THE EVERYMAN SUV
The versatile X-Trail excels at the duller virtues
The Nissan X-Trail is the world’s bestselling SUV, so it’s hard to argue with the preferences of the entire planet. Clearly, Nissan’s mid-sizer strikes a chord with buyers. As a used buy, its appeal is in spaciousness, inoffensive styling, competent on-road manners and choice of petrol and diesel engines.
Plenty of grades mean you can secure a cheap, basic one or rather luxe feature-packed example, depending on budget.
All-wheel drive versions with decent 210mm ground clearance can handle rough stuff and there are five and seven-seater layouts — in the latter, the rear row is strictly kids-only.
Fold the seats flat and you’re greeted with a cavernous boot.
Negatives? Well, a model this versatile means it’s quite good at most things without really excelling at anything.
X-Trails aren’t particularly quick or fun to drive, the technology and infotainment are behind many rivals and cabins, although practical with multiple seating and storage arrangements, are pretty bland.
Even so, many owners are blissfully happy with their X-Trails and keep buying new ones. Reliability problems with the current model – the T32 introduced in 2014 – are not unknown, so used shoppers need to take care. Most dramas involve the continuously variable transmission — fitted to the vast majority of Australian X-Trails — and airconditioning that doesn’t blow cold or fails altogether.
Service intervals are annual or 10,000km — today’s industry standard is 15,000km — and its new car warranty lags many rivals too.
X-Trails sold before April 1, 2019, came with three-year/100,000km coverage. When these T32 X-Trails launched, rival Hyundai gave five years of coverage and Kia seven years. For used prospects, some factory warranty remaining is great insurance.
When shopping, narrow your search precisely to your requirements or you’ll get a headache sorting the grades, seating capacity, fuel type, transmission and driven wheels.
Most weren’t bought for trail hunting so the vast majority are front-wheel drive, petrol CVTs. Diesels are rare but worth hunting down for stronger torque, thriftier fuel economy for long-distance touring and up to 2000kg towing capacity (petrol version limits are 1500kg1650kg).
Grades with seven seats are the 2WD ST or 2WD ST-L — confusingly, there are also fiveseat versions of these, so count the rows of seats.
Of the two petrol engines, 2.0 and 2.5-litre, neither is a firecracker but the latter adds a bit more shove.
The base ST petrol and TS diesel came with alloy wheels, Bluetooth, USB port, five-inch colour monitor, cruise control, rear camera (don’t expect high resolution), push-button start and auto headlights.
Find an ST-L and you add leather trim with power heated front seats, satnav, seven-inch monitor, dual zone climate control and 360degree monitor.
Range-topping Ti petrol and TL diesel grades got LED headlights, sunroof, auto wipers, lane departure warning and blind spot warning. The Ti’s power tailgate opened with the swipe of a foot under the bumper.
Look out for N-Sport special editions with sportier alloys and black or silver finishes for the bumpers, grille and side skirts.
More desirable are Series II examples from May 2017. For starters, all will have some factory warranty remaining if they’ve not travelled 100,000km.
A punchier 2.0-litre diesel replaced the weedier 1.6-litre, body styling was edgier and sportier and autonomous emergency braking was standard. The interior was slightly modernised but still featured ancient-feeling infotainment with no Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.
The Ti had desirable radar cruise control and lane departure intervention. In common with the TL, it got impressive Bose audio, heated outer rear seats and heated steering wheel.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
A full service history is a must — ensure the seller has stayed on top of the 10,000km servicing. Lots of X-Trail owners have grumbled about out-of-date satnav (where fitted) — if it’s been dealer serviced, updates should have been done.
Practically all for sale have a CVT, which can take some getting used to. They’re as easy to use as a conventional automatic but can be whiny and, when accelerating, can feel like the engine is permanently over-revving.
Such transmissions do nothing to enhance the drive experience but they usually behave smoothly and efficiently around town and on the highway.
These Nissan CVTs have been problematic. Some owners have had theirs replaced due to failure while others complain of strong vibrations, especially at low revs.
Go on a long test drive over a variety of road surfaces. Vibrations or jerkiness these are your red flags. If engaging gear (drive to reverse) takes a long time or if there’s lazy power delivery or undue dropping in revs or power, this isn’t the Nissan for you.
Test the keyless entry, airconditioning, Bluetooth and infotainment as all have come in for criticism from owners.
Most use a footbrake rather than handbrake so check you can tolerate it and, if it’s a sevenseater, ensure the potential occupants can fit. The third row is a tight squeeze indeed.
AWD versions have a rotary dial to switch between front-drive, Auto and Lock. The latter operates up to 40km/h and is the only time there’s permanent power to the four wheels.
Either way, check the vehicle for serious bush-bashing. Dents and large scrapes underneath show it’s led a tougher life than the more common urban dwelling X-Trails.
IAIN SAYS
X-Trails are solid, easy to drive and spacious allrounders but many rivals have higher specification, longer warranty and superior drive experience. The everyman versatility and ride comfort help its cause but CVT troubles could mean a risky purchase once the threeyear warranty has expired.
OWNER SAYS TIM COYLE:
We love our all-wheel drive X-Trail as it will go anywhere and is brilliant in the soft sand. Its soft ride on corrugated roads is good. No real problems except an airbag controller died. However two of my children also have AWD versions and their CVTs both needed replacing.