Nissan X Trail
 

So what is to be made of this vehicle? ----- the Nissan X Trail.

I can't remember seeing mention of it within the HUBB but I guess there will be an owners' webpage somewhere else on the internet.

Would you/do you own one?
Pros and cons of ownership?

What can they do, what can't they do?
Limitations?
Experience of living with one.

Strengths and weaknesses?
Good versions of their engines and poorer ones?

Just one plea; please don't go :offtopic:
A couple of times recently I have tried to contribute to threads about 4x4 travel and they just swing very quickly to the eternal LR or LC "debate".

It might help you with comparative info if you look here FME its quite impartial and fairly accurate appraisal , the link is for xtrail but they cover most :cool4: HTSH

Nissan X-Trail Cars,Pictures,Reviews and Prices | Parkers

Thanks for that link tacr2man.
I looked at some of the reviews in there and they seemed to be written from the point of view of "lifestyle" (a comment that you made in my other thread about the Freelander - and a good one to my mind).

You prompted me to look around elsewhere for more useful reviews, or at least what appear to be more useful, and I got to this one:-

35 of 37 Nissan Terrano II Touring 2.7 TDI Reviews | Guest's Review | Review Centre

I think they are better reviews because at least some are written from the point of view of people who have used 4x4 off road, usually for their work (but you can't have everything in the one, single source it seems - unless on here??).

As it happens reading a bit about the X Trail led me to read on into the Terrano, but it is still a Nissan so not totally :offtopic:

I would suggest that 1st decision if you are looking for a 4wd , is to decide between HD and Lifestyle . HD is usually with a low range transfer gear set. These are defender, LC Patrols etc . If you are going the other way, its a much bigger choice , and you can start to narrow the choice by deciding on ground clearance needed. Its quite tricky on making a good choice as there are poor engines , trans etc even in the same model of vehicle . So lots of research needed and quite a few blind alleys . HTSH

If you are looking at the X-Trails as a possible day to day/overlanding vehicle, I would look and see what the Aussies think of them.

Most Japanese 4x4s get tried and tested in Aus where they put them through their paces covering great distances quite quickly over some pretty rough terrain.

How hard can it be?
 

Hi Dave,

Whether it's an X-Trail, Freelander, Honda CRV, they're all pretty similar.

It depends how you're going to use them. If it's just general greenlaning in the UK or abroad they'll be fine. However if you're going further afield, over difficult terrain, for extended periods, you'll have problems eventually.

These vehicles aren't as tough as other 4x4s and will breakdown eventually. Getting spare parts will not be easy in remote areas. Even getting an all-terrain tyre for anything other than a 16" rim can be a pain.

If you don't want to go the whole hog on a Land Cruiser or Land Rover Defender/Discovery, you could look at a Toyota Hilux/Surf, Nissan Terrano/Ford Maverick, Mitsubishi Shogun Sport, or any of the pick-ups Mazda/Isuzu/Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi L200 - there are plenty around.

Hope that helps.

Happy trails,

Peter Girling
Atlas Overland - Specialist adventure tour company providing off-road holidays for 4x4 enthusiasts in Europe and North Africa.
Tours to Morocco, Tunisia, Arctic Circle, Alps, Pyrenees, Corsica, Eastern Europe and UK weekend tours.

Guys,
Thanks for all the good feedback.

It's the very similarity between these "lifestyle" vehicles (lets call them that for a generic name) that causes my doubts and lack of information. Combine this with the fact that very few ever go off hard surfaced roads - bitumen, concrete, whatever.

Right now I am inclined to think that the Freelander is a better bet:-
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...eelander-61321
but I can't actually justify that thought at present with any fact based argument.

For Nissan, I get the feeling that the earlier Terrano is a better bet so far as the lifestyle type of vehicle is concerned, but I am still doing my own reading elsewhere and listening to viewpoints on here.

