Nissan X-Trail review

You can tell Nissan has made a bit of an effort with the inside of the X-Trail: it might even be a bit plusher than a workhorse family SUV should be, especially in the top tier trims. The materials are all pleasant, although we’re not convinced by some of the shinier stuff around the centre of the dashboard that gets mucky quite quickly. 

Still, at least there are plenty of proper buttons up front. The separate climate control panel is a real winner as rivals stick all of the controls in their screens, and the X-Trail even gets a manual dial for its drive modes. Hurrah!

Is there a decent amount of space?

You certainly can’t argue with the space inside the X-Trail: there is plenty of legroom in the middle row of the car, even without the sliding option. The third row is strictly for children, and of course you do lose a significant chunk of bootspace with those folded up. In five-seat guise the X-Trail offers 575 litres of bootspace with the seats up, 1,396 with them down.

Go for seven seats and you lose 100 litres of space in the same configurations; with all seven seats in use you’re left with just 120 litres in the back. 

Any good bits? 

There is a lot of storage around the front of the cabin, we quite liked that. And USB-C plugs front and back even on the entry-level Acenta Premium trim, which the kids will appreciate. We liked the opening panoramic sunroof and integrated window blinds in the rear doors on the posher versions, too. On Tekna trim the 60:40 splitting second row is upgraded to a 40:20:40 split, which makes it a touch more practical too.

Any naff bits?

From N-Connecta upwards you get ‘luggage boards’ fitted as standard on the five-seat version of the car – basically the boot floor is divided into two sections that you can lift up and use at 90-degree angles to keep your shopping from rolling around in the back. It’s a lovely idea, even if in practice it was loose and noisy over unsettled bits of road and speed bumps. Maybe we’d just have to start carrying something heavy round in the back of the car to keep the boards weighed down. A dog, perhaps. Nissan has previous with canine companions, come to think of it.

Said N-Connecta trim also adds the larger 12.3-inch infotainment screen. You’ll likely use the wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto most of the time, but on the odd occasion you don’t you’ll realise that Nissan’s own graphics are a little dated and the screen itself can be a bit laggy.