Nissan X-Trail Aventura eXplorer eXtreme - What’s in a name? Well, an awful lot and if you take the name of this Nissan X-TRAIL that caused a sensation at last years Geneva Motorshow, images of boldness, brazenness and outright toughness spring to mind.
Not just the X-TRAIL, but add on ADVENTURA eXplorer and eXtreme, immediately you are assured that this car will conquer any terrain it is given with utter ease. Believe me, it does.
This X-TRAIL is the ultimate of SUV’s boasting outstanding off road capabilities coupled with practicality to suit every sport every family
Not for the light hearted this all new X-TRAIL may not look too different from its outgoing model, but under her façade is a whole new chassis and body, more powerful engines that provide better performance therefore economy, superior equipment plus an awful lot more interior space.
This X-TRAIL is the ultimate of SUV’s boasting outstanding off road capabilities coupled with practicality to suit every sport every family just happens to be involved in. She looks fabulous with the 17-inch alloy wheels cementing her presence, chrome door handles, colour coded electrically adjustable folding and heated door mirrors, her attractiveness, while eXtreme roof rails with integrated lamps, her practical side.
Three grades are of offer, TREK, SPORT and AVENTURA to four engines, three of which are brand new to the X-TRAIL. My test car for the week had the new 2.0 litre diesel 173 PS that took a respectable 10 seconds to accelerate to 62 mph, claims a top speed of 124 mph yet fuel consumption a penny saving 38.2 mpg. CO2 emissions are not to be knocked coming in at 198g/km but beware the insurance group – 34E.
The new X-TRAIL is slightly larger than before so quite a heavy car to drive. Yet she seemed so nimble to drive racing through the six speed manual gearbox and the steering was superb being light and responsive for those treacherous parking bays then tightening up on the motorways. Initially I was driving around finding the most deserted part of the car park, but in fact, manoeuvring the X-TRAIL, despite her dimensions, was much easier that you would have thought.
The AVENTURA eXplorer eXtreme comes with every conceivable toy imaginable to aid and abet the driver. The extra pack over the normal AVENTURA includes a DVD satellite navigation system, rear parking camera, which the kids love, and Xenon headlamps that I love driving through the country lanes where I live at night. The panoramic sunroof keeps the children amused for hours as well as creating a bright spacious interior enhanced by the light tan leather upholstery. Settling into the electrically adjustable heated drivers seat, I then adjusted the steering wheel to suit whist familiarising myself with all the remote controls on the leather wheel from audio to cruise controls to Bluetooth phone integration. Whist waiting for the climate controlled air conditioning to kick in; I selected my six favourite CD’s and placed them in the auto-changer.
Then I was ready to exploit the attributes of the car and she did not let me down. I even managed to sneak onto an off road course to sound out her ALL MODE 4x4-i system that incorporates ESP, Uphill Start Support (USS) and Downhill Drive Support (DDS). USS is a fully automatic system that activates on any slope exceeding a 10% incline and holds the vehicle on the brakes until you want to move away. It evens works when reversing up an incline. DDS on the other hand uses the ABS to maintain a descent speed of 5 mph enabling you, the driver to concentrate on the steering. Like USS, DDS also works in reverse so those who two boats to the water will be accommodated for in this X-TRAIL. The all mode system is not just for off roading however. It ensures the performance on road is stable, safe and secure by sending power to the wheels that have grip so if any under or over steering occurs, the X-TRAIL will remain stable on the road. The result is you are compelled to chuck her in and out of bends knowing she will stay glued to the tarmac. Now that is what I call an enjoyable drive.
But then in fairness I did have driver, passenger front and side curtain airbags to give me reassurance if I went too far off piste whilst the front fog lights, auto headlamps plus rain sensing wipers where there if needed.
What I really liked about the X-TRAIL AVENTURA eXtreme eXplorer was her practical nature. As well as a ski hatch, she came with so many well thought out handy extras. For instance the carpet in the boot has been binned in favour of a hard plastic that is so much easier to clean. She gains more space here that has been put to good use. There is an innovative double deck trunk with space for a sliding drawer under the floor where valuable items can be stored away from would be thieves jealous eyes. The drawer comes with partition walls that can be moved around thereby adjusting to the size of each object or removed completely for larger items. Of course by simply folding down the rear seats, the luggage area extends to a whopping 1649 litres of space or 1773 litres if you remove the double floor section.
This Nissan X-TRAIL really proved to be the queen amongst the SUV’s and despite her dimensions that conjure up a gas-guzzler anti social driving machine, I did not feel one ounce of guilt driving her around. She does exactly what she says as her name implies, is eco friendly and perfect for outgoing adventurous families. So what price would these dynamic families pay? £27,468 for this model that includes the optional metallic paint. Look at all the equipment as standard then look at the current prices of boats or horseboxes. She is worth every penny.
FemaleFirst - Jackie Violet