Nissan prices new-gen X-Trail from $27,990

NISSAN has announced an aggressive starting price of $27,990 before on-road costs for its new-generation and better-equipped X-Trail, a reduction of $500 over the seven-year-old outgoing model.

On sale from March this year in petrol-powered guise – the (Renault-sourced) diesel comes in the third quarter of 2014 – the new model will also be the first X-Trail to come with the option of seven seats, a rarity in the compact SUV class.

This configuration kicks off at $31,580 with a standard CVT automatic, meaning it undercuts the smaller Dualis +2 seven-seater that it will replace when the new-generation of that nameplate – to be renamed Qashqai – touches down in five-seat-only guise around September this year.

By offering a wider range of variants, Nissan’s Australian division stands the best chance of getting back towards compact SUV sales leadership, a title it intermittently held until falling behind newer rivals such as the Mazda CX-5, Toyota RAV4, Subaru Forester and Honda CR-V.

In 2013, X-Trail sales were down 33.4 per cent despite frequent discounting at dealer level, with total sales just over half that of Mazda’s dominant CX-5.

As before, the new X-Trail range will be available in three specification levels – ST, ST-L and Ti – and, depending on spec, in both front- and all-wheel-drive configurations, the latter of which comes with a limited-slip diff (LSD).

The range-opening front-drive ST five-seater gets a 106kW/200Nm 2.0-litre petrol engine matched to a six-speed manual gearbox. All other offerings in the range get a carryover 126kW/226Nm 2.5-litre unit matched to an Xtronic CVT auto.

The ST, as mentioned, kicks off at $27,990 for the front-drive variant, and climbs to $30,490 for the more powerful 2.5 AWD offering. Standard equipment levels appear to be quite generous for the class, including 17-inch alloy wheels, a scratch-resistant body coating and a five-inch LCD central screen with a rear-view camera.

Also standard is keyless start, Bluetooth phone and audio, and cruise control.

All variants come with Active Trace Control torque-vectoring, 40/20/40 folding rear seats with a sliding and reclining bench, a rear door that opens 80-degrees, hidden storage under rear floor, six airbags and two ISOFIX anchors in the rear (top-tethers also).

The front-drive, seven-seat ST with the same list of features retails for $31,580, making it one of the cheapest seven-seat models on the market. There are no AWD seven-seat offerings.

The ST-L – $36,190 for the front-drive version and $39,080 with AWD – adds fog-lights, roof rails, tinted glass, a bigger seven-inch screen with satellite-navigation, an around-view monitor (a view of the car from above to assist with parking), digital radio, leather ‘accents on the seats, steering wheel and gear-shifter, an electric driver’s seat, heated front seats and dual-zone climate control.

A front-drive, seven-seat version of the ST-L costs $37,190.

The five-seat, AWD-only Ti costs $44,680, and adds 18-inch alloys, LED headlights, an electrically powered tailgate, auto-levelling headlights, rain-sensing wipers, a sunroof, lane departure warning, a system to detect and warn of moving objects in the driver’s path and blind-spot monitoring.

This new X-Trail is built on a new modular platform developed jointly by Nissan and partner Renault, and also features a fancy new piece of technology called Active Ride Control – a device that detects bumps in the road and adjusts the suspension to cope (a form of which is just being launched in Mercedes-Benz’s new flagship S-Class).

Nissan first launched the X-Trail in Australia in 2001, and it swiftly gained a foothold in the now-booming compact SUV market on the back of its rugged looks and versatile cabin. The outgoing model launched in 2007 and built on the formula, offering similar design and even more space.

The company has sold more than 140,000 units in Australia, making it the company’s most important model over the last decade alongside the Navara ute.

2014 Nissan X-Trail pricing*

ST 2.0L 2WD	$27,990
ST 2.5L 2WD (a)	$30,490
ST 2.5L 7-seat 2WD (a)	$31,580
ST-L 2.5L 2WD (a)	$36,190
ST-L 2.5L 7-seat 2WD (a)	$37,190
ST 2.5L 4WD (a)	$33,980
ST-L 2.5L 4WD (a)	$39,080
Ti 2.5L 4WD (a)	$44,680

*Excludes on-road costs.