Nissan X-Trail long-term test
Promising to combine seven-seat practicality with the low running costs of a hybrid, the Nissan X-Trail sounds great on paper – but what's it like in reality?...
The Car Nissan X-Trail Tekna+ e-4ORCE Run by Jonty Renk, video production manager
Why it’s here To prove that you can still buy an SUV that is both sporty and utilitarian
Needs to Offer a versatile and practical space for camera gear and triathlon equipment, be more frugal than a petrol-engined SUV and carry up to seven people comfortably.
Mileage 6318 List price £48,095 Target Price £43,317 Price as tested £50,240 Official economy 42.8mpg Test economy 34.4mpg
5th February 2025 – another season to conquer
Being an automotive videographer is, without question, one of the best jobs in the world. I get to film incredible cars, travel to stunning locations, flex my creative muscles, and spend most of my time outdoors. Sounds idyllic, right? Well, it is – except for this time of year, when the sky’s a relentless shade of grey, the air feels colder than an Arctic plunge pool, and the thermometer barely stirs past five degrees. Let’s just say the novelty of being outside wears off quickly.
Thankfully, my winter shoots haven’t been quite so soul-crushing this year – and I owe it all to the Nissan X-Trail. It’s as if Nissan’s engineers built my car specifically for damp, muddy countryside life, because it’s a cocoon of warmth and comfort.
Take my chosen Tekna+ trim, for example. Front and rear heated seats? Yes please, especially when the whole crew piles in halfway through a frosty shoot for a much-needed lunch break. There’s also a heated steering wheel, which has been a saviour for my frozen fingers. I’ll admit, I wasn’t entirely sold on heated steering wheels until now, but after this winter, it’s a non-negotiable feature for me on future company cars.
And then there’s the windscreen defroster, which works faster than any other similar system I've tried. Indeed, on a particularly frosty morning recently, I whipped out my phone and decided to time it: just 90 seconds from iced-over to crystal clear – seriously impressive in my book.
With my family tucked away in the Forest of Dean and most of my shoots taking place in the countryside, the X-Trail’s ability to climb soft verges on narrow lanes and plough through minor floods has been nothing short of game-changing.
And mud? No problem. Despite being sent to some outrageously boggy locations, I’ve never been stuck. My four-wheel drive X-Trail has never struggled for traction on slippery surfaces; it’s may have cost me around £2000 extra over a front-wheel drive X-Trail, and does make fuel economy marginally worse, but I’ve been glad to have it.
As I write this, I’m about to head off for another shoot. The forecast is predictably grim. But do I care? Not one bit. With the X-Trail, winter feels like just another season to conquer.
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