The Nissan X-Trail is a very common sight on Australian roads and that’s for good reason, it’s an SUV that does pretty much everything right. Rob Fraser has just spent a week in one.
The Nissan X-Trail is just a little different to what you expect. Internally it has plenty of space and the legroom for front and second-row seat passengers is excellent as is boot space. As a family SUV it works better as a five seat version than the seven seat version maximising the use of space.
Powered by a 2.5 litre 4 cylinder engine with 126 kW/226 Nm that is typically enough grunt for this type of vehicle.
Rather than excelling at any one thing, the X Trail TI is pretty good at almost everything, and I guess that is why it is popular. It looks good, some say an acquired taste and is full of comfort and safety features as well as providing a smooth ride. It isn’t for the adventurous as the AWD capability is more suited to safety and the towing is a little lacking. Overall though the X Trail is a good offering in a very crowded segment.
Rob Fraser – General dogsbody & Director
Rob is the founder of the business. He constantly mutters something about way too many red wines one evening being to blame.
Often known for taking the 4WD in the driveway over the sports car, he has travelled pretty much everywhere in Australia and when he is bored goes for a drive.
He first learned to drive on the farm in a left hand drive WW11 Jeep when he was 11, and was hooked on 4WDriving way back then. In addition to 4WD he is an avid motoring enthusiast and has maintained a strong interest in the industry ever since his teens. He has owned way too many cars in his time as well.
Having previously lived at the top of corporate life he retired in 2000 and hasn’t put a suit and tie on since. Cars are his passion so why not have a business doing what you love he figures.
He has towed either a caravan or camper trailer to most parts of Australia, has run guided tours for camper trailers’ and instructed drivers in off road towing.
Toyota has powered-up its market-leading LandCruiser Prado with higher levels of performance and driving enjoyment by introducing a new-generation turbo-diesel engine, improved petrol V6 and new six-speed automatic transmission. The all-new high-torque 2.8-litre four-cylinder engine is 227cm3 smaller than the engine it replaces, yet it boosts output with up to 450Nm of torque while reducing fuel use and emissions1. [Read More]
