MOVER, NOT A SHAKER

SMOOTH, UNFUSSED - AND UNHURRIED - PROGRESS DEFINES THE X-TRAIL'S ON-ROAD DEMEANOUR

- PETER ANDERSON

THIS MONTH WAS a lot more serious in the X-Trail. We did longer trips. We bought stuff that had to go in the boot. Trips to airports were made. People were moved. It was an altogether more typically suburban life than the big Nissan has had thus far.

Some people will pull me up and say that, actually, it isn't big. But it is big. While the X-Trail occupies the same segment as the Mazda CX-5, they are from different planets. Five adults is a reasonably agreeable proposition in the Nissan whereas the CX-5 would require a level of financial compensation and physical therapy to convince the middle-seater to join in the fun.

I wouldn't call it a jolly experience in the X-Trail, but it's bearable for short trips. It really feels a size larger than its Mazda and Toyota compatriots and has the legroom of the pricier Tiguan. I reckon it would give the Tiguan Allspace a run for its money too. I maintain the VW is the better drive in 162 TSI form but it's significantly more expensive than the Nissan.

Having said all of that, the people moving portion of this month involved s the shuttling of international visitors. It was a cold day in hell (Sydney) that greeted them as I whisked them between appointments. Well, whisked might be slightly overdoing it as the X-Trail is still sluggish if faultlessly smooth owing to its relatively modest outputs and tuned-for-comfort CVT.