After a long time, we will take a look at the SUV from Nissan again. Let's leave the fashionable and thoroughly tested Juke aside this time and look at the third generation of the larger X-Trail model with a diesel sixteen -cylinder and all-wheel drive in the highest Tekna equipment.
Appearance
It's unbelievable that the third generation of the Nissan X-Trail is already in production. You will certainly remember the first model or maybe even the second , which were very original. They were easy to remember because of their angularity. I have to admit that I liked their simple shape and style, although I never managed to try driving them. The third generation certainly doesn't look bad at first glance, but the departure from previous generations bothers me a bit. The angular shape was easily identifiable, while now the X-Trail can easily be confused with anything. At least the front end, inspired by other automakers' SUVs, looks really good. For example, those hood moldings that you keep seeing in the windshield, those look good. He's just handsome . But overall, the X-Trail has grown considerably, perhaps too much for my taste. But many people need a big car.
Interior
The interior is a bit of a shock at first. I expect more effective shapes and high-quality materials, as I am used to in Japanese cars. But in the Nissan, at first, I feel like I'm in an American car. The plastics are softened , but with a typical pattern of the last decade. There are also a lot of matte silver elements and the leather was not spared either. It actually makes sense together. And it reminded me a lot of the 350Z sports type in terms of materials and smell. The only thing that looks like an eyesore here is a kind of pseudo-carbon decor . Although it's modern today, you probably don't really need it in an SUV. Otherwise, except for the occasional crease or bump on larger bumps, I have nothing to complain about the interior. But perhaps this is due to less stiffness due to the large sunroof.
In the test, we have " full fire " available with all extras. You simply can't think of more. There is leather , heated seats, an on- board computer with the same graphics as Infiniti cars, or a glass roof with an opening front half. It's just a pity that it can only be driven at lower speeds, i.e. up to 60 km/h, then an unbearable noise occurs. The multifunctional leather steering wheel is also perfect. The controls on it don't look very nice, but the crown holds up well. In addition, it is of course fully adjustable. Perhaps one could argue about the tastefulness of the silver plastic parts, but ergonomically it is great, fits exactly in the hand and does not have the senseless modern flattening at the bottom. You will always find a comfortable position on the driver's seat. And the leather seats are nice and comfortable, just maybe the seat could have been a few centimeters longer. Their electric adjustment and heating is a matter of course. The good thing is that if you switch the heating to the LOW position, it heats really weakly, so you can drive a very long distance without turning it off. And keyless access , push-button start and the Start-Stop system cannot be missing in such equipment.
The space in the back is quite comfortable, the rear seats are also sliding . However, you will also find the third row of seats in the trunk, which is, however, only for legless people if the rear bench is in the back. And if you move the rear seats forward, no one will fit in them, but not even in the unfolded third row. Perhaps only very young children, but even they will complain about the small legroom. The sixth and seventh seats thus give the impression that they are in the car just to be there. And when unfolded, they take up practically the entire volume of the trunk, which shrinks to just 135 liters. But if you leave the seats under the floor, the volume of the trunk is large enough. And you also don't have to bother with opening, the electric motors take care of that for you. Just the warning beep at the beginning gets on my nerves.
Drive
During the entire testing, I could not get rid of the impression that the car is huge , almost unnecessarily so. Understandably, you will feel it most in the city, I specifically in Prague. Looking for a place to park in Dejvice is like maneuvering an oil tanker on Čertovce. Thank God that there is a sophisticated camera system in the highest equipment, which I already know from the Infiniti Q50 car. In addition to the mandatory rear camera, you will also find a lens in the front in the badge and on the underside of both mirrors. The image will automatically start when you reverse, but it can also be turned on manually when driving slowly. Thanks to this, you can squeeze into a space only a few centimeters larger than this SUV. And thanks to the overpowered steering , even a small girl can slip into a small parking space. But the city is simply not a suitable territory for the X-Trail, the smaller Qashqai should be more successful here. Another thing that is not pleasant in the city is the sometimes confusing start-stop system. It just doesn't always work 100% on diesel engines, not only for Nissan, but also for other car manufacturers. And then the modern handbrake on the trigger, that doesn't make us old-timers happy either. A button simply cannot beat a classic lever.
If you're asking about the X-Trail's biggest weakness , it's its excessive hardness . I never imagined that I would read it to a car, because I myself " destroyed " my old hatchback by turning it into a skeleton, but at races, even insignificant ones, such a thing is justified. But this is a large SUV with a soothing interior and leather seats, you don't want precise cornering and keeping the chosen track. If you're sitting high on a soft seat, you just don't want to jump on every channel. And then there's the second problem, which is that the X-Trail plays off-road . On the center panel you will find a rotary switch that switches between 2WD and 4WD modes. And you can also lock the quad bike, but it automatically disconnects when the speed exceeds 50 km/h. So this Japanese has some off-road ambitions, so there is no reason to block them with hard chassis settings. But if you happen to hit the mud, you'll appreciate the lockable 50:50 all-wheel drive. This is the last time I had fun behind the wheel of the second generation Toyota RAV4, which was still a permanent four-wheeler. What you will appreciate in the field is again the presence of four cameras. Thanks to this, you won't have to worry so much about big and expensive wheels or a chrome decoration at the bottom of the bumper, because the risk of missing a stump or a stone is eliminated. However, the parking sensors will also warn you, and if you miss obstacles by millimeters, they will soon make you turn them off.
Another thing that bothered me was the incredibly lazy feeling of the engine. Although you can see values of 96 kW and 320 Nm in the tables, in reality downshifting or pressing the gas pedal to the floor will not do much to the car. The car reacts flexibly up to a speed of 80 km/h, then get ready to worry, for example, when overtaking. In a large SUV, this will simply surprise you. Here, however, the disadvantage is amply compensated by low consumption . And when I mean low, be prepared that the local pumper won't like you. You won't be visiting it very often, even though you will drive a fair amount of kilometers with the car. You can travel up to 900 kilometers on one tank at a leisurely (but not quite snail's) pace. Of course, if you start to trouble the car more, the consumption will increase, but as we have already explained, it is not worth it with the X-Trail anyway. At a normal pace, the car consumes exactly 5 liters on the highway, 7.2 liters in the city, and after a whole week it showed us an average of 5.4 liters per 100 kilometers. This is a really nice result for such a large car.
Conclusion
The car is really very big , I wouldn't even use a lot of space inside and always drive air. But otherwise I quite liked him. I still don't like the look, the interior also didn't feel at home after a week, but as a transporter from point A to B it worked very well. And that consumption really made me happy. Overall, the new generation X-Trail can definitely be recommended if you at least occasionally use the large interior space and off-road capabilities.
Basic price (1.6 dCi 4×2 Visia) 643,900 CZK
Basic price (1.6 dCi 4×2 Visia) 643,900 CZK
The price of the tested model is CZK 968,900
Compare the parameters of the Nissan X-Trail with the competition
Photo: rajdlstudio.com
