The Nissan X-Trail was one of the SUV examples that exude a purely visual masculine presence and wants to be more off-road vehicles than fashionable SUVs. Its design was angular and distinctive, no trace of softie behavior. But that is a thing of the past. In 2014, the third generation saw the change of image. We wanted to know how the soft-washed SUV drives and asked the 1,6-liter petrol engine with 123 kW / 163 PS for an everyday test.
The new edition is very modern: keyword crossover design, the little and extremely successful brother Qashqai sends his regards. From this, the X-Trail not only adopted the specifications for the design, but also the task of being a practical family car. Since the Qashqai is no longer available as a seven-seater, the 26 cm longer model has to be used if more than four to five people are to be transported. Seats six and seven cost between € 800 and € 500 depending on the equipment. With a total vehicle length of 4,64 meters, despite the wheelbase of 2,71 meters, you can of course not expect any miracles of space on the individual chairs at the back. But it is quite sufficient for acceptable comfort conditions for short distances, provided that the passengers in the second row have an insight and use the adjustable seat to the front. Children - they can probably also board the rear row of seats much more smoothly and elegantly than adults - should definitely feel comfortable there.
The space is a major strength of the X-Trail. Despite the new design, this plus could also be transformed into the third generation. The driver and front passenger are almost enthroned above the traffic, if the seat cushions were a little longer, long-standing passengers would also be able to cope well with long distances. The trunk offers plenty of volume. In the seven-seat configuration, it is between 135 and 1.877 liters, in the five-seater 550 to 1.982 liters. So the vehicle mutates into a loading champion.
When choosing engines, Nissan makes it easy for customers: there are only two, a diesel and a petrol engine, each with a 1,6-liter displacement. As an alternative to the diesel engine with 96 kW7130 PS, Nissan offers the turbo driven by us with 120 kW / 163 PS. This is only delivered with front-wheel drive and hand switch, only the diesel can optionally be combined with automatic and all-wheel drive. Compared to the more powerful diesel engine (320 Nm), the direct petrol injector with 240 Nm does not mobilize a lot of torque and demands a little rethinking from the driver. Simply cruising along lazily or simply stepping on the accelerator and relying on bearish power does not work with the petrol engine. Switching is the order of the day here. Anyone who works hard can be quick and relaxed on the X-Trail. On the highway you feel very comfortable between the speed limit and 180 km / h. At higher speeds it gets a little loud. On average, 8,3 liters flowed through the fuel lines, almost two liters more than the standard value. Few drivers should be able to live well with the consumption, especially since the additional price for the more economical diesel at 2.450 euros is not exactly cheap.
In contrast to the engines, the assistants do not spill, but padding. Autonomous emergency braking and lane keeping assist, such as traffic sign recognition, are part of the standard scope. A high-beam assistant is added from the second comfort level. The lane-keeping helper is a little nervous and beeps when the tires only come closer to the lane marking, but can be turned off in everyday life to reactivate it as a useful helper for bottlenecks like in a motorway construction site at the push of a button. For an additional € 900, Nissan also offers other practical support such as motion and fatigue detection and a parking and blind spot assistant. In the highest equipment level that we drove (from 35.660 euros), these are part of the standard equipment, plus a navigation system with a 7-inch color touchscreen, reversing camera, leather, panoramic glass roof and a digital radio. The latter, however, did not show its best side and spent a lot of time searching for and losing the selected station, but in quick change.
Overall, the X-Trail can convince. If you don't value premium, but appreciate a decent price-performance ratio, you are certainly well served here. (Elfriede Munsch / SP-X)