The third generation Nissan X-Trail, released just four years ago, has become a real driver of growth in the brand’s Russian sales. The car has entered the top ten most popular SUV models in Russia, and now it’s time for an update. Yuzhny Avtomobil took the restyled X-Trail T32 for a test drive.
Over three generations, the X-Trail has sold more than 275,000 units in Russia, 82,000 of which were the third generation. The T32 generation has become radically different from the boxy first- and second-generation X-Trail SUVs. The third generation has become more rounded and even muscular. After the restyling, the T32 acquired a more refined appearance, and the color palette was expanded. The gray, white, and silver colors are now complemented by a stylish orange color scheme inspired by the Murano and GT-R sports car.
Exterior
Visually, the SUV has received minor updates, but these changes have benefited the exterior. The immediately noticeable feature is the wider signature V-shaped grille, which is combined with the new hood design with sharp stamped edges. Incidentally, the logo on the radiator grille is now under glass. And behind the sign, under the glass, is a radar. The Nissan logo under the glass looks impressive. The X-trail has received a new headlight design and new fog lights – instead of round ones, they are now long rectangles with a truncated edge. Depending on the configuration, the headlights can be halogen or LED. Adaptive Bi-LED headlights are available for vehicles equipped with full LED optics, with automatic cornering depending on vehicle speed and steering angle.
The rear lights have also been redesigned, along with the central fog light. The front bumper is almost entirely painted in the body color—there is less black plastic, giving the X-Trail’s exterior a more premium look. Naturally, new wheels are another stylistic touch used by the designers during the restyling. The X-Trail is now available in 17-, 18-, and 19-inch sizes. When viewed from the side, the updated X-Trail can be distinguished from the current version by the different wheel design.
Inside
Changes in the X-Trail interior are also almost minimal, but also immediately noticeable. Firstly, the updated X-Trail received a new steering wheel with a beveled bottom part, but this was done not for sporty purposes, but for the driver’s convenience when getting in. The new three-spoke steering wheel does not block the instrument cluster from the driver’s view. By the way, the cut steering wheel is available for all trim levels of the updated Nissan X-Trail. The steering wheel has new buttons for controlling the display and the cruise control system.
In terms of multimedia, Nissan offers two options to choose from – standard or with Yandex support. The latter comes with an MTS SIM card with unlimited internet for a year, after which you’ll have to pay for it yourself. After a year, you can replace the SIM card with any provider, or you can continue using MTS internet. Nissan says that buyers of the updated X-Trail will receive a special MTS internet rate. You can share Wi-Fi from your phone. However, if you don’t plan to purchase a SIM card in the future, the multimedia system will work, but it won’t update. And, of course, you won’t be able to receive traffic information without internet access. The Yandex radio also includes navigation, internet radio, and the Alice assistant. However, Nissan hasn’t yet been able to integrate Yandex with the standard rearview camera. The standard multimedia system displays images from all four cameras and even shows a bird’s eye view of the car for easy parking.
Passengers now enjoy greater comfort, too; the rear seat is now heated. As before, the seatbacks fold down to increase trunk space, and the armrest can be folded down for transporting long items. Skis, for example, can be transported through the armrest window.
The trunk itself was already quite large, but an additional 15 liters of space was provided by the modified shape of the spare tire well bottom. And if you order the car with a spare wheel, the useful volume increases by another 50 liters. The maximum volume of the luggage compartment with the rear seats folded is 1466 – 1507 liters, depending on the configuration.
Now the trunk can be opened not only with the key or the button on the lid, but with a foot movement, a kind of kick under the rear bumper.
On the move
Still, from behind the wheel of the X-Trail, you can feel its off-road roots, and it drives on the highway not like a passenger car. We got the top-of-the-line version with a 2.5-liter gasoline engine and a power of 171 horsepower for testing. The engines remained the same after the restyling. There is also a two-liter gasoline unit with a power of 144 hp and a 130-horsepower 1.6-liter diesel engine. While the latter is aggregated with a manual transmission, the first two are controlled by the X-tronic CVT. Acceleration on the highway is slow, especially when going uphill.
But overall, if you press the accelerator pedal harder, the Trail drives fine. The X-Trail is good off-road, however. During a test drive, my colleague and I missed the right turn on the exit ramp from the paved road, and the navigator led us along goat paths through the windbreak. Although, again, you need to get used to the CVT; steep climbs off-road require driving. For example, on one section of our off-road route, I couldn’t climb the hill without straining, so I had to accelerate up it.
I almost forgot to mention the intelligent safety systems, which were not available in the predecessors. Thus, the intelligent front-end braking system (FEB) helps the driver avoid a collision. Its radar, incidentally, is hidden under the glass on the radiator grille, as mentioned above.
Although, despite the radar, the updated X-Trail lacks adaptive cruise control, even in the most expensive versions. For the first time, the Reverse Traffic Alert (RCTA) system is offered, which reduces the risk of collision when reversing out of a parking space. If the driver attempts to reverse while the system detects another vehicle moving crossways, a visual and audible warning is issued.
Prices
Nissan claims that, compared to the pre-facelift version, the updated X-Trail has increased in price by only 35,000 rubles. Prices for the new model range from 1.5 to 2.2 million rubles. So far, based on last month’s sales results, the pre-facelift X-Trail has become a growth driver for the Nissan brand and a bestseller. Perhaps, until the new Qashqai appears on the domestic market, the updated Trail will manage to maintain its leadership and find its buyer. Although, in my opinion, the X-Trail is still more suitable for those who live in the countryside or like to go to the dacha, rather than for city dwellers.
So, dealers will ask 1,574,000 rubles for the base X-Trail, while the top-of-the-line car will cost 2,234,000 rubles. Like many brands, Nissan offers its customers a trade-in discount of 30,000 rubles. The maximum discount of 170,000 rubles can be received by trading in your Nissan for a top-of-the-line X-Trail through the trade-in program. The car has been assembled since October at a plant in St. Petersburg and will soon appear in the showrooms of official dealers.
