This car is a Crossover Sports Utility Vehicle. The current model, 2008 model year onwards, has an option for a third row of seats. The new Xtrail is more stylish has alot to offer, from good space on the boot to carry some much more stuff from the village or from the shopping mall. It has an acceptable front legroom and an above average second row of seats save for the small headroom. The third row of seats is cramped. It has some good safety features, mostly derived from the all new Renault-Nissan Vehicle architecture which supports advanced systems around.
Upon arrival of the seven seater Xtrail, Nissan discontinued the production of the Qashqai+2, actually the new Xtrail and the current Qashqai models share a common basic architecture in a platform known as the Renault-Nissan Common Module Family.
Front wheel-drive is standard but those who opt for the diesel engine have an option for the 4WD that comes in any of these four trims; Visia, Acenta, n-tec and Tekna. Initially, the Xtrail had a 2.0 litre powerplant but newer models have a 2.0 litre dCi turbodiesel producing 171hp for the manual transmission and 148hp for the six speed auto. The 2014 Xtrail has a 1.6 litre dCi turbo diesel that produces 128hp and 320NM of torque. A 1.6 litre turbocharged petrol engine has also been added to the range in 2015.
The diesel Xtrail also has either auto or manual transmission. Older models had a five speed manual but the 2007 model onwards have a six speed manual gear box. Older models had a 4-speed auto but newer ones have a 6-speed present speeds in a system known as Xtronic CVT.
This car handles pretty well on the road for its class but don't be over-ambitious as this is no sports car, it was actually designed with the family in mind. It features the Active Trace Control,initially found in the Infiniti M, a driving aid that applys the brakes to individual wheels when cornering for better stability. It also has cruise-control, air-conditioning and bluetooth phone connectivity as standard; alloy wheels, six airbags, LED daytime running lights and hill assist among other smart features.
On safety, it scored the full five stars in its Euro NCAP crash tests.
