Test drive Toyota RAV4 vs Nissan X-Trail
The Toyota RAV4 refreshed at the end of last year and sells better than all its classmates, but in some regions it still seems like a novelty. The situation is the same with the localized Nissan X-Trail.
“Dear, come here, please,” the seller of whites on the highway somewhere between Safonovo and Yartsevo was very persistent. - Do you have a new "Rav"? Or what kind of car is it? Half a minute later, the crossover was surrounded by such a number of onlookers that it seemed that I would stay in the Smolensk region forever - without a car, money and a good weekend. “My name is Samat, I want to buy a Toyota for myself, but I don’t have enough for a Kruzak, and you know yourself a Camry for local roads,” the shop owner sincerely gave out his plans and thereby reassured me.
The Toyota RAV4 refreshed at the end of last year and sells better than all its classmates, but in some regions it still seems like a novelty. The same situation is with the localized Nissan X-Trail - the second generation of the crossover debuted a year and a half ago, but when we tell our friends about this SUV, we still necessarily insert the “new” one at the beginning of the sentence. And this, apparently, is a diagnosis for the entire Russian market.
According to the statistics of the Association of European Businesses (AEB), since the beginning of the year, the RAV4 has sold 14 units, which is more than, for example, the massive Renault Logan or Lada Largus, which are several times cheaper. The X-Trail in comparable trims costs about the same as the RAV152, but buyers prefer Toyota's endless utility to the gloss and elegance of the Nissan crossover - the X-Trail sells noticeably worse (4 cars since the beginning of the year). However, this figure also allows the SUV to enter the top 6 bestsellers of the market.
Looking at how neatly drawn and scrupulously executed the interior of the Nissan crossover, I would like to ask the bosses of the Japanese concern why the X-Trail did not become Infiniti. Soft white plastic on the dashboard, perfect fit of small parts, thick leather on the seats and a huge but very easily soiled multimedia screen - X-Trail even borrowed a dashboard with an informative display from the Infiniti QX50. But most of the premium little things are the lot of high trim levels, which, according to the AEB, are not in demand. X-Trail is mainly bought in SE and SE + versions: with a cloth interior, halogen optics and without an all-round visibility system.
The Toyota RAV4, on the other hand, has not changed its ideology after restyling - SUVs are still perceived as a very reliable workaholic without a hint of sentiment. Inside the SUV, you should not count on comfort: everywhere there is hard plastic, rectangular buttons and lurid aluminum inserts. The RAV4 literally exudes fundamentality - the crossover does not try to hide flaws or overshadow its own gaps with beautiful levers and deflectors. Therefore, there can be no questions about the ergonomics of the popular crossover: informative "tidy", excellent visibility, large mirrors and a clear multimedia menu. Toyota also has comfortable seats, but in the version with leather upholstery they have insufficient lateral support - in salons with fabric, the rollers are larger.
Externally, the RAV4 and X-Trail are still "Japanese" - and that's great. Toyota remained true to itself and, despite the criticism of the global market, updated the crossover in the style of Prius and Mirai - it has a narrow grille, a bumper with wide slots and frowning optics. Behind - openwork lights and an integrated spoiler over the fifth door. X-Trail is a mixture of modern design with classics. The crossover has a recognizable appearance in the style of the second Qashqai and the new Tiida, and behind the “Japanese” it is very similar to the first generation Lexus RX. If the RAV4 looks best in rich burgundy or bright blue, then the X-Trail looks better in darker colors - this range favorably complements the chrome parts in the exterior and large LEDs in the head optics.
RAV4 is mainly bought in the Comfort version with a 2,0-liter engine, all-wheel drive and a CVT. We also got the option in the maximum performance "Prestige Plus" (from $ 27) - with a 674-liter engine, a six-speed "automatic" and a full range of options, including a rear-view camera, a surround view system and navigation. With a 2,5-horsepower engine, the RAV180 will leave behind almost all classmates - the 4 Nm SUV has enough traction in the city, on the highway, and off-road. Toyota is especially good at the ragged pace of the metropolis - the crossover exchanges a hundred in 233 seconds. An honest "aspirated" is not averse to burning 9,4 liters of gasoline in the city, but it is possible to meet a reasonable 15-11 liters, if only there were no "burgundy" traffic jams.