Just as another thing for you to consider , you are in the UK , so would suggest that a discovery is going to give you "the best bang for your buck"
You will then have a 4wd with few limitations eg hi/lo range a fairly economical engine eg 30mpg parts are very available and afordable, the only thing is you need to search carefully to find least body corrosion !!
When the body succombs you can always build into an old 90 :thumbup1:

Aaaaaah, you're reading my mind far too well now!
My related thread about 4x4s, specifically the Freelander, is leading toward the Discovery as another vehicle to be considered:-
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...eelander-61321

There are quite a few for sale on ebay.

Opinions
 

Hi Walkabout

friends just drove a Nissan Terrano back to Uk from SA, no major problems I am aware of, trip was husband, wife and two young girls under 9 tears.
the vehicle is for sale:

AFRICA 4X4 CAFE: advice on Self Drive Overland Expeditions to, buying and selling 4x4s in, East and Southern Africa

Chris

I've done a bit of research for that Julian, but not in any great depth cos I am inclined toward the Terrano as far as a Nissan is concerned. What I did find from Oz is also inclined toward the lifestyle approach to running a X Trail:-
NISSAN X-TRAIL - www.drive.com.au

Yes, that is still a large consideration in my mind at present tacr2man, but I am not in any hurry on this subject i.e. going firm on a specific vehicle.
The Terrano has a dual shift stick but I think it selects the optional 4 wheel drive (maybe in low ratio?? - I don't know, I am going only by pics that I have seen up to now). The selective aspect gives it an advantage over the Freelander, all other aspects being equal, but not over the Disco which is well regarded from what I have read so far - I will continue LR themes in my other thread about the Freelander.
:offtopic::oops2:

Thanks for the link Chris - I have looked in there and the asking price is very much more than for similar 1999 Terrano's here in the UK (+ their vehicle is in France).
But it does show what the Terrano can do - I assume they stayed on dirt roads, tracks and similar.

First time post here, but I thought I'd give my $.02 seeing as how I've driven an X-Trail from England to Pakistan (so far - I intend to continue down through South Asia to finish in Oz).

I understand the apprehension of it being a lifestyle vehicle, but it's been nothing but reliable and tough for all 16,000 miles of my drive so far. It's no offroad vehicle to be sure, unless you outfitted it with new suspension and tires. I've driven it completely stock with regular M&S tires over some of the worst "roads" the Asian continent can provide - mud, rocks, low water, sand, even through a bentonite-covered Pakistani construction site in the Himalayas - and it hasn't failed me yet. The only problem I've had with it was after 9 consecutive days of crap road and bashing the undercarriage (my fault - I was going too fast) did the exhaust tubing underneath crack and split. With a bit of wire and a 20-dollar weld job back in Islamabad, it is good to go again.

Point is that you're not going to be rock-crawling and mudding with it, but it's a pretty great vehicle, from my entirely anecdotal perspective.

BTW, it's a 2003 1.9 Cdi, and I picked it up near London for just over 3000 pounds. It gets almost 30 mpg, too.

Thanks for that first hand review hodgea!
Sounds like the kind of reliability that I would expect from a Nissan, going by their more car based models.
I think Nissan claim a bit better fuel economy, but such official figures are often overly optimistic.

Your post prompts a few questions.
Did you have any other vehicles in mind when you decided to get the X Trail? - I have too many in my thoughts.

I believe the original wheels would be alloy - did you keep them or change them for steel versions?

I haven't looked at any vehicles for real yet, basing all my considerations to date on online reading. So, does the 2003 X trail have only a standard set of ratios in the gearbox combined with permanent 4 wheel drive? (suitable for the open road is what I mean).
I still haven't figured out if the earlier Terrano has a lo-hi choice of gearing.

:welcome: to the HUBB and thanks again for a great first post!!

