First Drive: Nissan X-Trail ePower

Friday, 14 October 2022

The new Nissan X-Trail is nearly here.

Nissan X-Trail ePower
Price range: $62,990 to $66,990
Powertrain: ePower - Three-cylinder 1.5L variable compression turbo engine, 1.8kWh battery and twin electric motors with 157kW(combined)/300Nm front and 195Nm rear, AWD. 6.1L/100km and 143g/km CO2.

The Nissan X-Trail in its home away from home – Slovenia.

Body style: SUV.
On sale: early 2023.

The new X-Trail gets a bunch of fresh tech, including a new hybrid powertrain.

Nissan’s popular adventurer, the X-Trail, has been ‘electrified’, with a unique ePower powertrain combined with the new ‘e-4orce’ all-wheel drive system that delivers an ‘EV-like’ driving experience without the need to plug in.

Make me an instant expert: what do I need to know?

With more than 21,000 units already gracing New Zealand roads, it’s fair to say that the previous three generations of the Nissan X-Trail have already made a big impression here. However, not happy to rest on their laurels, the new ‘fourth-generation’ X-Trail is completely new from the ground up.

Nissan’s new all-wheel drive system proved its worth in Slovenia’s forests.

The cabin is a comfy, high-quality place to be.

* Nissan's new Qashqai heading to NZ with e-Power

* Qashqai SUV revealed with lots of edges

The hybrid system is quite complex, with the petrol engine working as a generator for the electric motors.

* This is the new Nissan X-Trail SUV

We should see the first new X-Trails landing in New Zealand in early 2023.

It sits on the CMF-C platform Nissan shares with Renault and is shorter, wider and taller than the outgoing model. It has a more adventurous design that’s more in keeping with the second-generation X-Trail but with a far more modern bent.

Up front, there’s an evolved take on the ‘V-Motion’ grille, new LED headlights and functional lower air vents. The new X-Trail showcases a ‘floating’ roofline with a full-sized panoramic sunroof that’s supported by big ‘b-pillars’, while space has been intentionally left within the wheel arches to emphasise the SUV’s adventurous attitude. The doors open 85 degrees for easy loading of car seats and the like, with the rear boasting an automatic tailgate and boomerang-shaped lights.

A wider stance on the outside makes for a roomier cabin, and when combined with Nappa leather and a high-quality fit and finish, it’s a really nice place to be. The technology has been vastly improved, with the flagship Ti-L model featuring a 12.3-inch, navigation-equipped touchscreen, a 10.8-inch head-up display, wireless phone charging and wireless Apple CarPlay, and a 12.3-inch TFT digital driver display.

Now about that powertrain. It’s easy to call the new X-Trail’s powertrain a hybrid, however, it’s much cleverer than that. Its three-cylinder 1.5-litre variable compression turbo petrol engine acts as a generator supplying power to an inverter, which, along with brake regeneration, feeds the 1.8kWh battery that drives the two electric motors. So at no point does the petrol engine drive the wheels. As complex as this may sound, all you have to do as a driver is fill the tank with fuel and drive it like an EV - and drive it we did.

Where did you drive it?

To emphasise the new X-Trail’s green credentials we headed to the ‘green heart of Europe’; Slovenia. Slovenia is an absolute gem of a country, with vast alpine valleys surrounded by snow capped mountains and all interspersed with centuries-old churches and ski-style chalet homes - it’s both dramatic and breathtaking. More importantly, the roads are a challenging mix of 130kph highways interlaced with tight, snaking ‘single vehicle’ small-town lanes and hairpin-cornered Alpine tarmac.

Ljubljana airport was our start and finish line, however the Bohinj hotel, an elegant alpine-style establishment nestled beside the Bohinjsko Jezero lake, was our main base.

The push-button start is the silent experience that those that have driven an EV would be familiar with, engage Drive with the chunky e-shifter gear knob and you’re away, it’s as simple as that.

The claimed seven-second 0-100kph sprint has the X-Trail up to speed quickly. It’s not performance EV-style acceleration, but it doesn’t feel lacking in any way. Having such a small battery means that the X-Trail can only travel a few kilometres in EV-only mode, and this in turn means that the petrol engine appears to be constantly working, but fear not, the NVH (noise vibration harshness) that Nissan has focused on in this new SUV means that you only really hear the engine if you want to, and in fact you very quickly forget about it leaving you to concentrate on the driving experience itself, which is very good.

There are five drive modes to flick through (Eco, Normal, Sport, Snow and Off-Road), each change the characteristics of the X-Trail like throttle response and braking but, on the whole, I stuck with Sport, dialling back into Normal when heading through the forest tracks.

EV-only mode can be engaged at the push of a button on the centre console and there’s an e-Pedal Step button that offers a ‘one pedal' driving experience should you wish, meaning that in many cases you don’t need to use the footbrake much at all - just for complete stops.

Of particular note is Nissan’s new e-4orce all-wheel drive system; it’s terrific. The system has been designed to work exclusively with Nissan's electrified powertrains and delivers physics-defying traction regardless of what terrain you’re on. Behind the scenes its rear torque acts 10,000 times faster than a mechanical 4WD system and virtually eliminates pitch and roll - it’s an incredibly smooth ride.

As a final farewell to Slovenia and to emphasise the new X-Trail’s off-road capabilities, Nissan had set up a ‘workshop’ track that had us doing sand slaloms, downhill descents, sand drifting and a hill hold climb that had the left side wheels resting on wet wooden planks. Utilising the ‘off-road’ mode had this new adventurous SUV conquer these tasks with ease - it was really very impressive.

What’s the pick of the range?

There will be two Nissan X-Trail e-Power trim levels launched into the NZ market, the generously equipped ST-L and the flagship Ti-L.

The X-Trail ST-L features ProPilot with Lane Keep Assist, privacy glass, fog lights, a digital around-view monitor, heated front seats, dual-zone climate control, sliding rear seats, front parking sensors, synthetic leather trim and 18-inch alloy wheels. Meanwhile, the Ti-L comes with all the additional fruit such as a panoramic sunroof, Bose 10-speaker sound system, full Nappa leather seating and significant tech upgrades (a 12.3-inch, navigation-equipped touchscreen, a 10.8-inch Head-Up Display, wireless phone charging and wireless Apple CarPlay, and a 12.3-inch TFT digital driver display - to name but a few).

We only drove the Tekna+ (essentially the equivalent of the top spec Ti-L - just with a few extra Euro Specific apps) so I can’t compare. But for me, having all those Ti-L upgrades is worth the premium price tag.

Why would I buy it?

The new X-Trail e-Power is an ideal ‘transition’ vehicle, that is as easy to use as a fossil-fuelled car and yet gives a great introduction to the way an EV feels to drive. It’s impressive both on and off the road and incredibly well-appointed.

Why wouldn’t I buy it?

The emissions and fuel economy figures make it somewhat removed from the full EV purchasing experience.