Nissan X-Trail DCi 130 Tekna

My beloved Nina likes nothing more than a warm wallow with a magazine and good music. She is usually much less keen on family gatherings.wp_20160912_007

But when she found herself heading to “Family Day” in the X-Trail, in the luxurious heated seat with great tunes on the quality DAB radio and reading her mags she was one happy bunny. Not once did I have to use the chloroform or cudgel. Shame.

She has a point though, those seats are sumptuous. We have been reviewing quite a few SUV’s of late and these seats are as nice a place to be as any of them. In fact the whole car has quite a focus on luxury compared to the older version (the one with corners).

wp_20160912_023It remains a tough and capable machine when the going gets a bit interesting though. Nissan have retained the X-Trail’s better-than-average off road ability, only hampered by the engine in this model lacking real bottom-end grunt. I guess that is the price of economy and one I would be happy to pay – driving up “The Wall” on our playground there was no hint of a struggle as long as you kept the revs near 2000.

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Again, compared to the older model, this car has had rather more than just a facelift, it has had the full Harley Street works and is one good looking car, but also much more than just a pretty face. In Tekna specification it is very difficult to think of a feature that is missing, it even comes with a spare wheel – rather a rarity these days.

The gadget list includes –wp_20160912_003

  • Power panoramic sunroof
  • Front and rear parking sensors
  • Rain sensing windscreen wipers
  • Smart Vision Safety Pack
  • Around View Monitor
  • Leather Seats
  • Blind Spot Warning
  • Moving Object Detection
  • One-touch automatic opening power tailgate
  • NissanConnect Touchscreen Navigation and Entertainment System

And a host of other lovely toys to keep you entertained. Having said that though, the driving pleasure comes from its effortless comfort rather than its dynamism – for a rather large and tall car the road holding and feel is planted but somewhat muted. All controls felt nicely direct but it never felt like it wanted to hustle – doing so just pushed it wide on the corners and it all got a bit wallowy. There is also a bit more road-noise than in cars like the Sorento and Kuga, but not to a level that became a distraction.wp_20160912_009

More practicality is to be found in the boot. It has a 550 litre capacity with 5 seats which is only a little less than the Outlander and CRV, but it is a flexible space with shelving that can be set at 3 heights and 18 configurations. There is also a very large undertray and great flexibility meaning you can expand it to almost 2000 litres if required.wp_20160912_015

It is one of the few SUV’s that actually can do it all, and do it well, but I still can’t find out how to get Nina out of her seat. There must be an ejector in there somewhere…

 

Tech Spec
Price – £32,110
Power – 128hp
Torque – 320 Nm
CO2 g/km – 139
Top Speed – 117mph
0-60 – 11 Sec
Economy – 53 Mpg

words & pics – Mark Wolens