Test drive Nissan X-Trail 2001-2003 SUV

X-Mission

Not even half a century has passed since Nissan has come down to the release of an all -wheel drive car for outdoor activities.
 
He had everything: amazing sports cars in its acuity (remember at least the legendary 300ZX), luxurious sedans, excellent family models, clockwork hatchbacks and even minivans. There were popular small -leafs, one of which even managed to win the title Aatomor of the year; there were pickups; A whole galaxy of real SUVs who have gained authority for the highest reliability and cross -country ability. But the SUV class models, a car for outdoor activities, or, as it is also called, there was no parquet SUV. It’s strange, because Nissan’s all -wheel drive models, and this is not only my opinion, is best.

 
Partly, such a nonsense of Nissan to all -wheel drive SUVs, not intended for difficult traffic conditions, could be explained by the already extensive range of all -wheel drivers. The formidable and invincible Patrol GR, fashionable Terrano II, classic Panthfinder, created on the basis of the Terrano of the first generation - and this is only models for the European market! But there was also a luxurious Infinity Q4 and several different -caliber pickups for overseas buyers. But sooner or later, external circumstances make you reconsider their views on life. And for Nissan this circumstance was two facts. First: the extreme popularity of SUVs in most markets in the world and constantly growing sales. Second: good demand, even for those SUVs, which, softly speaking, were designed not entirely successful and professionally. The exciting demand and fashion for such cars did something that no advertising campaign could do and the most expensive PR-technologist: literally every SUV that appeared on the market was sold with a bang. Wast qualities, controllability, functionality, reliability, safety - all these nuances worried few. Buyers were simply in a hurry to get a fashionable car to be the coolest in the parking lot near the office. And the more unearthly the model was, the longer the turn of buyers was built on it in the first months of sales.

 
Naturally, this situation sooner or later had to fail, since many were convinced that the SUV is not a panacea from off -road. Contrary to commercials, he, he cannot replace an SUV and even a passenger car. It turned out just a new, transitional class of cars, but he did not succeed in completely overshadowing itself. Manufacturers began to get out: someone completely stepped on the light side, and many preferred to train the model precisely on off-road. In any case, the SUV has not become a full replacement of two cars at once, so the current buyer no longer feeds any illusions associated with the extraordinary universality of such a car.

 
A car for outdoor activities from Nissan appeared much later than the main competitors. By the time of the debut of a model with the unusual name X-Trail, the Japanese, Europeans, and Koreans had already been noted in the pseudo-sorceress. Which, however, has a positive side: Nissan took into account the mistakes of all competitors. He had time to collect the necessary information about weaknesses, serious shortcomings and congenital problems of the model. And this is worth a lot, since even at the design stage you can make adjustments. The result is the appearance of an adult and high -quality model for outdoor activities, which immediately forced competitors in the class to squeeze. Some, especially authoritative, mainly due to the freshness of the X -Trail, most others - due to their complete failure and non -competitiveness. Details below ...

 
Do you know what I like serious dealerships? Serious attitude to work and appropriate communication with business partners. They will not seriously ask there: do you promise to quickly go? (It resembles a classic phrase and you won’t dance naked at the moon?), But they simply hand the keys and a set of documents, politely interested when they will have the opportunity to see you again. This time it was almost the same, with the excluding one moment - in the load to the keys and documents, a specialist was also awarded, who could very tightly explain the device of any assembly or assembly in this X -Trail. Well, it’s even better: there will be someone to argue with the advantages and disadvantages ...

 
Acquaintance with Nissan X -Trail began from a pleasant moment - the sound of a triggered central castle reminded of the shutter triggered in an expensive professional camera. The castle did not click, did not clap, but somehow juicy, but quietly slapped. Impressive, you know. The joke for the sake of several times played the opening button on the key, simultaneously watching the representative of the company trying to catch the position of Open in order to finally open the passenger door. Okay, stop playing, it's time for work.

 
I open the door, and my gaze rests on the bald panel in front of the wheel. Instead of devices, you see a smooth plastic surface, under which, during a further inspection, a spacious glove box was discovered. The dashboard moved to the right - right to the center, to the right part of the central console. Interestingly, but nothing else has moved anywhere? Inspection showed: no. Everything in its usual places, and ergonomics have been worked out so high quality that no questions on internal geography arise. If you want to turn on the rear window cleaner, then it turns on exactly in the place where it should - on the right steering wheel lever. Do not raise questions or control of governing bodies. The only thing - the gearbox lever is slightly closer to the handbrake, which is why low -growing drivers, forced to move the seat closer to the steering wheel, experience some inconvenience: the lever is all the time a little closer than it is used to it.

