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15/09/2010
By EWAN KENNEDY
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Nissan has toughened up the look of its popular X-Trail by giving it a new frontal look along the theme of the big Nissan Patrol. At the same time the crossover Nissan for 2011 has a wider wheel track to give added stability as well as adding to the hard-edged off-road look.
The front almost has a single-grille look by way of a lower intake slot that visually increases the area of the openings. There's also what Nissan calls its X-Theme for the X-Trail, with larger headlight units and a slightly deeper bumper.
There are also changes to the rear end appearance of the Nissan X-Trail, specifically to the design of the taillights and the over-fender mouldings.
Close to 100,000 Nissan X-Trails have been sold in Australia to date, showing that buyers like the tough look even if they don’t really intend to take their vehicles into real off-road conditions. Not that the X-Trail can't be used in the bush, a good driver can use the X-Trail’s good ground clearance and competent all-wheel drive system to go further off the track than many may appreciate.
The Nissan X-Trail uses a complex 4WD system that offers very good traction through a variety of settings. Most drivers simply leave it in ‘automatic’ as that’s the best for variable surfaces. It can be used on all roads and will happily adapt to bitumen if required. However, Nissan X-Trail doesn't have a transfer case for torque multiplication when climbing or descending steep hills.
On-road, the X-Trail handles reasonably well for its class. It’s no sports machine but will hold onto the road in a stable and predictable fashion.
Inside, the model year 2011 Nissan X-Trail has a revised instrument cluster said to make it easier to read the dials. At the same time the trip computer screen has been enlarged. Bluetooth connectivity has been added and the steering wheel now has four-way adjustment, previously the wheel could only be moved up and down.
A redesign of the seats makes for slightly more legroom in the rear. The X-Trail is already capable of providing space for a family so the added room makes for additional comfort.
There's a lot more to the revamped Nissan X-Trail than simply its appearance; lower fuel consumption was requested from the engineers and they have made quite a few changes. These include out of sight aerodynamic fairings underneath the car that let it slip more easily through the air. The new frontal shape also adds to the aero package.
Mechanically, the X-Trail uses the same petrol and turbo-diesel engines as before, but they have been revised to trim fuel consumption without any penalty by way of reduction in performance. At the same time revisions to the automatic transmissions mean they take less power from the engine, particularly when it's idling.
The best news of all is that prices of most models in the Nissan X-Trail range have been trimmed, with some models costing as much as $1750 lower than previously. The full price list is:
X-TRAIL petrol ST: $31,990 (manual), $34,490 (CVT)
X-TRAIL petrol ST-L: $38,490 (CVT)
X-TRAIL petrol Ti $44,490 (CVT)
X-TRAIL diesel TS: $35,990 (manual), $38,240 (automatic)
X-TRAIL diesel TL $42,990 (manual), $45,240 (automatic)
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