I did have a couple in mind - the Patrol, an Isuzu Trooper, maybe a Freelander. Besides the initial expense, I figured that the Patrol and the Trooper would be too expensive to run because of fuel costs. That and they're size was unnecessary for my needs. I would simply have way more room than I knew what to do with and navigating those things down alleys and small streets was always going to be stressful, especially in the third world. The Freelander was simply too unreliable at the price point I was looking at (which limited the version to pre-redesign, and from all I've read they made bricks in those years). In my price range, the older LCs were an option, too, but their size and the fact that the X-Trail had a bunch of comfort features that I would appreciate on a really long trip made the X-Trail the easy choice (for me, anyway). Finally, I suppose I could have looked into the Rav4 or the CR-V, but most of the reviews I read online handed the used vehicle crown to the Nissan.

I kept the alloy wheels. Like I said, completely stock, except for some cosmetic things that were added before I bought it.

Yes, the gearbox is a straight-up six-speed, no lo-hi. It has selectable four-wheel drive, and 4-wheel drive lock.

And lastly, I imagine part of the reason I'm getting relatively poor fuel economy is the quality of fuel in these parts. Iranian diesel is basically pumped straight from the ground into the tanks, barely refined.

And sorry, this is my bad - it's a 2.2. My mind must have been wandering. Here's my website if you want to see it: The Car � Overland To Australia

Many thanks for all of the extra information Adam (yep, I've been reading your blog).
Your pictures etc fill in a few details - I was going to ask how many are travelling in the vehicle; a question of how heavily loaded is the X Trail, and you cover that in the blog.
I think you are getting excellent value out of that 3K purchase.

You do make me wonder how many miles this vehicle has done so far? (you mention the usual puff of black diesel smoke when flooring the pedal).

I am impressed with your blog as well :thumbup1: . Going off topic for a moment, I have read your information about Iran, so far, and it all makes for great reading - highly recommended for anyone else here in the HUBB who wants to know about that country.

I bought the car with just over 111,000 miles on it. It's at about 129,000 right now. Still gives off a puff of the black stuff when I floor it, but I've started using it as a punishment for tailgaters. :)

Thanks for the kudos on the blog! It's fun to write it. I just made a video today of my travels through Iran, if you care to watch that, too: Overland To Australia (Iran) - YouTube

Cheers for that Adam.
As ever, more information just leads to more thoughts, and questions.
Are you carrying more than one spare wheel? I am assuming that you have one in the usual storage place + a jack.

Are you handy with the spanners on the road? I know you haven't had any issues -and I certainly don't want to jinx your trip :nono: - I was just wondering if you are carrying any particular tools beyond the usual kit that comes with vehicles.

Anyway, that's probably enough about your car!!
OK, I've looked at a few of your vids and I have to say you should stick to writingdoh
Sorry, just letting you know that they are a bit repetitive with that view out of the windscreen, and tarmac looks much the same the world over.
You could even make the movie out of a side window for a change to see some landscape other than the road, or make more vids of places you are in, again rather than the road ahead.
--- just a thought that can be ignored :innocent: if it doesn't suit, and I offer it up because you have helped me with my X trail questions.:clap::clap:

Just one spare wheel in the floor. Blew out a tire in west Pakistan, so I had to get that replaced, but it was no problem really.

And despite my engineering training, I have no ability fixing a car, except for the most minor of problems. I didn't bring any special tools with me.

The videos are really just so my family and friends can see the kind of roads I'm driving on and the scenery I'm driving through. They're not meant to be feature films or anything more than a supplement to my writing. Appreciate your opinion, though. ;)

Thanks again for the information; it's an impressive performance so far -- the car I mean.:cool4:
I will be interested to see how you get on later driving in Asia, and with the shipping aspect, and the "what now", when you get to Melbourne.

Even your close relatives/friends might like to see a few vids away from the X trail windscreen??
One other thing struck me - your picture section of your blog runs out in France. How about putting some more pics in there (of those Iranian young ladies for instance??) + links to your youtube products?

