2007 all new Nissan X-Trail

The more things change…the more they stay the same. The new 2007 Nissan X-Trail will for some be difficult to distinguish from the old one. Nissan have erred on the side of caution and decided not to mess too much with the look of one of their most popular models.

The chunky, stumpy look of the old model was apparently appealing to owners which is why it remains largely unchanged with the new model.

The new X-Trail, despite looking very similar to the old one is actually new from the ground up. Overall length has increased by 120mm to 4630mm, which means a little more leg room for rear seat passengers. The cargo area wins the ‘most improved’ award as it is wider, taller and 85mm deeper than the outgoing models. A further storage area in the rear is concealed with a removable false floor while the seats fold away to reveal what Nissan claim to be the largest load capacity in its class.

The platform of the new X-Trail is shared with Nissan’s beautiful Dualis, the crossover that we can expect to see in Australia before the end of this year. Look for us to provide initial details of the Dualis very soon.

Oddly, there is still no diesel option being made available to Australian X-Trail buyers, apparently there is not yet enough demand for diesel in Australia. It would have been nice to see Nissan pre-empt the trend and debut a diesel, rather than wait for Toyota or Honda to beat them to it.

” We've had a diesel engine available to us for a number of years with X-Trail in Europe, as has Honda as has Toyota _ but no one has brought one out yet because at this stage there isn't a market there," Mr Booth, Marketing Manager for Nissan said.

The new Nissan X-Trail also features a revised version of the outgoing models 2.5-litre petrol engine which now produces 124Kw (1kw less than before) and 233Nm (3Nm more than before).

The focus has been on improvements to fuel efficiency and NVH (Noise Vibration Harshness) and to this end the revised engine features new chain-driven counter-rotating balance shafts. Fuel economy is improved through the use of a 6-speed manual or 6-speed CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) automatic transmission.

Fuel consumption of the new X-Trail automatic is down from 9.8 to 9.3 litres/100km no doubt largely due to Nissan replacing the old 4-speed auto with the new 6-speed CVT. The manual on the other hand has slightly worse fuel consumption figures using 9.5 litres/100km up from 9.4. The blame for this can be attributed to the new X-Trail weighing in 70kgs heavier than the outgoing model.

On the inside, commonsense appears to have prevailed at last with the speedo being relocated back behind the steering wheel and not in the centre of the dash as before.

The new Nissan X-Trail is due to be unveiled at the Sydney Motor Show in October along with pricing and specification details. We will be there so tune in during October for an update.