New Nissan X-Trail headed to India

    New Nissan X-Trail likely to be assembled locally, come with seven seats.

    Published On Sep 19, 2013 09:28:00 PM

    6,239 Views

    Nissan has just revealed the new X-trail at the Frankfurt motor show and its fresh lines, seven-seat layout and improved driveability and dynamics are what Nissan says you will love about this new car. 
     
    Put the new Nissan X-trail next to the current car and you’ll realise what a departure the new car is from the old one. The new X-trail has lost the ‘wannabe off-roader’ stance and now borrows styling cues from other cars in the Nissan range, like the Qashqai, Juke, Murano and Patrol. The Nissan has an angular nose and sharp cuts around the headlamps, which make it look more like a sleek crossover than a rugged off-roader.
     
     
    It’s the first car to be built on Nissan’s new Common Module Family (CMF) platform. What this basically means is that Nissan can take parts like the engine bay, suspension, cabin, and front and rear underbody sections, and mix and match them with other cars in the line-up for better cost efficiency. Renault-Nissan has stated that the CMF architecture will be used on 11 future cars; everything from small hatchbacks to larger, more premium cars. In fact, the Alliance claims that it can save up to 30 percent on parts alone. The CMF system is expected to be used in approximately 1.6 million vehicles per year initially. 
     
     

    Nissan is looking at the X-trail as a global car and it will be assembled in five plants worldwide and will be sold in a staggering 100 markets or more. The X-trail is more clearly positioned in the Nissan range now, and will be the only seven-seat offering in the line-up. In the US market, it will replace the Rogue and in Europe, the Qashqai +2. 
     
     
    The current car is decently capable off road, and Nissan claims that the new car will take the same traits forward. However, on-road capabilities will be given more importance this time around. The X-trail will be available in both front- and all-wheel-drive forms, with the 2WD option offered as standard. The AWD option is Nissan’s electronic four-wheel drive system, controlled via a rotary switch on the centre console, offering a choice between two-wheel drive, automatic mode or a permanent four-wheel-drive ‘lock’ mode. The engines on offer will include the same 2.0-litre diesel unit as in the current car, albeit significantly updated, and a new 1.6-litre diesel unit as well. And there’s also the option of getting the car with Nissan’s X-tronic CVT auto transmission.  
     
     

    The seven-seat X-trail will come with a sliding second row of seats to provide a more flexible use of space in the cabin. The equipment levels are also set to improve. Nissan is aiming to make the X-trail as efficient as possible, and small details like the tailgate, which is largely plastic and 7kg lighter than the old car’s, help in this area. Nissan has also paid a great deal of attention to the car’s aerodynamics in the interest of efficiency, which is a good thing. The doors open wide (almost 80 percent), to give you unrestricted access to the front and second rows, and access to the third row is improved by the sliding middle seats. The feel of the cabin has been softened considerably over the earlier car too. Black, chrome and beige dominate the insides and the centre console gets a piano-black finish. New tech on the car includes Active Ride Control, which adjusts the suspension after scanning the road ahead, much like in the new Mercedes S-class.
     
     
    What Nissan has done with the X-trail is quite a positive move, especially when you look at it as a value proposition. It’s cost effective to produce, which should translate to an aggressive price tag around the Rs 20 lakh mark, it looks really stylish, and it will come loaded with tech. 
     
    Adding excitement is the name of the game, and with this car being built on the CMF, Nissan has a good chance to localise it here eventually and get it in at an aggressive price.
     

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