FIRST DRIVE | New Nissan X-Trail offers daring looks, more refinement

The Nissan X-Trail has always been about carrying passengers in safe comfort and it has done it well since the boxy first generation.

The fourth and latest generation, with a bolder and striking split headlamp design, has touched down in South Africa and we’ve had our first drive of the chief rival to the Toyota Rav4, Hyundai Tucson and many other segment alternatives. Pricing starts at R649,900 for the entry-level X-Trail Visia; R709,900 for the Acenta; and R759,900 for the Acenta Plus.

At 4,680mm it’s 40mm longer than the outgoing model. Despite the growth spurt the interior space remains the same as the 2,705mm wheelbase hasn’t grown.

The base Visia and Acenta models get five seats, and the Acenta Plus has space for seven passengers. There’s not much luggage space if you leave all the seats in place in the seven-seater, but you can fold down all the rear chairs for versatile cargo loading space, and there’s generous leg, head and shoulder room for all with the seats propped up. 

Inside, the new X-Trail has neatly patterned trim on the door panels and as a section divider of the two-tone black and brown dashboard.  

The overall design of the business area, including a golf-putter style automatic transmission lever, instrument binnacle lighting and fonts is similar to the new Qashqai, but they are larger. The digital displays are a 12.3-inch touch screen and a 12.3-inch customisable instrument cluster.

Convenience features found in the Acenta Plus model, which we drove exclusively at launch, are the regular segment luxuries, but standout items include heated seats, high-beam assist, steering wheel paddles and a 10.8-inch head-up display as standard.  

The three variations available are powered by the same 2.5l four-cylinder petrol engine with outputs of 135kW and 244Nm. This motor offers a 9kW and 11Nm improvement over the outgoing model and is teamed exclusively with a CVT that drives the front wheels in both the Visia fitted with 17-inch wheels, and the Acenta models with 18-inchers. The Acenta Plus rides on 19-inch alloys and also benefits from a terrain mode selector and all-wheel drive underpinnings. All models are rated to tow a maximum 2,000kg. 

Nissan country manager Kabelo Rabotho says discussions are continuing on the possible introduction of the X-Trail equipped with the intriguing e-Force technology — an electric power train that uses a petrol engine to recharge on the move. 

Also impressive is the way the X-Trail drives. It’s a smoother ride than before and the handling is tidy, even on gravel. Nissan says the top speed is 195km/h, and a combined fuel consumption average is claimed at 7.4l/100km from a 55l tank. The X-Trail felt strong and brisk enough to match the claimed speeds and we achieved 8.1l/100km on a languid drive. 

The vehicle safety suite includes six airbags, vehicle dynamic control, rear view camera, blind spot intervention, cross traffic alert, predictive front collision warning, hill start assists, driver attention alert and forward emergency braking across the board.  

Acenta models add ProPILOT, Nissan’s semi-autonomous driving technology which includes lane-keep assist, along with a tyre pressure monitor, surround view and moving object detection. A hill descent control feature is exclusive to the Acenta Plus model.

The first drive verdict is positive. Offering no diesel options will be a test in preferences, and the daring styling shouldn’t polarise buyers. The entry price is competitive but the range-topping model undercuts most all-wheel-drive, seven-seat models.  

All new Nissan X-Trail models come standard with a three-year/90,000km service plan and six-year/150,000km warranty.   

Pricing  

Visia CVT — R649,900 

Acenta CVT — R709,900  

Acenta Plus CVT — R759,900 

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