Performance and handling
This thing motors. The acceleration for such a big vehicle is awesome. It is great for overtaking and with the added visibility of being higher up I think it is all round safer to drive than a normal saloon. There is a lot of torque available and although I have not towed with it I would have no concerns towing caravans etc.
On motorways it will cruise all day well in excess of the speed limit. On rural roads, which is where I live, it is still at home it handles better than the Primera I had previously and that was good, due to the torrque there is no need to be changing up and down the gears. I have not been off road with it so unable to comment.
The vehicle has 6 gears and although I suppose 6th is meant for motorways it will drop into 6th at 50mph and so can be used on most A roads.

Fuel Economy
With fuel prices as they are economy is on all road users minds. The X Trail is returning approx 34mpg on my usual driving which is country lanes mixed with coastal A road which has a fair share of hills and bends and no dual carrigeway. On motorway trips I have plodded on at 70 mph and returned 40+ mpg, however it is quite hard to keep to 70mpg and due to the grunt in this engine and the high driving position I am often creeping towarsd 85-90 mph which then increases consumption to about 38mph. These figures have been checked several times for each type of motoring over the last year.

Comfort
It just is. I car share and all passengers front and rear have commented how comfortable it is. It even has rear recliners. There are lots of adjustments, seats and steering wheel, to suit all sizes of drivers. Visibility is good.

Breaking
It has the well tested Nissan brak assist and ABS and they are very good. I have had occasion to do an emergency stop at 40mph and the vehicle reacted well and better still stopped quickly.

Audio
Good sound system with 6 cd cahnger which is dash mounted. Ther are also steering wheel controls which I find usefull

Space
Oceans of space. The rear seats fold flat and have an easy clean back to them as does the rear cargo area, this is removable which is great for cleaning. The centre arm rest folds down allowing long items approx 6"-8" dia to be stowed with out folding the seats.
There is lots of storage space but my favourite is the compartment located behind the steering wheel it is very usefull for items you may require to hand whislt driving, you know camera, mobile phone and toaster. This space is of course where the relocated clocks would have been and is quite innovative.

Down side
For the class of car and cost I think it should have little extras like cruise control, on board computer and wing mirror retractors. The wing mirror adjustors are to low down and virtually impossible to use safely whilst driving. The indicator noise is to quiet and I often forget turn them off if the stick does not return to autoratically. It is very noisey with the sun roof open (which is massive)

Overall
I like this vehicle a lot and would recomend it to any one who wants a 4x4 with looks, grunt and comfort. Add to that the reliability of Nissans and this is one hell of a vehicle. No wonder it won all sorts of accolades in the motor press.