NISSAN X-TRAIL

Nissan's largest SUV returns to its roots in one way and becomes radically different in another

- MARK TISSHAW

TESTED 28.9.22, TANNIS BUGT, DENMARK ON SALE LATE 2022 PRICE £39,430 

Once upon a time, this all-new Nissan X-Trail was going to be built in Britain in a deal done in the highest corridors of p power.

Then Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn (you know, the one now exiled in Lebanon, on the run from Japanese authorities still) walked into Theresa May's 10 Downing Street in 2016 to ensure the UK's looming exit from the European Union wouldn't harm his firm's latest investment in its Sunderland factory.

Three years later, Nissan announced that the new X-Trail would actually be built in Japan, laying thinly veiled blame for this U-turn on Brexit.

Remain or leave and regardless of where it's built, though, the X-Trail still holds plenty of appeal for British buyers as it enters its fifth generation.

For starters, it returns making an excellent visual first impression.

Interest waned in the previous X-Trail as customers found it too similar to the Qashqai (remember, it had the role of replacing both the Mk2 X-Trail and the Qashqai+2) and too much of a crossover rather than a proper SUV, which it made its name on. So Nissan has reversed that this time, making the X-Trail a chunky, substantial presence on the road once more, rather than a bigger Qashqai.

The staple diesel engines that were once the only gig in town for models like this are no more. Instead, the flagship and predicted best-selling powertrain in this new X-Trail is the e-Power system being introduced across various Nissan and Renault models. It's a novel and clever type of series hybrid, with the front wheels being driven by an electric motor and a small battery that draws its power from a 1.5-litre variable compression ratio three-pot turbo petrol engine that's designed to always run in the most optimal state for efficiency. Peak system output is 201bhp.