Winning ticket

t’s fair to say that the i8 is feeling a bit smug right now following it being named last month as the TopGear Car of the Year. So what makes it so special? I believe it’s the product of a team freed from the constraints of the normal automotive process. Designed from the ground up to be a hybrid sports car, it simply isn’t hamstrung by what came before.

The engineers were free to optimise a whole new drivetrain and set of algorithms that make the i8 captivating. In reality, while the internal combustion engine has become vastly more efcient, the similarities between a Model T and a Mustang are many and the room for radical thinking is limited. But when you combine FWD e-motors with a lightweight small-capacity turbo engine and weave the magic between them so that it can be silent and electric, hybrid and efcient, or all-out AWD, you create something very special indeed.

I1499cc, 3cyl petrol, RWD, 231bhp, 235lb ft (plus 129bhp e-motor driving the front wheels) 134.5mpg, 49g/km CO2 0–62mph in 4.4secs, 155mph 1560kg £99,845/£105,825 y previous long-termer was an Infniti, a sub-brand of Nissan. So it feels like I’ve gone from home to home, albeit a slightly cheaper one. But, boy, does it feel good to be in something with space – my main criticism of the Q50 was that it was too small for families, despite having a large footprint.

The X-Trail is essentially a pumped-up Qashqai, so still an SUV underneath with 4x4 capabilities. I suspect it will spend most of the time in 2WD until Nissan’s 4x4i mode decides I need it (in snow or when the keys are handed to The Stig). As with all the Garage cars, we try to spec them well, but standard trim is so well packed, it would have been hard not to.

Standard kit on this model includes ABS, lane departure, hill start, intelligent key, automatic tailgate, cameras, HD touchscreen including satnav/DAB, 19in alloys, panoramic sunroof and much more, all in for £28,995. In fact, the only extras are metallic paint (£550) and the seven-seat upgrade (£700), which makes for an OTR price of £30,245, similar to that of chief rival Hyundai Santa Fe.

MI’ve never run an SUV before, so I’m keen to see how much a diference it will make to my life. My initial thought is that it looks sharp – well, at least someone has bothered to style this gen. Inside, it still has the tackiness of the previous model and isn’t very inspiring, but it drives pretty well, has light steering and my initial economy has already beaten my last lifer. On the downside, only the 1.6 diesel engine is available, which lacks any grunt and has no way near enough torque compared with the Santa Fe’s 2.2 diesel engine (minimum of 311lb ft).

But the X-Trail is not pretending to be a sporty 4x4 like, say, the Evoque – what you see is what you get. All in, this car suits me to a T right now: spacious, economical, practical and understated. Here’s to the next six months and seeing if it’s more than just a big Qashqai.

REPORT 3

10,450 Charlie Turner

Is this the future of the

sports car?

£

£ Total mileage 5023 Driver Andy Franklin Why it’s here Is this the logical next step after the Qashqai?