This is the SUV for tough terrain

NISSAN has been very active recently with facelifts or new versions of their entire range of cars available in this part of the world. Over the past twelve months we have seen new versions of the Leaf, Micra, Note, Qashqai, X-Trail and Juke plus a newcomer to the Japanese company’s ranks in the Pulsar.

Last week I drove the new version of the X-Trail, which is cheaper than the previous model and at first glance it looks much chunkier than the model it replaces.
This is the third version of the X-Trail, which was first introduced in 2001. Now what you get for your money is a huge, seven-seater. I didn’t have any reason to use the third row of seats last week and left them folded down at the back. That way I had a bit of cargo space, otherwise there would be very little space for shopping etc if I popped up the two children seats.

This time round the boot can be opened by pressing a button on the key fob and there is also button to close the boot, which is very useful as the door is fairly heavy.
Nissan’s very successful Qashqai was launched as a five-seater in 2007. A few years later they added two more seats and called it a Qashqai+2. Surprisingly it’s wasn’t a great seller; now the X-Trail, which is based on the Qashqai platform, could fill that gap.

Externally it looks chunky. Climb on board and you get a high driving position. There is plenty of room for five adults plus two children if required. You get a flashing amber light near the mirror if you are being overtaken on a motor way on either the outside or inside.
But I think this SUV would probably be best suited to someone who occasionally needs to go off-road. I found the X-Trail a bit of a handful if I travelled too fast. I suppose you could say it was a bit of a

‘rogue’, which is the name used in the US for this SUV.
The interior is brightened by a full-length sun roof.

We have had electronic handbrakes for a while now and in the X-Trail you automatically get a red light on the button when you park. Yet I found myself double-checking that it was activated when I parked.

There is keyless ignition and other extras include heater leather seats and DAB radio. The latter is useful if you want to catch up on RTE programmes that you may have missed while in work. It’s like having a permanent version of

‘Playback.’

The X-Trail was big and powerful and if you have to travel on rough terrain then this is the SUV for you. I would be happy enough with the smaller Qashqai, but then I’m a paid up member of the Qashqai club!
Only available in 1.6 diesel, prices start at

?¬29,950 for the two-wheel drive XE model. Road tax is

?¬270.