 
The rear seat, which has a stepped adjustment of the angle of inclination of the back, is simply huge: you can plant three basketball players. But for some reason the cup holder for some reason, for three, you don’t seem to be smart. By the way, the cup holders themselves are attached to the central tunnel with Velcro. And when you fold the back seat, they need to be removed. In general, the process of folding the rear seat does not seem quite logical: these cup holders, the head restraints are also nowhere to put. They are removed, otherwise the back does not fold to the end, and then they have nowhere to put them, will they not ride the trunk? But if the rear seat is folded, it turns out a huge even bridgehead, on which you can even be on the night. Which, by the way, the owners of this model often do. According to the representative of Lankor, one client was available by this principle and chose: he simply asked to completely lay out the rear seat in all the models sold. And the X-Trail trunk he liked the most.

 
A diesel in a cold state can always be determined by vibrations and a specific sound. And the turbodiesel X-Trail was no exception. On the steering wheel, on the seat, on the gearbox lever - until the car is warmed up, there is a quarrel, although very small. The sound also turned out to be non -collapse: the motor is noisy, but without a characteristic clatter and target. We touch the place, the motor confidently pulls the car at idle. And then the salon is filled with a nasty sound - it turned on the zummer, notifying the unsteady seat belts. My is fastened, but the passenger forgot what the car recalled immediately. The main feature - this sound will pursue you until both are fastened with, sitting ahead. The engineers who created this device even joked a little: if you increase the volume of the radio tape recorder, so as not to hear this mosquito squeak, Zummer is increasing the volume after you ... Is it worth adding that it was the first car I have met with a laid -out -of -the -way seat belts - they are fastened, but thrown behind the back of the seat

 
Gas - to the floor! The motor went well from the lower classes, but it became more interesting after 2000 rpm. A jerk, not even - a weighty kick, and the car very quickly goes to exceeding the speed limit. In the second, third and even fourth transmission, the pickup accounts for 1800-2000 rpm - in this range the motor demonstrates all its best qualities. It is not interesting to travel at lower speeds, as well as at higher ones: after 3,500 rpm, the motor gradually worships. The noise penetrates the salon, and at 4000 rpm, its sound becomes annoying.

 
Although, having traveled to the X -Trail for almost half a day, I came to the conclusion that high speed is not his element. He loves to ride assertively, but without violence over the motor and gearbox. In the city, he is quite dynamic, easily overtakes even powerful sedans, but try to squeeze the last juices out of it - no, dismiss. It is simply uninteresting: the motor roars, the dynamics does not become better, and this torn rhythm somehow does not please. I would like to go differently: fast, but without fuss. Switch quickly, twist the engine to about 3000 rpm and steering smoothly. That's when you appreciate all the advantages of this SUV. A high clearance is a guarantee of the trouble -free overcoming of any obstacle that arose on the road. You are no longer scared by the protruding well hatches, broken tram tracks and huge pits - you simply do not notice them on the X -Trail. You don’t notice, because I’m sure that the suspension will not break, and a high -profile tire will withstand even a strong blow. Again, you are sitting high, so you see the maneuvers ahead of the traveling from afar: there is time to go into a free row.

 
They also galloped well in the crossed area: the SUV still, albeit parquet.

 
The platform in Borovaya turned out to be almost a roller - pure ice was hidden under a thin layer of snow. As the representative of the company rightly noted: it’s even scary to walk here, and you are going to ride. Nevertheless, they traveled, and very good. First - on the front drive, in position 2WD (see insert). The car goes, even on ice, but completely reluctant: slippery after all. Therefore, it immediately switches to Auto. A completely different song is confident acceleration, confident passage of turns. Particularly interesting in sliding: the machine is instantly and literally in one motion is placed sideways, and in this position it can be pulled for an arbitrarily long time. At the same time, it feels how a smart transmission plays a torque, and in the case of slipping, electronics redistributing power through the axes. Moreover, he does it continuously and very smoothly: the front wheels were slightly slipped slightly, and it is felt how the moment immediately went to the rear. Then the opposite is true: the rear wheels begin to slip, and the electronics are trying to optimally distribute the craving along the axes so that there are no drifts or demolitions. This means that in the usual driving mode, even on dry asphalt, the car will not be revenge on the tail, like a rear -wheel drive, and at the same time it will not slip the face out of turn, like a front -wheel drive car. In Lock mode, when the coupling, which is responsible for the distribution of torque along the axes, is blocked, 57%is transmitted to the front wheels, and 43%to the rear wheels. And the car rides in a completely different way: the behavior in slipping is more stable and predictable mainly due to the fact that the torque does not jump along the axes. But this does not mean at all that this mode is more convenient for extreme driving, do not forget that we drove on ice. It is generally intended only to overcome heavy areas and is automatically turned off if the speed of the car has increased. It’s just a pity that we were not able to fully evaluate the advantage of Lock mode: the car was shod in summer tires, so it was simply unable to drive in deep snow. Let's wait until spring ...

