For the casual motoring enthusiast, a Nissan X-Trail isn’t a car, it’s more of a beast! Most Nissan drivers will compare it with the previous Nissan Qashqai model, but the main draw for this kind of vehicle is the practicality. It’s got 7 seats, which is handy if you need to carry a bunch of kids from football practice! The cabin is similar to the Qashqai, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s got some smart design, and it’s got some great equipment that’s top of the range. If you’re after a comfortable drive, this is a really good place to start.
The safety levels of the X-trail are X-ellent (sorry), and the things like fuel economy are a great benefit to your wallet, and the limited edition range in 2016 has a gutsy 2.0-litre engine which makes up for the previous model’s lack of zest! For such a big vehicle it’s great for towing and carrying big loads, and if you get caught up in a crash it’s not you that’s going to walk away with a case of whiplash! For any car that’s caught up in an accident, it’s going to cost you big because it’s a big car. So for any X-Trail that’s caught up, it can lose its value. Making a case for a diminished value is a big task for these bigger cars, but there are firms like Hansen Price who can help out. The overall feeling about this is that it’s a family car, and so as a roadster that is meant to inspire some sense of speed and adventure it can fall a little short of the mark. The issue with the old X-Trails is that they were never built for off-roading and you often needed an off-road jack, and the body shape made for a quite boxy and square feeling to the car, which didn’t lend itself well to the rigors of driving through a desert. But the newer model is far curvier and a lot more upmarket than the models of old. So if you’re looking for a piece of raw power, it will certainly deliver some of the goods. The new Renault-sourced 2.0-litre diesel engine produces a bhp of 174 and the Nm is 380 and can get to 62 mph in 9.4 seconds, which is fine when it’s just you, but the weight of 7 passengers can make this a bit of a sluggish ride.
The big draw for the newer X-Trail models, like the X-Scape, is that they come with a drone. A great addition to the boys with toys brigade, but do we all need a drone with our car? I think some of us would make the most of it. For the uninitiated, a drone is like a little flying plane that you can control via remote. It comes with a camera, and the idea of it is to capture a bit more of your exciting journeys in the X-Trail. The model comes with the new limited edition X-Scape as standard, but you can get one for a bit more cost on your basic models too. The drone comes with a remote control and a headset, but it can be operated autonomously and is able to follow the GPS signal on your phone using an app.
As a car for adventure, the X-Trail has been pushed by Nissan as a bigger and better Qashqai, and whether it is or not is up to you! But I’ll tell you this, having a drone on board makes for a lot more dynamic action shots on your Facebook page. Everyone has been getting into drones recently, but there hasn’t been a good one in the market to capture some great car shots. While this drone model is a Parrot Bebop 2 (which is very lightweight and basic compared to some of the others out there) which has a flight time of around 25 minutes, the camera is 14 megapixels, which will give you plenty of clarity when you’re going through the footage at home.
The X-Trail is definitely X-Citing, and as an SUV built for some off-road adventures, it is a decent little monster, but will you be driving around in the desert when you have more kids than you have wheels? We’ll see! But getting a car for the purposes of having a drone? Well, it may tempt some of you, but I’m not sure I’ll be getting it in a hurry. The SUVs are built for sturdiness, and this is definitely sturdy!