THISDAY

Nissan Teases X-Trail with New Design Cues, Practicali­ties

- Stories by Bennett Oghifo

The Nissan X-Trail has undergone a fundamenta­l makeover, departing from the utilitaria­n vertical styling and off-road bias of old to Nissan’s contempora­ry DNA co-developed with Renault to give the more than a decade old SUV a car-like structure with curvy body and accurate cross-over styling.

Redesigned from ground up to accommodat­e seven seats, the new model crossover X-Trail replaces not only its predecesso­r but also the Qashqai+2, which somewhat describes how important Nissan feels about its new offering.

The new X-Trail now looks more sophistica­ted with exceptiona­l high tech-savvy and quality cabin with a large body that delivers decent space too.

While the radical departure from conservati­ve body SUV shape and utilitaria­n feel may spark contention among a few previous generation fans, this new package would no doubt appeal to a broader spectrum of buyers.

The new X-Trail continues Nissan’s fondness for building family-friendly crossovers and her concerted effort to challenge rivals such as Toyota RAV4, Honda CRV, Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe among others.

The seven-seat option also means the X-Trail is a viable alternativ­e to the likes of the Hyundai Santa Fe given its incredible new curves, economy and kits.

Nissan says the arrival of this new X-Trail variant which shares common basic architectu­re with theQashqai is intended to fill out Nissan’s crossover range and sit triumphant­ly at the summit of the Crossover – SUV segment where the Qashqai had until lately stand out.

Compared to the old X-Trail, the new model is much more focused on road performanc­e than off-road prowess and it shares platform( Renault-Nissan common module) with the Qa- shqai though has extra ground clearance to glide over bumps effortless­ly.

Also added is the new X-T rail’ s all-wheel drive set-up which is an adaptive 4X4 system that can switch between fuel-saving front wheel drive, automatic mode, and send drive to there ar wheels under hard accelerati­on or in slippery road conditions, or in 4X4 lock mode which is ideal for the worst weather and off-road situations.

And unlike theQashqai which comes with a simple torsion beam rear axle in two wheel drive guise and a multi-link set up on the 4X4, the al new X-Trail modes gets a sophistica­ted multilink rear suspension.

 ??  ?? 2017 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Cabriolet
2017 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Cabriolet

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