With its new X-Trail, Nissan continues the course of the elegant instead of boyish appearance. However, the Japanese car manufacturer does not do without all-wheel drive, nor does it do without innovative drives. The X-Trail is also richly equipped and very spacious.
When you bring a new vehicle onto the market these days, you can hardly be conventional as a car manufacturer. In this case, conventional means: petrol or diesel units without electrical components. Combustion engines are not intended for the new Nissan X-Trail under any circumstances, but petrol engines are. However, the basic version with a 1.5-liter three-cylinder and 120 kW/163 hp does not come without a 3.6 kW/5 hp electric motor. At 35,500 euros, it is the cheapest way to order the new X-Trail, including a continuously variable automatic transmission.
The "e-Power" variant ranks above this with prices starting at 37,000 euros. This serial hybrid, whose petrol engine is really only responsible for the production of electricity and does not drive it - that's what the 150 kW/204 hp electric motor does - has an average WLTP consumption of a maximum of 6.2 liters per 100 kilometers in the data sheet. The pure gasoline engine approved in the same discipline up to 7.6 liters.
But Nissan relies on all-wheel drive for the first few trips and has only brought the so-called "e-4orce" with it. A typical name from the pool of ideas in a marketing department, but one that is at least memorable given the way it is spelled. And behind this is the fact that there are two electric motors - one for the front (150 kW/204 hp) and one for the rear axle (100 kW/136 hp). The result is a system output of 157 kW/217 hp.
Inside, Nissan has cleaned up a lot; instead of wildly scattered switches, there is now something like a subtle order. It's the order of accurately placed knobs and pushbuttons on a sleek piano finish. Of course, there's also a fairly large, responsive touchscreen (12.3 inches maximum) - but it's really a blessing not to have to fiddle around in the menu or on the display surface while driving to activate the heated seats or adjust the temperature.
Otherwise, the new 4.68 meter long X-Trail is spacious. Above all, thanks to the mechanically completely independent axles, the all-wheel drive does not require a space-consuming cardan tunnel, which should please the passengers in the rear - especially if, in a rare case, a third person is traveling with you.
But our favorite place is now front left. The driver's gaze inevitably falls on the instrument cluster, which consists entirely of a display surface and on which the battery can also be seen as a graphic. That's right, the hybrid houses a 2.1 kWh buffer storage, which of course cannot be charged externally. There is no change gear, the X-Trail e-Power is ultimately driven electrically.
The petrol engine does not run consistently, but sometimes raises its voice under full load when a lot of electricity has to be produced for the electric drive. However, this is not nearly as pronounced as in drives with continuously variable transmissions, for example, because the speed does not have to be as high here under full load. The petrol engine with three inconspicuous pots and variable compression plus turbocharging achieves its peak output of 116 kW/158 hp at just 4600 rpm.
In practice, the e-power variant reacts spontaneously to accelerator pedal commands - not a trace of starting weakness at all. She pulls through every situation in life, which gives her a pleasant sovereignty. The acceleration values show that the all-wheel drive vehicle could even be of interest to people who don’t just drive on gravel or forest roads: The 4x4, which performs poorly in terms of power-to-weight ratio, accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h a smooth second faster in seven seconds - a clear indicator that the front-wheel drive version struggles a lot more for traction. If you want the ultimate electric car driving experience, you can activate the "E-Pedal". Then the X-Trail recuperates so much that you only need the brake pedal for emergencies.
Anyone who looks at the X-Trail will look at the practicality. Here, the Japanese even scores with a third row of seats for a moderate 800 euros extra. Just why not for the e-power with front-wheel drive? And the maximum luggage compartment volume could take a liter or two more than the 1396 liters. A small consolation may be that the rear doors open almost at right angles, so that you can get in quite comfortably even with bags.
At the end of the day, the X-Trail is also a bit of a lifestyler, where form comes before function. The implied underride protection let a hint of trekking character resonate.
Nissan is no slouch when it comes to safety equipment, which has all the usual delicacies available today - and that as standard. The base has adaptive cruise control, which allows the car to swim with the flow of traffic and brakes to a standstill if the vehicle in front does the same. In addition, various scenarios of autonomous emergency braking, cross-traffic warning and blind spot assistant are a matter of course.
But watch out, infotainment fans! A smartphone integration, with the help of which the usual interface of the personal device (via Apple CarPlay or Android Auto) can be transferred to the vehicle monitor and also operated, is only available from "Acenta" - makes almost 4000 euros extra. However, the automatically dimming interior mirror, parking beeper, reversing camera and keyless locking system will also be on board.
The top variants (up to 55,730 euros) with a head-up display, LED matrix headlights, panoramic glass roof and electrically adjustable seats are almost luxurious. A sliding rear seat bench is also part of the game. Someone should say that the X-Trail is not practical enough.
Technical specifications
Front wheel drive hybrid
Hybrid with all-wheel drive
