2005 Nissan X-Trail XE (All-Wheel Drive) review from North America

Nothing major, just that the interior seems to mark easily, and I'm generally quite gentle on car interiors.

The steering is very nice, especially for city driving. It would be better if it wasn't quite as light for highway driving, but I'm just nitpicking.

It has very good acceleration, which comes in handy when passing on one-lane highways. It is a very peppy 2.4 L engine.

The braking distance is excellent for a vehicle in this class. Anti-lock brakes come standard, which is great.

Although it looks like a small SUV on the outside, there is a lot of very smart storage space on the inside. The cubbies in the front and the built-in cooler located under the CD player maximize storage capacity of the X-Trail. The ability of the rear seats to fold flat also greatly increases storage space. Even with the rear seats up, I can still easily fit a massive hockey bag, sticks, and a briefcase, with some room to spare.

I also really like the centre gauge console. It took a bit of getting used to at the start, but now it just makes sense to look there.

Fuel consumption isn't bad for an SUV; I'm getting about 12 L/100 km in the city, and 8 L/100 km on the highway.

The rear seats are also very comfortable. The theatre-style seating maximizes leg space for rear passengers. The rear armrest is also very nice.

The only comfort problem that I've noticed has to do with the front passenger seat. It seems to be at an odd angle, as I found the left side of the seat digging into my shoulder, which caused some discomfort after a few hours.

The other extremely minor complaint I have about the vehicle is that the cup holder for the rear seats is very cheaply made, and it feels as if it is going to break each time I close it.