SA Road Tests

Welcome

This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get at home.

Unlike most car reports, what you read in these pages will not be a faithful reproduction, albeit slightly reworded, of what appeared in the manufacturer's press release. We look for background material, user experience and whatever else we can find that's beyond the obvious. Our guiding rule is that you will be able to tell that the car was actually driven.

*To read one of our archived road tests, just select from the alphabetical menu of manufacturers' names on the left. Hover your cursor over the manufacturer's name, then choose from the drop-down menu that appears.

*Pre-owned: Our tests go back quite a few years, so if you are looking for something pre-owned, you might well find a report on it in here.

*Please remember too, that prices quoted are those ruling at the time the reports were written.


We drive Nissan’s no-frills X-Trail 1.6 dCi XE for 2015

City slickers' trail mix

Posted: 3 November 2014

There have been changes since we drove that second-generation, 2.0-litre diesel X-trail with awd in February 2013.

This third-gen version is bigger and has adopted Renault’s small diesel (from Mégane and Grand Scénic) as oil burner of choice for the SA market. Size-wise, the new car is five millimetres longer and 30 mm wider on a wheelbase extended by 75 mm. It stands 5 mm less tall even though ground clearance increased by 6 mm. It is built on the Alliance’s Common Modular Family (CMF) architecture which is not a platform as such, but a basket of modules for engine bay, cockpit, front underbody, rear underbody and electrical/electronic. VW’s MQB system is much the same.

The new diesel develops 96 kilowatts versus 110 from the old one, but maximum torque remains the same at 320 Nm; with the new engine delivering the goods slightly earlier - at 1750 rpm rather than 2000. Zero to 100 km/h, on our five-seat, six-speed, manual 4x2 test rig was dealt with in 10.5 seconds. The old one took 10.0 seconds – hardly worth getting excited about. But the new warranty and service plan is much better. See the numbers box below.

As for styling, the new X-Trail borrowed from Juke, Qashqai and Murano to create a more modern, familial face. Less butch, but more all-encompassing and aspirational, the company says. If you want poetic descriptions of boomerang light clusters, sculpted flanks and definitive rears, you can read any of many other reports. All you really need to know is that there’s more space, it’s prettier inside, it’s 90 kilograms lighter and the juice tank is five litres smaller. But fuel economy is better - although it wouldn’t be completely fair to skip across to our earlier review for a quick look. All-wheel drive uses more fuel (fact of life) and we did go playing in mud with it.

The familiar safety kit is all there; six airbags, ABS brakes with EBD and EBA, ISOFix anchors, vehicle dynamic control, active ride control that constantly adjusts damping to suit changing road surfaces, hill start assistance, cruise control and remote central locking with autolock. The X-Trail is five-star EuroNCAP rated.

The parking brake is electric and turns itself on when the engine stops, but has to be released manually. If you want extras like Nissan Connect, satnav, surround view cameras, blind spot and lane departure warnings, moving object detection, LED touchscreens and warmed exterior mirrors, you need to get an automatic or 4x4 model and order the Techno Pack.

Because this is a 4x2 city SUV designed for moving families and their kit between home, school, shopping and extra-curricular activities, we stayed off  forest trails and out of mud, but we did try it on a couple of dirt roads we know.  On both washboard and stoney surfaces it remained respectably comfortable and on-course, without dancing about. Not quite as good as an air-sprung wondercar, it nevertheless came close.

On city streets and on freeways, there was more than enough power to get the job done. At 120 km/h in sixth gear it loafed along at about 2500 rpm with enough in reserve for overtaking if necessary. Noise levels were quite acceptable, gears are nicely spaced and controls are easy to reach. Only in greedy moments did we wish for more thrust. A small complaint is that, while outward vision is generally good, we found the ‘D’ pillars very wide and the inset glass panes rather small.

As for interior space, the tall rear-seat passenger declared himself satisfied. Headspace was generous, knee room with the cushions pushed all the way back was almost like being in a limo and foot accommodation under the completely lowered driver’s chair was more than one usually gets. The seats are split in the usual 2/3:1/3 configuration, each section can adjust fore- and aft through about two hand-widths and the backrests are adjustable.

Repeater vents in the rear end of the central console provide extra air while there are two cup holders in the fold-down armrest/load-through slot, a pair of ISOFix anchors, grab handles and the usual three head restraints and belts. Storage is courtesy of a pair of seatback pockets and small door bins. The central hump is low, as are the doorsills, making entry and exit decently comfortable.

Be warned though that this was the five-seat version. Three-row, seven-seaters are less generous with people space and cargo volume, so would be better for families with little kids and car-pooling duties. Speaking of cargo, the hatch opens down to upper thigh level to reveal the usual flat loading floor with four lashing rings and a light. A split deck board lifts to reveal a fully sized steel spare stowed valve-side down for a touch more storage space.

Throughout the rest of the cabin there’s a deep storage bin with 12-volt socket under the central armrest, more slots and cup holders, a fair glove box, a spectacle case and narrow door bins. The steering wheel adjusts manually both ways and features satellite buttons for cruise, music, computer and phone. The music and air conditioning console is neat and professional with a small and basic display screen. Big plasma jobs are reserved for upper-crust models.

There are less expensive, petrol powered, models in the range but this fairly basic little diesel probably provides the nicest balance of properties. If we were in the market for a competent, medium sized, city SUV we would give this one a close second look.

Test car from Nissan SA press fleet.

The numbers
Price: R351 000
Engine: 1598 cc, four-cylinder, direct injection, turbo diesel
Power: 96 kW at 4000 rpm
Torque: 320 Nm at 1750 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 10.5 seconds
Maximum speed: 188 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 6.8 l/100 km
Tank: 60 litres
Luggage: 550 to 1405 litres VDA
Ground clearance: 209 mm
Warranty: 6 years/150 000 km; with roadside assistance
Service plan: 5 years/90 000 km; at 15 000 km intervals

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.

Comments?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? That's your privilege, because if everybody agreed on everything, the world would be a boring place. All I ask is that you remain calm, so please blow off a little steam before venting too vigorously.