TEST DRIVE REVIEW: Nissan X-Trail 2.0 & 2.5

1,300+ orders before its official launch. Yes, you read that right, and no, it isn’t a typo. I actually had to ask twice at the launch of the new Nissan X-Trail, thinking perhaps that by some cruel twist of fate, the two cups of coffee I’d had earlier in the a.m. were actually the twin-spawns of Satan called decaf, but it was indeed true, ETCM, or Edaran Tan Chong Motor, the official assemblers, importers and distributors of the venerable Nissan brand here in Malaysia, have actually received (at the time of the official launch a few days ago) more than a thousand three-hundred bookings for the latest third generation X-Trail SUV.

Background…

First debuting in Malaysia in 2003, the X-Trail steadily climbed through the ranks to become one of the most popular mid-size SUV’s in the local market. One of the ways I gauge the popularity of a new passenger vehicle, is by way of the amount of interest it gets among my peers and friends. For example the latest baby Mazda, the 2. No less than four motoring journalists expressed keen interest to buy one, and social media was inundated with pictures of it, as well as genuine interest. It was the same for the first generation X-Trail.

One of the most dreaded questions that any motoring journalist can face from peers and friends is “What car should I buy?”. It’s a common misconception that auto-journos are in the business of selling cars; we’re not. Our job is just to inform the buying public what’s available out there, and provide an impartial assessment on it, period. Of course this has never stopped friends, family and peers from asking the aforementioned question, and I recall getting many in regards to the (then) new X-Trail; that’s how popular it was, and still is.

What’s interesting is that the first-gen 2003 X-Trail was actually late to the mid-size SUV party. Honda had already launched the highly-popular CR-V, which had been around for almost a decade, when ETCM boldly went where they’d never gone before (sorry) and attempted a coup of sorts against that wildly-popular SUV from Honda. With 19,000 units sold locally since then – and something ridiculous like 2,000,000 sold worldwide – ETCM recently unveiled the 3^rd generation X-Trail to the media, followed by a drive out of town to Lumut.

Styling & Design…

In terms of looks, which are of course subjective, I can’t fault the new X-Trail. Murmurings of ‘Baby Murano’ were rife, and that’s a good thing actually, because in terms of overall design and styling, the new X-Trail is a bold departure from what we’re accustomed to. Parked side-by-side with the out-going 2^nd generation model, there’s nothing remotely familiar between the two, in fact sans badges, you’d swear they were each made by two different carmakers; that’s how radical a ‘shift’ in design-theme was adopted for the new X-Trail.

Curvaceous and stylish, yet still exuding a hint of the ‘S’ in SUV, the new X-Trail looks good from all angles, even from the back, which is uncommon these days; so many carmakers nowadays falter when it comes to designing a decent rear-end. The stylishness continues over on the inside too. Zero-gravity inspired leather-clad seats (2.5L only) offer an exceptionally comfortable driving position, while the occupants are ensconced in an up-market luxurious interior that belies this SUVs market segment and price. So comfortable and relaxing are the driver ergonomics that not once throughout the journey to and from Lumut – encompassing highways, B-roads and even an off-road section – did I feel tired or fatigued.

Engine & Transmission…

Powering the new X-Trail, buyers will have the choice of a 2.0-litre 2WD and the top-of-the line 2.5-litre 4WD; both are 4-cyl DOHC 16-valve units with CVTC (continuously variable valve-timing control) but where the 2.0L churns out 144Ps, the 2.5L makes an impressive 177Ps. Both are mated to a ‘7-speed’ X-Tronic CVT gearbox. It’s the latter that’s perhaps my only gripe with the new X-Trail. Although smooth and jerk-free, pushed hard it makes a bit of a racket. The engine is not wanting on power though, even for the 2.0, but it’s the 2.5 that’s going to induce the most ear-to-ear grins.

You can actually hear it when the CVTC kicks in; there’s an audible ‘growl’ from the engine at around 4,500 rpm, which quickly translates to a noticeable surge of torque. In the 4WD variant, most of the time it’ll only be necessary to keep it in 2WD or “i4WD” mode, which is an AWD system that detects when 4WD is needed and reacts, selectable via a dial on the centre console behind the gear-shift lever.

Safety Tech…

Even more impressive though are the active safety systems found on board the new X-Trail, which include:

Active Engine Brake (AEB) – this system actually uses the CVT gearbox to assist with engine braking, especially handy when charging into a corner or coming to a quick stop

Active Ride Control (ARC) – by automatically applying the brakes and adjusting engine torque when hitting a bump, ARC controls the ‘bounce’ after hitting a bump to smoothen out the ride.