 
Summing up, I would like to first list, by name, by name, all the competitors of the Nissan X-Trail. These are Toyota Rav4, Honda Cr-V, Hyundai Santa Fe, Ford Maverick and Mazda Tribute. There are many more models, but most often they meet, which means that these cars are sold. And each of them, despite the general similarity of transmission, stands out among competitors with something special. Some design, others - in quality, low retail value or even commitment to brand traditions. In any case, Nissan X-Trail has much more advantages. He is beautiful, has a stylish appearance and interior. In addition, it has excellent controllability and good dynamics. In quality, it seems that there will also be no questions. As for the price, it is just the average in this class, while the Nissan X-Trail itself is not called a modest middle peasant. Which is confirmed by our estimated table ...
 
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Help Ag

 
The range of power units offered for the Nissan X-Trail cannot be called extensive. These are two gasoline power units-a 2.0-liter four-cylinder and a 2.5-liter V6, and a turbodiesel, which was installed on a tested car. Meanwhile, for themselves, the Japanese left more sharp dishes. An emergency version of the X-Trail with a two-liter engine equipped with a turboponer is sold in full swing. In accordance with local legislation, the engine power is limited at 280 hp, however, this does not prevent the car from being truly speedy - the maximum speed is 220 km/h. Such is X-Trail WRX!

 
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Help AG:

 
The creators of the X-Trail took into account all the shortcomings of competitors, so the transmission of the SUV from Nissan has a more perfect, convenient management algorithm. There is no longer a banal scheme with Wytheft, which turned out to be completely helpless on off-road-the X-Trail transmission makes it more confidently to feel even on the jeep-trial highway. There are three keys on the central console, with which the transmission mode changes. Initially, the car is front -wheel drive: in 2WD mode, the front wheels are leading, and the rear axle is disabled. The fuel consumption is minimal, the car accelerates faster, and the transmission does not wear out. The Auto mode involves the rear bridge, but not constantly in order not to spend the fuel in vain, but only in case of slipping the front wheels. Moreover, the coupling is not just blocked, strictly fixing the distribution of torque along the axes, but distributes it. If the front wheels are slipped, the lion's share of the moment is transmitted to the rear wheels, and vice versa - the moment smoothly swims between the axes. Lock mode is intended only to overcome heavy areas: the coupling is blocked, and torque is strictly distributed along the axes in a ratio of 57/43% - on the front and rear axles, respectively. This increases the cross -country ability, especially in the snow. This mode automatically goes into AUTO mode when 20 km/h reaches. You can increase the cross-country ability of the Nissan X-Trail by installing a differential differential, which is available only in combination with the ESP+system. He uses ABS sensors and redistributes torque from the boxing wheel to the one that has the best adhesion to the road.

 
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Help AG:

 
At the crash tests of the EURONCAP Nissan X-Trail series, I received a very good rating: four stars. The calculated deformation zone, a strong body and the presence of many active safety devices in the database allowed this model to immediately enter the number of leaders. Indeed, there are no models with five stars among SUVs. The standard Nissan X-Trail package includes Comfort in the basic version of the safety pillows, front seat belts, three rear seat belts and amplifying beams in the doors. Also, headlight washingrs can be added to the security asset, providing excellent visibility under any weather conditions. Disk brakes (front - ventilated) with ABS, EBD and the Brake Assist electronic system, which helps to squeeze the brake pedal during emergency braking and, thus, use the entire potential of the brake system. In more expensive versions of Sport, Luxury and Elegance, the standard equipment for front passengers, active head restraints and the ESP+exchange stability system are also standard equipment.

 
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Driver's opinion:
 
Elena (driving experience - 1.5 years):

 
An interesting car. Beautiful, spacious, stylish. Big, but at the same time cozy and sweet in its own way. With great pleasure I would go on it constantly.

 
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Professional opinion:
 
Yuri Hursan, warranty engineer, Lankor company

 
Nissan X -Trail is an absolutely trouble -free machine and does not require global maintenance costs. At the request of one client, the cost of the X -Trail content was calculated during a three -year warranty period, with a mileage of 100 thousand kilometers - it turned out about $ 23 per month! It's almost like a mobile phone.

 
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Opinion Ag:
 
A car without bright features, but one of the best in its class.

 
+ Attractive appearance

 
+ Spacious salon

 
+ Excellent handling

 
+ Advanced all -wheel drive transmission

 
- A harsh suspension

 
- noisy motor at high speeds

 
- The unusual location of the gearbox lever

 
 

Source: Autogazet / N 4 (396) dated 05.02.03