The neX-Trail.

It seems that every manufacturer will soon have an offering for each category of the automobile bazaar: for example, Porsche already has an SUV and there are rumours of an upcoming sedan! Nissan used to build reasonable fuel-efficient cars and rough and tumble pick-ups and SUVs. In this beginning of the 21st century, Nissan has introduced no less than 5 trucks and SUVs. These numbers exclude the Infinitis; they would add another 2 for a total 7 road warriors. Well, not all of them are monsters and gas-guzzlers. One of these is this manufacturer's answer to the popular cute-ute segment: The X-Trail. Nissan's version of the compact SUV was introduced earlier this year for the first time on the North American market. It has been offered elsewhere in the world for a few years but will not be offered for the moment in the United States. The suggested retail price for the tested 2005 X-Trail SE is 29 600$ plus 1 000$ for the automatic transmission.

Exterior styling

Subdued boxy lines are the order of the day for the X-Trail. Its tall taillights and overall proportions make it resemble, from a distance, the Honda CR-V almost to a tee. They do say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Well, in this case, the CR-V was already a winner so Nissan gave the X-Trail more SUV-like lines with a flatter nose and larger fender flares to entice consumers to look their way. The result is a style that will not offend anyone, nor will it break new barriers. The sunroof or what Nissan calls its "Pana-roof" is huge, à la Subaru Forester, and reaches back to the second row occupants. Gaps between panels are kept to a minimum and paint application is even throughout.

Interior styling

The gauges in the centrally located instrument cluster are clear but they would benefit from being angled a little more towards the driver. The advantage to this setup for Nissan is that it can easily build right-hand drive vehicles by reducing costs. If one sits in the second row and looks at the dash, it would almost be possible to imagine folding it over itself from the middle proving how symmetrical it is. There are tons of cubby holes and a neat multi-layered glove compartment. The center stack's lower storage bin and the front cup holders work with the HVAC system to keep drinks or snacks cool or warm. There are plenty storage spaces inside the trunk as well. On the down side, dash plastics are cheapish and hard and even worse are the way the pieces fit together: They are uneven and on some I could even see casting lines. Steering mounted cruise control buttons are user-friendly although they do not light up with the rest of the instruments. Visibility, in general, does not pose any particular problems.

Seats are soft and comfortable, however the headrests are too far back to be supportive, which is typical of Nissan. The seats have side bolsters for lateral support though they are just too soft to properly do their job. The manually adjustable lumbar does help improve the situation a little. The back seat is quite comfortable and legroom is generous. The seatback reclines for even more long haul well being. Headroom and legroom for both front and rear passengers is liberal.

On a cool morning, I attempted to defrost the side front windows only to notice that 15 minutes later, there was still some frost left on the windows. The upper-dash mounted side vents are diminutive and have a hard time covering the whole of the window. The lower side vents are too low to help with the task. Possibly an improved blower motor could help matters; there had been a similar issue with the 2002 Altimas.

The plastic floored trunk may be easy to clean but every time a smallish item is placed there, it needs to be secured into place with the cargo net otherwise it will go flying around. Also, if a delicate object is introduced into the trunk, a sheet of cardboard or cloth must be laid into place so as not to damage the object.