Nissan X-Trail N-Connecta Mild Hybrid (2022 - )

With SUV styling and the option of five or seven-seats, the Nissan X-Trail is a popular choice in the Japanese carmaker’s line-up. It may not gain the same plaudits as its smaller sibling, the Qashqai, but it boasts plenty of appeal for active families.

There is a choice of a mild hybrid petrol-powered version or Nissan’s e-POWER full hybrid model and the X-Trail can be specified with two or four-wheel drive. 

Customers also get plenty of choice when it comes to trims with the line-up consisting of Visia (available with mild-hybrid only), Acenta Premium, N-Connecta, Tekna and Tekna+ grades.

We opted for the X-Trail N-Connecta with the mild-hybrid powertrain and 2WD for our test drive.

The five-door Nissan X-Trail is a full-sized family SUV that is available with five or seven seats. Our test car featured the maximum seating option and boasted a strong road presence when viewed from any angle.

With robust, yet not overly-aggressive styling, it features sleek LED headlights with signature daytime running lights, a V-motion grille housing the Nissan emblem, distinctive front air vents, LED taillights, roof rails, privacy glass, a sunroof and 18-inch diamond cut alloy wheels.

Moving inside, the interior is clutter-free and modern with a wealth of technology to explore. The main focal point is the 12.3-inch NissanConnect Display with Connected Services infotainment screen that offers access to the navigation system, smartphone connectivity, six speaker sound system with DAB radio, Bluetooth and lots more besides.

The seats offer plenty of support and are manually adjusted along with the steering wheel to find the ideal driving position. There is a separate panel with physical dials to alter the climate settings, along with a clear 12.3-inch driver display screen that shows all the important data such as speed, driving aids and navigation maps.

The chunky gear lever looks great and there are push button controls to change the audio stations or skip tracks. This can also be achieved via steering wheel controls. 

The relatively small amount of piano black trim does occasionally cause a few glare issues on particularly bright days, but otherwise the X-Trail’s cabin is high-end and practically designed for driver-useability.

Powering our front-wheel drive mild-hybrid X-Trail was a three-cylinder, 1,498cc turbocharged petrol engine delivering 163PS and 300Nm of torque. 

The acceleration through the Xtronic transmission, which mimics a seven-speed gearbox, is smooth enough and this model can complete the 0-62mph dash in a respectable 9.6 seconds with a top speed of 124mph. If you’re looking for slightly sharper pace, the e-POWER 4WD version cuts that sprint time down to just 7.0 seconds.

We tested the vehicle in a variety of driving conditions from bright winter sunshine to torrential downpours and even a few snow flurries and it coped well with each scenario delivering confident grounding through tight bends and minimal body sway for an SUV.

It’s also an accomplished motorway cruiser effortlessly eating up the miles with ample power on tap to overtake slower-moving vehicles. Sharp bursts of pace are not quite so impressive though with the engine getting quite vocal under heavy acceleration.

There are drive modes called Eco, Standard and Sport that alter the driving characteristics of the car and the driver can take control of the gear shifts via steering wheel-mounted paddles for added fun.

With its elevated seating, the all-round visibility is good and the generous range of sensors and cameras will help when squeezing into a tight parking space.

The suspension system does a worthy job of ironing out any road creases and the cabin remains well-insulated against outside noise for a refined experience.

The mild hybrid technology means the car features a 12-volt battery which is topped up via regenerative braking. There is no EV-only driving but this battery adds extra torque, a quick restart for city driving and it also runs all the car’s systems when at a standstill such as at a red light.

The X-Trail is the largest SUV in the Nissan line-up and stretches 4,680mm in length, 1,840mm across (excluding door mirrors), 1,725mm high and has a wheelbase of 2,705mm.

Although our test car was just two-wheel drive, it still boasted good ground clearance with lots of protective cladding if venturing onto rougher surfaces. For anyone looking for something a little more capable off-road, there are 4WD versions to select from.

The cabin is bright and spacious with plenty of room for five occupants on long journeys and there is the versatility of two extra seats that, when not in use, fold flat to the boot floor.

When they are needed, access is made easy thanks to second-row seats that can slide and fold forward, but ideally these two individual rear seats are only suitable for children due to the limited leg room.

The boot is accessed via a wide, manually opening tailgate and it can hold 485 litres of luggage, increasing to 1,298 litres with just the front seats upright. A lift-up partition is really handy to keep shopping bags from tipping over.

In addition, there are a number of practical storage compartments scattered throughout the cabin, including wide door pockets, a glovebox, central cubby with additional space beneath the floating centre console, six cup holders, seat back pockets, a sunglasses holder, a wireless charging pad and some trays.

The Nissan X-Trail costs from £32,890 for the mild hybrid model with five seats and two-wheel drive and increases to £49,370 for the range-topping Tekna+ version with e-POWER, e4ORCE 4WD and fitted with seven seats.

Our test car, the N-Connecta Mild Hybrid with 2WD and seven seats, was priced at £38,390 but featured two-tone Champagne Silver paintwork with a black metallic roof that added a further £1,145 to the check-out price.

When it comes to the day-to-day running costs, under WLTP testing, the car could deliver a combined 38.7mpg with carbon emissions of 164g/km. This CO2 figure would result in a first-year road tax bill, or Vehicle Excise Duty to give it its proper title, of £635 dropping to the standard fee of £170 after 12 months.

While our X-Trail was less than £40k, there are many versions that creep over that threshold and that brings additional costs to owners as it is subject to a premium car levy of £370 for five years starting from year two.

For company car drivers, the X-Trail, as tested, has a Benefit in Kind tax rating of 37 per cent and it sits in insurance group 23.

There’s nothing particularly flashy about the Nissan X-Trail and that’s not a bad thing. What you see is what you get and that is a whole lot of car for a decent amount of cash.

The wide range of powertrains, seating configurations, trims, along with two or four-wheel drive means there is ample choice for customers, but this is a vehicle that would look perfect on the driveway of any adventurous family.

And when you also take into account the comprehensive list of safety features and driver assistance aids that secured a maximum five-star Euro NCAP rating, the X-Trail seems to have all bases covered.