Test drive Nissan X-Trail
Clutch lock, stabilization system and short slippage - we plow winter off-road without snow on the Nissan X-Trail
A clean crossover of a beautiful orange color dives with its right wheels into a deep puddle, then slips slightly on a torn up dirt road, spits out liquid mud from under the wheels and easily overcomes an impressive bend in the road. The process of dealing with winter off-road dachas ends here - without snow on winter tires with good lugs, the X-Trail gets to the reserved corner without the slightest problem. Is that not quite clean anymore.
In dirt tracks, the crossover is prone to yaw, and in such cases, the intervention of the belay electronics is very appropriate. There is no shortage of traction here, the top-end engine with a volume of 2,5 liters and a capacity of 177 liters. with. responds well to gas and gives a feeling of headroom even off-road. The variator makes the movement smooth and stretched, and in these slimy conditions it is so really comfortable.
Four-wheel drive is simple - the rear axle is connected using a multi-plate clutch. The suspension travels are not that great, so it is quite easy to catch the diagonal hanging on the dirt road. And here the electronics again come into play, braking the slipping wheels. The main thing is not to overdo it and not to overheat the clutch, which, for protection purposes, can leave the rear axle without traction for a short time. It requires smoothness and absence of sudden movements, the electronics will take care of the rest.
For more complicated situations, there is a clutch lock mode. The X-Trail has a descent assist button that allows you to hold all four wheels and go down slowly. And the off-road capabilities of the X-Trail are a little limited by the long front bumper and the tendency of the variator to overheat during long slips. It is also nice that the pits and irregularities of the energy-intensive suspension runs famously, but the car does not like deep horizontal ruts.
In bad weather, that is, approximately nine months a year, it is better to leave the four-wheel drive selector in the automatic position. But in the city, it really comes in handy only a couple of times a year. Here ground clearance and good geometry are more important. The X-Trail does not look like an SUV, but it is sufficiently protected from curbs and snowdrifts.
On asphalt roads, the X-Trail runs smoothly, although it marks joints and a comb. The rolls in corners are felt a little, but the handling of the crossover is recklessly tuned. The stabilization system intervenes early and does not turn off completely, but for a family car, such settings are the best option. The parent is not bored and the passengers are safe. The thrust of a 2,5-liter engine sometimes gets bogged down in the bowels of the variator, but there are almost always sharp responses to gas.
If you are not a connoisseur of all the nuances of the Japanese company's lineup, then the Nissan X-Trail on the road can easily be confused with a slightly more stylish and expensive Murano - this is how the car corresponds to the latest design trends of the brand. The geometric shapes of the body are rounded, the headlights have long ago narrowed, and designer muscles have cut through the sidewalls.
Inside, the car with beige leather interior with perforated seats looks very much like a Murano, but only at first glance. Despite the leather trim, spaciousness and electric seats, the picture is spoiled by large inserts of hard plastic on the dashboard and door panels. Koreans, for example, have long learned to imitate hard plastic under soft plastic, so Nissan designers have a lot to work on.
On the steering wheel - a full set of control buttons for the on-board display, cruise control and music. All switches are large, convex and tactilely reminiscent of grandmother's large push-button telephone. Nissan probably knows about the existence of touch buttons, but, apparently, they cherish them for the next generations of their cars. There is no USB-C input yet, which is great - you can easily connect any gadget with a regular cord.
The eight-inch Yandex.Auto media system is installed on the middle version of SE Yandex and on the more expensive LE Yandex. The device has a 4G-modem with a prepaid annual tariff, and the functionality does not differ from systems on carsharing machines. Yandex is responsible for the navigator, network music and radio, and the robot Alice also lives there, who loudly greets the driver and talks about the weather.
You can also control Yandex in X-Trail through physical buttons on the sides of the screen. But even a year after introducing the system, she still hasn't learned to work with a rear view camera. Even in an expensive configuration, along with all the optional bonuses from the parking assistants, only parking sensors are offered. By the way, you cannot do without them, because from the inside the car seems even larger than from the outside.
There is a lot of space for everyone and for everything - wide door niches, a large and deep armrest, a huge trunk. For rear passengers, the cabin is built even more conveniently: the passengers sit high, the headroom is impressive, and there is almost no central tunnel. The halves of the chairs can be moved, and their backs can be tilted. The luggage compartment by numbers holds 497 liters, and if you fold the rear backrests and remove the curtain, the volume increases threefold.
The electric trunk drive with a foot swing sensor under the rear bumper is a handy thing, especially considering that you can also close it without touching the trunk. This option is available in all trim levels except the initial two. The door can also be opened with a button in the saloon or with a key.
In older trim levels, the car has a decent set of security systems from tracking blind spots and lane control to monitoring obstacles in front of the car and when reversing. But all these systems only warn, and do not interfere with the process. The Auto hold button, which leaves the car stationary in a traffic jam without holding the brake, and adaptive cruise control are sorely lacking. But the Japanese have something to fend off: despite the title of an urban crossover, he can still show character on the off-road.
| Body type | SUV |
| Dimensions (length, width, height), mm | 4640/1820/1710 |
| Wheelbase, mm | 2705 |
| Curb weight, kg | 1649 |
| Cargo space, l | 417 – 1507 Feet |
| engine's type | Petrol |
| Working volume, cubic meters cm | 2488 |
| Power, hp with. at rpm | 171/6000 |
| Max. cool. moment, Nm at rpm | 233/4000 |
| Transmission, drive | Xtronic CVT full |
| Max. speed km / h | 190 |
| Acceleration 0-100 km / h, s | 10,5 |
| Fuel consumption (mixed cycle), l | 8,3 |
| Price from, USD | 23 600 |