Yeah - it's a mounting problem really. I lost one of the joints for my camera mount, so getting varied and decent views is a pain. As far as pics go, I've been meaning to do that... time and procrastination and whatnot. I actually have pictures up until Turkey on my Flickr account, which is linked in the header of the website. I got sick of their interface and have been meaning to migrate all the photos to the website - but I only got up to France.

But hey, I think you've inspired me. I'll get some recent photos up in the coming days.

Opinions
 

Dave

it all comes down to what you want to do with the vehicle, where you want to go etc.

As said the X-trail is more of a life style, but others have been all over in what are meant to be much less capable cars/trucks/4x4/bikes/scooters etc, etc

Just comes down to whether this matches the trip you want to do - peace of mind matters alot, imo.

:thumbup1:
You're flickr links work OK for me Adam; it was just that the photo section is pretty bare, but I finally figured to find the photo links in your running blog - which is your home page of course.
If you want one more thought:
I suggest you make a few comments about where you stay and how you find accommodations etc along the way - that type of thing alongside the travelogue of "sites to see". Maybe not as a routine but just when you find something really good/interesting?

Best, and safe driving.

Got it Chris!
That I am not sure about right now - it's the 64K $ question.
Over on my thread to discuss the Freelander, I have come out with such a potential list, but it is not exclusive, perhaps more ideas for trial runs?
1. Morocco.
2. Turkey - as far East as possible without the bother of a visa. - that sounds wrong; I mean without prebooking a visa, such as for entering Iran further east.
3. Scandanavia.

Can an X trail do all 3? I think so.

"Got it Chris!
That I am not sure about right now - it's the 64K $ question.
Over on my thread to discuss the Freelander, I have come out with such a potential list, but it is not exclusive, perhaps more ideas for trial runs?
1. Morocco.
2. Turkey - as far East as possible without the bother of a visa.
3. Scandanavia.

Can an X trail do all 3? I think so."

That list is prettywell the type of thing a lifestyle SUV should excell at ,as its mostly bitumen, with availability of some slightly challenging terrain or conditions depending on time of year , to spice things up if so desired . JMHO

Yes, which is pretty much where I got involved in this question - it was born out of an earlier thread on the lines of "tell me what I really need for 4x4 travel" (or some such similar title). For me, that thread didn't get down deep into the issues, so I raised the similar question but in relation to specific vehicles (this goes on in the HUBB far more for bikes than it does in here for 4x4 IMO)- the 2 specifics have been the X Trail and the Freelander, with the latter discussion diverting a little into the 200/300TDi LR engines and the Discovery, while the former relates also to the Nissan Terrano.

Anyone can go RTW more or less completely on hard surface nowadays - I think Adam Hodge is going to show this with his current trip in his X Trail. He has done a pretty good job to date of demonstrating the capability of his lifestyle SUV/RV.

At worst, for visiting my 3 named regions, would be encounters with gravel tracks, and some sandy conditions, with the possible exception of some parts of Maroc that could be a lot more knarly and with the proviso of "not going looking for trouble".
So, in summary, my own personal question comes down to "what else would I set out to do with my vehicle of choice?". I am not looking for answers to that 64K $ one - rhetorical only here, which brings me full circle to a better understanding of what 4x4s can do.

Thanks for prompting me to think it through out loud, again.:thumbup1:

ps and a related consideration is what can such vehicles do on their own - travelling solo without a bunch of other vehicles in convoy which between them will have a load of winches, tow ropes, moral support etc etc.

Ah, at last a question I can answer from an Aussie perspective. :thumbup1:

X-Trails are fine down here for sand, snow and rough dirt roads. But as already stated, if you want to go rock-hopping or mud-bashing, look at something a little more heav duty.

The Terrano 2.7 TDi is very popular down here as a tow and medium-duty off-road vehicle. That engine is considered just about unkillable. I understand it was used in non-Turbo form in London FX4 cabs for a time as well. The cabbies who have owned one go all misty-eyed about them and claim 500,000 miles.