The test X-Trail is also history. The top version LE + (from $ 26) with a bunch of electronic assistants is equipped with a 686-liter engine with a return of 2,5 horsepower. The aspirated engine is paired with a variator - a favorite tandem of Nissan engineers over the past decade. From the place of the X-Trail, there is not enough excitement: it seems that there is enough traction, and the all-wheel drive in automatic mode helps to realize all the torque at the start, but the crossover picks up speed somehow too linearly, without a spark. The figures in the performance characteristics confirm the feeling: the X-Trail is slower than the RAV171 by almost a second in the sprint up to a hundred. But in terms of fuel consumption, Nissan is ready to argue with Toyota: the X-Trail can completely disable the all-wheel drive system, it has better aerodynamics and less curb weight.
On a very bad road, the RAV4's suspension no longer resembles the old merry-go-rounds in Gorky Park - after the update, the engineers have significantly reconfigured the suspension towards comfort. The springs and shock absorbers are softer, and the silent blocks of the rear suspension subframe are larger. As a result, Toyota stopped noticing small irregularities, which made the pre-styled crossover seem very tough and noisy. Changing the chassis in the direction of comfort, of course, affected the handling, but not as much as you might expect. The SUV is still willing to dive into sharp turns and is almost unafraid of controlled slip. Another thing is that before the RAV4 fell off the given trajectory at a higher speed, and the rolls were less.
In terms of comfort, the X-Trail is comparable to the RAV4, but more extraneous noise still penetrates into the Nissan cabin, and the crossover tries not to miss minor defects in the roadway. But the X-Trail does not allow itself laxity off-road, as is the case with its predecessor. But this is not surprising: structurally, the X-Trail is a new car built on a modular CMF platform, albeit with old motors and gearboxes.
Toyota and Nissan are not at all shy about off-road, but they do not like to be there for a long time. The RAV4 with a multi-plate clutch can transfer up to 50% of the traction to the rear wheels, but all its agility outside the asphalt ends in a deep rut - the 2,5-liter version has a clearance of only 165 millimeters. But the Toyota clutch is not as prone to overheating as most of its classmates, so on the RAV4 you can playfully skid, go swinging and try to overcome obstacles in motion. The main thing is not to forget to turn off the stabilization system, which intervenes very obtrusively and roughly bites the traction for a couple of seconds.
Nissan X-Trail is better prepared for off-road: it has an all-wheel drive transmission control system, and the ground clearance is impressive by the standards of the segment of 210 millimeters. The AWD system can be configured with a washer, choosing one of three modes: 2WD, Auto and Lock. In the first case, the crossover remains front-wheel drive, in the second, the thrust is distributed automatically depending on the road situation, and in the latter, the torque is divided in half between the front and rear wheels. Moreover, in Lock mode, you can move at speeds up to 80 km / h, after which the electronics automatically switches to the Auto settings package. Off-road X-Trail's weak link is the CVT, which overheats faster than the classic RAV4 automatic.
It's hard to be a mid-size crossover in Russia. On the one hand, there are compact SUVs like the Nissan Qashqai and Hyundai Tucson, which have become even larger, more equipped and more comfortable after the change of generations. On the other hand, there is the older full-size segment, which offers both a seven-seater saloon and more powerful engines, but the difference in price with the RAV4 and X-Trail is not so significant. So it turns out that midsize crossovers should either offer too attractive a price tag, which is with the dollar. it is impossible or to hope for an impeccable reputation as the engine of any business. Toyota and Nissan remain on the bestseller list for a combination of reasons, and this is undoubtedly cause for high spirits.
