The new Nissan X-Trail is a stylish SUV that delivers a great driving experience while providing the practicality you’d want from a family car in South Africa.
It’s a pleasure to drive on the roads, and while its off-road performance leaves a little to be desired, a reasonable price tag means the X-Trail stands out as an attractive value proposition in one of the country’s most hotly contested segments.
Driving pleasure
The crown jewel of the Nissan package is its 2.5-litre, naturally-aspirated petrol engine which is found on all three trim levels and provides 135kW and 244Nm.
The entry-level Visia and mid-range Acenta models are front-wheel drive, but the flagship Acenta Plus I drove features an all-wheel-drive setup with additional driving modes for Snow and Off-Road.
The petrol powerplant always feels like it has a lot to give when you put your foot down, with satisfying acceleration that is accompanied by an unexpectedly thrilling noise from the exhaust.
Having said that, the motor is incredibly quiet when idle, to the point that I nearly forgot to switch off the engine when getting out on multiple occasions.
This Nissan employs a continuously variable transmission (CVT), and I was impressed with how it manages to simulate physical gear changes with subtle shifts as you pick up speed, especially when taking advantage of the paddle shifters.
At low speeds, the CVT is silky smooth but it does allow the revs to climb quite high with moderate acceleration which can impact your fuel consumption.
However, there is a fix for this as the X-Trail gets driving modes for Normal, Eco, and Sport, which make a tangible difference to the throttle response.
With default settings, the transmission will often rev well past 3,000rpm before it shifts, which is particularly noticeable when using the adaptive cruise control as it will go as high as 5,000rpm when accelerating to bring you back to your set speed as quickly as possible.
Switching to Eco Mode, the throttle becomes much more sluggish and keeps the needle pegged at around 2,000rpm unless you floor the accelerator.
The real highlight, however, is Sport Mode, which won’t do you any favours in the economy department but makes the X-Trail a blast to drive when you have the road to yourself with snappy acceleration and surprisingly great handling.
Much of this comes down to the light steering, but the Nissan’s suspension is also rather firm, which has its trade-offs since the sporty undertones come at the expense of reduced comfort.
On the road, you will feel speed bumps and imperfections on the tarmac, but the impact is rather minor overall. Instead, it’s when you leave the track that the stiff suspension becomes much more pronounced.
I took the car to a nature reserve over the weekend, and its performance was mixed.
On the one hand, you have all-wheel drive, an off-road setting, hill-descent control, and a ground clearance of 211mm, so the X-Trail can certainly do the job on a family holiday, but going over 40km/h on a dirt path leads to a rather bumpy ride.
Regarding fuel consumption, my worst trip clocked over 10.0l/100km, while my most economical journey involving Eco Mode and a long stretch of highway came to 6.8l/100km, which isn’t bad for an AWD SUV.
Easy to live with
Another strength of the Nissan is that it feels right at home in an urban environment despite its size.
This is partly due to the fact that it is slightly smaller than other vehicles in the same price bracket like the Toyota Fortuner, Isuzu mu-X, and Ford Everest, but its smooth engine, transmission, and steering make navigating a car park a breeze.
Even better is that there is a shortcut button on the dashboard which immediately brings up a front and overhead-view camera with guidelines which makes it very easy to park the 4.6-metre long car.
The build quality of the cabin is top-notch, and it exudes a premium quality with soft-touch leather surfaces on the top of the door rests and dashboard, a wood-effect pattern on the front-passenger storage area, and textured plastic on the centre console.
The digital driver display is easy to use and provides a lot of information, and the top-spec Acenta Plus model even gets an impressive heads-up display that can show your speed and detailed navigation instructions.
The infotainment screen is large and responsive with no input lag, and you still have physical buttons for the sound system and climate controls which is highly appreciated.
On that note, the car has its own navigation system which is very handy, though it won’t replace your Waze or Google Maps app completely as it is unable to provide real-time traffic information.
It is not always up-to-date either, as I live in a relatively new part of Centurion in Gauteng, and many of the locations I tried to set on the touchscreen came up blank.
The cabin is very spacious and the front and mid-row seats are firm but still comfortable, which brings us to the seven-seater aspect of the flagship.
The fact of the matter is that this is a five-seater car with two extra seats in the back, and while these are a useful feature if you have small kids, they really aren’t suitable for anyone else and you’ll be sacrificing most of the boot while they’re up.
The back seats are very easy to set up, and they fold flat which grants the Nissan an impressive boot of 485 litres in most situations. The middle row is also easy to move back and forth to give the back seats a bit of legroom, but doing so will also make the middle row feel a bit cramped as well.
Verdict
The more time I spent with the Nissan X-Trail, the more intrigued I was by what it offers in the local motoring scene.
At a starting price of R672,900, it’s one of the more the affordable SUVs in its segment, and all three versions share the same drivetrain so the best parts of the experience are available to all buyers.
Its off-road performance is not the greatest but still gets the job done when called upon, and its performance on the road is superb, which is what it will spend the majority of its time doing anyway.
The package feels well-suited to a built-up environment despite its size, and its engine makes it great fun to drive, especially in Sport Mode.
Whether or not this particular family car is the right one for you will come down to personal requirements, but for anyone who is looking for a well-made SUV with a great interior, features, and surprisingly sporty performance, the Nissan X-Trail is well worth a look.
Nissan X-Trail
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