By MURRAY HUBBARD

At the latest count there's 21 contenders in the compact SUV segment making it a hot spot for manufacturers and buyers.

Not bad for a market segment that was non existent less than 20 years ago.

Toyota popularised the compact SUV trend with the RAV 4, but the reality is Subaru started the ball rolling with its all wheel drive wagon two decades earlier.

In 1972 Subaru had an all wheel drive compact wagon in Japan and followed in 1975 by an all wheel drive wagon in Australia.

Those who were steering all wheel drive wagons in the 1970s were pioneers, even though they may not have known it.

Fast forward to 2009 and the segment is booming which is why most makers have a compact SUV in the stable.

After a week in Nissan's X-Trail it's easy to see why.

Our test car was the TL variant powered by a 2.0 litre diesel and hooked up to a slick six speed auto transmission.

The bottom line is practicality, economy and style: a trifecta that meets the needs of most of us.

Nissan introduced the diesel option mid way though 2008 after the company shared development of the X-Trail with partner Renault who also wanted to join the compact SUV party.

Renault's offspring is the Koleos.

The diesel engine is sourced from Renault and broke with the X-Trail tradition of having a 2.5 litre petrol-powered vehicle.

Of the volume sellers in this segment: RAV 4, Subaru Forester and Hyundai Tucson, only the X-Trail offers an oil burner.

Big point of difference from the opposition.

It also brings the X-Trail into line with siblings Patrol and Pathfinder that also offer diesel variants.

Expect to get economy around 10.5 litres/100 kms around town and mid sixes on the open road, but this depends on driving style. Combined you should get around 8.0 litres/100 kms, which is excellent within this segment.

If you opt for the manual transmission variant expect to drop you fuel bill even further with a combined return of around 7.5 litres/100kms.

We drove a manual diesel Koleos some weeks ago and from the point of every day living, the auto is worth the extra outlay and slight increase in fuel bill.

The diesel auto and manual differ slightly with the manual getting a more spirited variant of the 2.0 litre engine which puts out 127 kW of power and a massive 360 Nm of torque at 2000 rpm.

The auto variant puts out 110 kW and 320 Nm at 2000 rpm.

About the biggest difference between the pair is towing capability.

The manual can tow a braked trailer up to 2000kg, the same as the petrol counterparts, while the auto diesel is rated at 1350 kg.

To test the diesel's ability on hills we took it up the Panorama, a notorious Gold Coast Hinterland hill, and the X-Trail took it in its stride.

Coming down we used the manual shifter and it held the revs back in third gear allowing us to cruise to the base without touching the anchors.

For steep off-road hills the X-Trail is fitted with Hill Descent Control.

The X-Trail exhibits some nose dipping into corners and a small degree of understeer in tight cornering.

While considered a `soft-roader' which is a term given to all wheel drive SUVs that don't have a low range transmission, or the extra clearance needed for serious off-roading, the X-Trail is among the more capable in this segment with good entry, exit and ramp-over angles.

A switch in the centre console allows the driver to choose 2WD, auto or lock all four wheels in 4WD.

It's not a go-anywhere 4WD, but will tackle gravel roads and medium fire trails and sand without too many hiccups.

The reality is compact SUVs are suburban shopping trolleys, just like the station wagons of old.

The X-Trail is easy to park, has good all-round vision from the elevated seating position, and has a massive boot capacity, a necessity for a family wagon.

With the rear seats in place there's 603 litres on tap, or 479 on the lower deck only, while with the rear seats folded it expands out to a cavernous 1773 litres.

Both the entry level TS and the TL variant come well equipped with front, side and curtain airbags, stability control, ABS brakes, seat-belt pre-tensioners, and Hill Start.

Also standard are 17 inch alloy wheels, power windows and mirrors, air conditioning, cruise control, six stack CD player, front fog lights and chrome door handles.

The TL gets in addition power adjust front leather seats, climate control and sunroof.

We also liked the user-friendly audio and cruise control switches on the steering wheel, similar to those found on the more expensive Murano.

(NOTE: There is a second opinion on this vehicle on this site, written by Ewan Kennedy)

PRICING:

X-Trail Petrol

2.5 litre ST $32,490

2.5litre ST-L $36,490

2.5litre Ti $39,490

X-Trail diesel

2.0 litre TS $36,990

2.0 litre TL $39,990