If I had the choice of the two I'd buy the older Terrano.

I currently have an 2009 R51 Pathfinder which may be badged as a Terrano overseas? This model has been available since 05 pretty much unchanged and has 2WD, Auto, 4wd High and 4wd Low options. (The Auto mode is useless, it will only switch into 4wd when you are bellied down!!) Mine is a 2.5 TDi Auto has just clocked over 60,000km in three years, some of it off-road. It has been completely trouble free in that time and the only warranty claim I have had was a noisy air con fan. I've just returned from a 5000km trip towing a 19 foot Caravan with the thing and it handled it without a problem. My only complaint is it could do with a lreger fuel tank or dual tanks as found in the LC and Prado to increase the range. So if your budget stretches to one of those and you'd consider something a bit bigger, I'd certainly recommend one.

I'd never recommend a Jackaroo/Trooper Diesel. I've had two of those and they were both disasters.

Cheers,

Another reply from an aussie perspective (although living back in UK now )
Just as bnicho says above, very happy with his nissan , and had bad experience with jackaroo/trooper , I can think of many people who were very happy with the jackaroo/trooper . I owned a garage for 11yrs in Oz and operated a recovery business going into the bush most of the time (longest recovery 2500km round trip! ) .
I came to the conclusion that problems with vehicles are mostly caused by owner/operator .
They take the vehicle too close or beyond what is its designed operational envelope , by loading ,or the next is speed
Then either they dont maintain it to manufacturers specs (or their garage doesnt) or modify it .
Most manufacturers unfortunately dont specify on and offroad loads (unlike mil vehicles) as there can be a considerable difference.
This is where a lot of the "lifestyle" vehicles get into trouble as offroad
(bush roads inc) they would have a very low payload . The heavier vehicles usually by design have a bigger safety margin built in .
People as well have got used to a faster life , not least when driving
and suspension tech has enabled quicker travel off road .
The preprod Range rover , had to have considerable strengthening of the suspension during development as they trialled with a couple of farmers who broke them , as they did not realise what their speed was doing having been used to leaf sprung landies that "broke them before the vehicle" .
I have read quite a few really entertaining trip reports , but shake my head in disbelief when they are surprised by their breakdowns etc when you can see what is coming .
Getting to know your vehicle long before you take it RTW is a really good idea , it allows you to learn its capabilities , also to rectify what previous owners may have done to it . It also gives you time to learn the basics of how to maintain it , as quite a few problems are caused by mechs who are not used to working on that type/make of vehicle, not only in third world situations . Hope the above diatribe is of use to some who may read it and take onboard . :thumbup1:

Update
 

Well, I was never really interested in that aspect, I realised.

I ended up owning a 2003 X trail for a while - about 2 years from memory - and it was pretty good for fuel, returning around 42 MPG (UK gallons).
As per other threads in here, I also owned a Prado 95 before the X Trail and that returned about 26 MPG. In both cases, driven on asphalt only.

I've just looked at old paper-based records I still have, and the X trail had about 60K - 70K+ miles on the odometer while the Prado was just over 100K, (converted to miles).

Nowadays, I drive a van with a motorbike carried in the back.

I see dead thread???

I don't know what happened with my last post. Only the first line showed up.

I'm glad yo hear you had a good run with your X-Trail.

We still have the R51 Pathfinder. It's now topped 205,000km and is still trouble free. I recently had the timing chain and sprockets replaced as they were starting to get noisy. Other than that it's only had the usual servicing and consumables.

However, the R51 is now relegated to second car duties. My daily is an ex-UK import 2007 Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4 manual. I nevet saw myself buying one of those!! However, I love it. It will go 95% of the places the Pathfinder will, but uses a lot less fuel and is infinitely more comfortable. I've only had it two years but there has been no issues. The FL2 has 133,000 miles on it and I add another 300 miles plus to that every week.

Cheers,
Bnicho.