HOT ON ITS TRAIL

MEGATEST WINNER ARRIVES TO PROVE ITS TALENTS IN THE REAL WORLD

- PETER ANDERSON

NISSAN X-TRAIL Ti AWD

Price as tested $49,990 drive away

This month 412km @ 9.9L/100km

Overall 412km @ 9.9L/100km 

NISSAN'S X-Trail is a bit like Madonna. Every few years it pops up out of nowhere looking and sounding completely different.

The first car was a boxy homage to the off-roader in soft-ish roader form and looked quite distinctive if a bit like it was teetering on very high heels. The second-gen resolved a lot of the styling ideas and looked pretty good. The third was even more conservative acting as twin to the equally buttoned-up Renault Koleos. What distinguished the X-Trail from early on was a variety of engines and transmissions to keep everyone happy.

That third-gen car soldiered on for a little longer than we were perhaps expecting, longer still when you consider its now-twin, the Mitsubishi Outlander, arrived last year. Both cars have grown in every direction and they look it, although the Nissan less so.

What this new car brings is a lot of new tech that we'll explore over the next few months.