Comments on: 2008 Nissan X-Trail diesel – First Steer

By: Model t

Model t — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:20:37 +0000

I’ve read the same post on several different sites. Looks like a cut and paste job from a very disgruntled owner. You seem to be alone, though. Not many people seem to have had a bad experience with the X Trail diesel. The only problem seems to be the particulate filter, but that’s due more to driving style and lots of short trips rather than poor design – all modern diesels are affected the same way if fitted with the dpf.

By: Gabriel

Gabriel — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:06:37 +0000

The petrol X-trail is a better bet than the new diesel version. I own a diesel X-Trail and it has an oil leak which continuously contaminates the EGR valve and air filter, affecting performance. Nissan has been trying to fix the problem for 8 months, but no permanent solution on the horizon.

The Diesel X-trail is a lemon.

By: Brad P

Brad P — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 14:13:05 +0000

About to purchase a 2nd hand TS and am interested if anyone has come across any problems with the desiel engine now it has been in Oz for a year. Is the car as good still after a year as most posts here seem to have made their observations based on a very limited amount of drive time. Also any advice on the desiel and whole car for that matter that is of interest.

By: Tony B.

Tony B. — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:46:11 +0000

This tread is very old so i don’t think anyone will read it.
Got my x-trail diesel 2009 (same as 2008 version).
I am very strict hypermiler and used all possible hypermiling tricks to see how far is it possible to extend the driving range on one single liter of diesel fuel.
Highway at 70km/h, no strong front winds, outside temperature 25 C, was able to squeeze almost 28km per liter of diesel.
In heavily congested city conditions (Tokyo) was able to get consistently over 21km/l (extreme hypermiling techniques thou).
Anyone got their own mpg results that they want to share?

By: fangios

fangios — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:31:33 +0000

I have also purchased a diesel X-Trail manual and am very happy with it. As mentioned above the large load area was a big factor, and after 3000km of mixed driving, it is returning 6.9 litres/100km! Very comfy suspension and ride also.

By: Carts

Carts — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:12:53 +0000

Hi guys,
It took a while for me to make my final decision, as I had been looking at a whole host of the soft roaders for quite some time. My final decision came down to the DDiS Grand Vitara and the Xtrail Dci. Both of them were nice cars and had their pros and cons, but what sealed the deal for me was the performance of the manual diesel xtrail. For a 2.0L, its responsiveness and mid range torque blew me away. So much so, I was never going to be happy with the Vitara knowing the xtrail’s motor and 6 speed gearbox existed.

I have had the car for 4 days now, and have just gotten back from a decent drive in it and it is returning 6.5L/100km (mostly highway, sitting between 100 and 120). It has plenty of grunt to overtake, and is very quiet at the higher speeds. So far, im very happy with the purchase

By: Paul

Paul — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 09:37:05 +0000

After looking at all on offer in soft roader and wagon segments I ordered a TL Turbo Diesel Manual today. Personally I think that they are pretty ordinary looking(especially up against the new pug 308 HDi Touring that was the other final contender) but it has a number of good features and the boot size was a massive draw card in the end. I have driven a large variety of diesels in the past but this new engine is like a revelation compared to not so old diesel offerings. I am looking into suspension upgrades for a little more clearance but from what I have heard the X-Trail handles beach work reasonably well. A second set of wheels with All-Terrains is on the cards but I will take it out for a beach test before committing to the purchase. My 2 testdrives returned an average of 6.6l/100km on a 80km motor and included a bit more hard driving than I normally would engage in.

By: Hugh

Hugh — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 23:11:00 +0000

Hi guys, been following this disscussion with interest as was supposed to upgrade my old X-Trail 4 months ago but convinced the boss it was worth the wait. Picked up new X-trail this week, already done one thousand kms and would have to say am so far pleased, average fuel consumption (according to the trip computer) 7.5 L/100km (even with the odd 120 km/h stint), not short of power to get around the odd road train and although nothing like a sports car handles quite well.

