2014 Nissan X-Trail first drive review

This is the third-generation Nissan X-Trail, which has the mission to replace both the old model and also the Qashqai+2.

Its made on the same CMF platform as the new Qashqai and features similar styling, although not one single exterior panel is the same. It’s only when you stand next to it that you realise how much bigger the X-Trail is than the Qashqai. An extra 105mm in height and 268mm in length put it in a different segment and close to SUVs such as the Mitsubishi Outlander or Kia Sorento.

The previous model’s squared-off styling has given way to much sleeker lines, with Nissan claiming that this new model is more of a crossover and less of a classic SUV.

It’s available with five or, as a £700 option, seven seats, a six-speed manual gearbox as standard or a £1350 XTronic CVT and comes in either front or, for a £1700 premium, four-wheel drive.

There are four trim levels: Visia, Acenta, n-tec and Tekna, with prices ranging from £22,995 for a 2WD, five-seat Visia to £31,695 for a range-topping 4WD Tekna with seven seats. At launch, the only available engine is the Renault-Nissan Alliance's 128bhp 1.6-litre dCi. A 1.6 DIG-T petrol version with 161bhp will be launched next year.

We drove a  £29,995 front-wheel-drive seven-seat Tekna trim model, which comes comprehensively equipped with every available X-Trail extra.

However, an n-tec version would be enough for most, if auto parking, heated seats and driving aids like blind spot warning, driver attention alert and moving object detection aren't priorities. You would still get 19-inch alloys, NissanConnect with smartphone connectivity and some Google features, a DAB tuner and emergency braking.

Get in the driver’s seat and you're faced with a typical Japanese dashboard, some out-of-reach buttons and a seven-inch touchscreen minus a rotary knob. There’s also a smaller TFT monitor in the instrument cluster, featuring a comprehensive on-board computer which is operated via the steering wheel.