The ongoing Geneva Auto Show has seen the unveiling of many advanced vehicles. From concept to production cars, the event has seen them all. One of the production vehicles to have graced the event is the all-new X-Trail from Nissan.
The Asian brand has finally shown the European auto scene what they have developed to replace the previous generation of the X-Trail. It can be remembered that the first generation of X-Trail received a very warm acceptance from car buyers across the global market. Nissan is now hard pressed to come up with a new version of the X-Trail which will exhibit the characteristics of the old X-Trail and which also will add to the mix new features that will make the new Nissan X-Trail more convincing for car buyers to purchase.
To come up with an idea of what they need to do to the second generation of X-Trails, Nissan has conducted a survey among their customers and asked what areas and features of the X-Trail did they like. The result showed that the majority of Nissan X-Trail owners loved the vehicle for its practicality, design, ease of use, and, of course, driving performance.
Nissan's Executive Vice President for Corporate Strategy and Product Planning, Carlos Tavares, emphasized on these attributes of the X-Trail in his speech at the unveiling of the vehicle. "Customers love X-Trail's convenience, its practicality, its strong performance and off-road capability. When we planned the new X-Trail, we were determined to keep those X-Trail roots, but enhance the entire vehicle," Tavares said.
It is apparent that Nissan has restyled the new generation X-Trail but it still retains the robust and strong shape that auto enthusiasts liked about the original X-Trail. The shoulder line, glasshouse, and the window lines are similar to the first generation X-Trail. The new generation of the vehicle looks good enough even without a Nissan car bra.
While there are design concepts copied from the original Nissan X-Trail, the newest version offers an improved interior comfort and a new kind of practicality for every driver or passenger. While the interior of the vehicle offers comfort and convenience, it also offers practicality. This is shown in the placement of the instrument cluster behind the steering wheel which makes it easily visible to the driver. While allowing that, the placement also provides ample room for the center console.
The versatility and practicality of the new generation Nissan X-Trail is evident in its trunk. When compared to the previously released X-Trail, the new generation sports 145 liters more of trunk space at 555 liters. The design of the trunk and the enlargement of the area behind the last row of seats allowed the integration of a sliding drawer under the trunk floor. The space underneath the floor gives the Nissan X-Trail owners extra luggage space and a place to stow away valuable items.
The versatility of the X-Trail is further exhibited in the drawer with its partition walls which can be positioned in various ways. But if the owner of the new X-Trail needs more luggage space without having to use the drawer underneath the floor, both the drawer and the floor can be taken out.
Since the Nissan X-Trail is made to handle not so ordinary road conditions, it is equipped with a four-wheel drive configuration. Nissan has introduced their all-wheel drive system ALL MODE for the first generation X-Trail. It is only logical that the new version of the vehicle should also have an improved version of the all-wheel drive system. The current version of the system is now called as the ALL MODE 4x4i.
Improvements over the previous version of the vehicle include the Downhill Drive Support (DDS), and Uphill Drive Support (UPS). The DDS is activated manually via a switch in the center console. This system maintains a speed of 7 km/h when going downhill. This means that the driver can concentrate solely on steering instead of having to worry about the speed of the vehicle. The UDS, on the other hand, is automatic in nature. The system kicks in when it detects more than a 10 percent incline. The system activates the brakes until the driver starts to move forward.
About the Author
Mike Bartley, 49, is a professional automotive journalist domiciled in Irvine, CA. He travels from one state to another to cover the hottest auto shows, racing events and automotive revelations. His penned compositions cover press releases, reviews, and suggestions. Where the auto action is, that's exactly where you can find Mike. mikebartley@yahoo.com Irvine, CA 92602 http://www.speedyperformanceparts.com
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