2024 Nissan X-Trail Test Drive Review

After being a single car company for more than 3 years now, Nissan is in dire need to revive and this time its looks they may have a solid plan on hand. In late 2022, Nissan had showcased the X-Trail, Qashqai, Juke and were evaluating whether they could be launched in our country. I highly doubted it at that point as it seemed like an exercise to calm down dealer partners but Nissan has worked out the nitty-gritties and the X-Trail will be the first model to roll out. However, this is part of the CBU business and hence there are a limited 150 units on offer. This is purely for brand building purpose and Nissan knows this rather well & don’t have very high expectations, besides CBU pricing won’t be doing them any favours either.

The X-Trail is in its fourth generation currently and is made in Japan, hence focus is more on functionality than snazzy features. The design is typically Japanese with a bold and butch stance which is accentuated by 20-inch alloy wheels and black cladding all around. You get LED projector headlamps, the Nissan family grille but the tail lights still get halogen bulbs. Other features include a wireless phone charger, an electronic parking brake and also an auto hold function. The interiors are well laid out, quality levels are as per Japanese standards, which are fantastic so to speak. The steering feels good to hold and attention to detail is top notch. However, there are many sore points too. The seats don’t get leather treatment, the fabric is bound to get dirty with time and customers will be forced to opt for aftermarket seat covers. However, the front seats are extremely comfortable, offer good back support, head room and shoulder room.

Surprisingly no ventilated seats, which is more or less a standard feature in the segment these days. No electric seat adjustment offered too. The second row is roomy provided you have pushed the seats all the way back (second row has sliding seats), but this comes at the cost of legroom in the last row, in case it is occupied. The rear doors open up to 85 degrees which makes ingress and egress quite easy. In my opinion, Nissan should have just opted for the five seater variant as space is a huge crunch for the last row. Forget adults, even kids will be a tight fit here with poor legroom and under thigh support. Even back support here is limited as the seat height is quite small. Boot space is a healthy 585 litres, provided the last row is folded; but the boot lid opening-closing function offered here is manual and not automatically operated like most of its rivals. You don’t get a spare wheel and instead a puncture repair kit is provided. Standard features like a panoramic sunroof are offered but surprisingly Nissan has skipped out on ADAS.

On paper, the 1.5 litre three cylinder turbo petrol does not sound like it will hold too much water. You wonder: a three cylinder in this segment without a strong hybrid? Get behind the wheel and your perception will change. This three pot motor uses a Variable Compression Turbo (VCT), a first in the world, this turbo does the magic and delivers some amazing performance. The X-Trail delivers 163 PS and 300 N-m through a front wheel drive (FWD) format, with power delivery being linear and brisk. This engine will do the 0 to 100 km/h dash in 9.6 seconds which is quite commendable for a vehicle this size. Mated to this engine is the third generation X-Tronic (CVT) transmission which surprisingly has been tuned so beautifully that there is barely any rubber band feel to it and shifts are almost at par with a torque converter. Under low load (high compression) the VC continuously adjusts valve timings to realise better fuel efficiency while delivering good power on demand when you floor the pedal (low compression).

In short you get best of both worlds, good fuel economy when you drive with a light foot and enough grunt on tap when you are in a hurry. There are three Drive modes on offer: Eco, Standard & Sport; the engine behaves subtly or aggressively based on the mode you are using. We were driving with the pedal to the metal and managed around 10 km/l. In real world driving conditions one can expect around 11.5-12 km/l which is great by segment standards. Additionally, Nissan has also equipped the X-Trail with a Mild Hybrid System which will give you an additional 6 N-m of torque boost enabling you to crawl in traffic without having to use the engine. On the safety front you get the regular features like ABS, EBD, Hill Start Assist, Traction Control, all four disc brakes and seven airbags. Uniquely the seventh airbag being between the front passengers in the central armrest.

Steering feel is average, just like any other Japanese car, however high speed stability is fabulous. This is majorly owning to the 255/45 section Michelin tyres which sit on 20-inch diamond cut alloy wheels offering great grip levels. Even though there is significant amount of body roll the car holds on to high speeds with ease. Ride is tuned on the stiffer side but our drive on the Delhi-Mumbai expressway was comfortable as we didn’t really encounter any bad patches of road. Nissan has also equipped this car with a limited slip differential on the rear axle to aid in minor off-roading scenarios. Braking performance is predictable with disc brakes all around. 210 mm of ground clearance is adequate and turning radius measures 5.5 meters, acceptable for a car of this size.

Nissan’s brand image in India has taken a big hit with launch and demise of the Datsun brand and launching the CBU business with the X-Trail is just a means of showcasing the company’s prowess. Nissan has had some amazing models (GT-R Nismo being one) and are capable of making great cars. They seem to have found some of the lost footing back and will be launching 3 new models in the next 18 months – a five seater SUV, a seven seater SUV and an affordable EV SUV (Punch EV segment). The X-Trail is just a brand building exercise for Nissan and we don’t expect it to do too well considering the limited units it has imported. Pricing will be in the range of 40-45 lakhs, which is too high as it is a CBU. There are three colours on offer – black, white and silver. This is the last dash from Nissan to create an impression, it will be really interesting is to see how the future products shape up and create the impact in our competitive and price sensitive market.