Active Trace Control (ATC) – as the name suggests, ATC ‘traces’ the X-Trail around a corner and is able to apply individual brakes in order to keep the vehicle stable during hard cornering.

Hill Start Assist (HSA) – HSA holds the X-Trail in place while on a slope for 4 seconds without sliding back, to allow the driver to accelerate up a slope without having to swap pedals in a hurry.

Advanced Hill-Descent Control (HDC) – especially good for an off-road situation, HDC controls the speed of a hill descent without any driver intervention, except for steering input.

Active Brake Limited-Slip (ABLS) – provides better grip and braking stability in slippery conditions by continually monitoring the grip levels of each tyre and adjusting brake pressure to the ones with most grip, and reducing pressure to the ones with the least.

In addition the new X-Trails comes with Dual Front SRS Air-bags, ABS, EBD, Brake Assist, Traction Control and Dynamic Stability Control.

This next item first made its debut in a Rolls-Royce actually, and it’s quite remarkable that it’s now available in the new X-Trail, in both variants:

Around View Monitor, 360-Degree View – using a series of cameras (in addition to a regular reverse camera), the X-Trail provides the driver with a real-time birds-eye view of the vehicle from above, it displays on the multi-media screen exactly what’s in the front, rear and both sides of the X-Trail when reversing or parallel parking; no more kerbing your wheels or playing bumper-cars with other parked vehicles. All cars should have this.

Driving Impression…

It’s hard to not like the new X-Trail. You sit high, cosseted by one of the most supportive and comfortable driver’s seats that I’ve experienced in recent memory; everything that’s important is within easy reach, slot it into D and go. There’s more than enough grunt (even from the 2.0L) to get up to a comfortable cruising speed, but more liberal use of the fun-pedal results in something quite extraordinary, especially for the 2.5L. Where you’d think it would run out of steam, this ‘SUV’ just keeps going, pulling hard until you’re nudging 200kmh, which it gets to quite rapidly.

NVH is very decent, and it’s only above 160kmh that wind-noise becomes prevalent. Driven in a more sedate fashion, the X-Trail returns a very comfortable and fuss-free drive. All the active safety systems are tucked away, working continuously in the background to ensure the journey is as uneventful as possible. Even the CVT gets quiet at slower speeds, and while it is possible to manually select gears via the ‘+/-‘ selector gate, I found it best to just keep it in ‘D’ and let the engine and gearbox do all the work.

The X-Trail does have an ace up its wheel-arch insofar as passengers are concerned, because tucked behind the back seats, and what normally looks like a boot-floor can actually be converted to a third-row seat for two additional – albeit small – passengers. So yeah, the new X-Trail is a bone-fide 5+2 in terms of seating. When not in use, the seats fold flat, offering 550L of cargo room, which can be stretched to 1,520L if the second row seats are folded as well.

There has been some criticism leveled on the new X-Trail though, in regards to the fact that it only has two air-bags. It’s an age-old debate as to whether it’s better to survive and accident or avoid one altogether and in that respect, the copious amounts of active safety crammed into the new X-Trail as mentioned above tend to nod toward the latter. Good or bad, that’s up to you to decide, but not before trying this new SUV out for yourself.

A fellow media mentioned to me during the drive that he was worried that with all these electronic safety systems shoehorned into the new X-Trail, how long before things start going wrong? I just looked at him and said, “It’s a Nissan; stuff going wrong? You’re joking right?” His reply of “Oh yeah, right” speaks volumes for the level of trust and bullet-proof-reliability mindset this brand has earned from its followers here; the fact that the new X-Trail also looks amazingly good is just a huge bonus for its prospective owners.

Specifications & Price

Nissan X-Trail 2.0 2WD – 142,800 (OTR with insurance, Pen.M’sia)

Engine 4-cyl, 16v, DOHC, Twin CVTC, direct fuel-injection, 1,997cc

Transmission X-Tronic 7-speed CVT with manual mode

Max power 144ps @ 6,000rpm

Max torque 200Nm @ 4,400rpm

Suspension (F) MacPherson struts independent w/stabilizer bar

Suspension (R) Multi-link independent w/stabilizer bar

Brakes (F&R) Ventilated discs

Tyre size 225/65 R17

Nissan X-Trail 2.5 4WD – 165,800 (OTR with insurance, Pen.M’sia)

Engine 4-cyl, 16v, DOHC, Twin CVTC, direct fuel-injection, 2,488cc