I can’t beleive some peoples critisisms of vehicles, sure it’s not going to win a modeling contest but than every thing in life is a compromise. It has the most floor space of any of its competitors (Rav4, Forrester, Captiva etc), uses less fuel than more expensive vehicles with the same floor space, and even tows more than some more expensive/larger rivals (Territory TX AWD requires a suspension upgrade to tow a 2 Tonne trialer approx $1500) and can’t say for certain but beleive it uses less fuel for similar kw/nm outputs of larger engines.

But all this being said, the decission on buying a car is reportadly 75% heart and 25% head.

By: SteveV

SteveV — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 01:54:13 +0000

John, I have the manual version of the Santa Fe and its handbrake IS in the normal position (beside the driver seat & console), not a foot brake as you assumed. In any case, such a minor matter would not detract from the overall great package Hyundai offer with their car.

Full marks to Nissan however. I certainly would have looked at this car also if it had been on offer 3 years ago! Now I’d wait for an update model with a more modern exterior. It’s already dated I’m afraid.

By: Glen

Glen — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 22:19:08 +0000

Diesels have several advantages including better resale value, better torque and better fuel consumption.
The X-Trail manual has more torque than a Commodore auto (360 vs 330 Nm) and better fuel consumption (7.4 vs 10.9 L/100km). The Commodore is only slightly better for towing (2100 vs 2000 kg braked). Diesel is dearer, unfortunately, but the X-Trail will still save you $750 in fuel for 20,000 km, assuming diesel is $1.70 and ULP is $1.50/L.

By: John of Perth

John of Perth — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:35:03 +0000

The Hyundai is a nice vehicle too, except how do you live with that foot operated parking brake!

By: SteveV

SteveV — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 23:42:14 +0000

Actually it was Hyundai who had the first diesel in this segment with the Santa Fe. Bought mine in 2006 and have never looked back. Almost 40k on the clock and still going like a train. Not a squeek or a rattle even after several beach runs and Mt Mee forest excursions.

By: marco veas

marco veas — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:08:25 +0000

Hi Guys.
I see a lot of different opinions about the new x-trail.
Well, I am in the lookout for a new (let call it) 4wd. I am going to retire soon buy a Caravan (about 1.6 tonnes, and 150 kgs down ball weight)and do the run most would like
but now with fuel prices going to the roof is becoming difficult. I would like to know if any of you has lift the suspension or any other modification to get it better. I have been looking aat the new Navara D22 but power and torque are well low that the x-tail. cheers.

By: John of Perth

John of Perth — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 08:00:11 +0000

Fenno

Have you driven the Freelander2? I assume you are referring to the previous model for the recall history. I actually thought the new diesel model with the ZF automatic very good, but I don\’t drive autos on a daily basis. The suspension setup was no different to any other vehicle in this category.

I think the Nissan diesel (for those who do in excess of 30,000kms & also enjoy the odd weekend taking them off road) is an honest vehicle. I have been out with a 4wd club and seen a 75 series turn back from a path that the Xtrail and a few other so called \’soft roaders\’ with a bit of track pre-preparation got over. Realise the limitations and enjoy the capability.

By: ChrisJ

ChrisJ — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 06:54:06 +0000

Fenno, sorry to be a car nazi, but the new Forrester Turbo is called the Forrester XT. Been that for quite a few models now.

And BIG JIM, the x-trail has the option of putting the car in AWD, so it’s not just a FWD car at all. When I test drove the TL X-trail, I made a note of sticking it into AWD mode, and it handled nicely, just like any other AWD car. For comparison, I drove the Forrester XS today, which is consistant 50-50 AWD, and it didn’t handle any better than the X-Trail…

Cheers,

Chris.

By: Fenno

Fenno — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 06:06:26 +0000

Correction…Fact was the integra was the quickest point to point…

By: Fenno

Fenno — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 06:05:27 +0000

It seems that Big Jim (after reading a few of his other posts) is still living in the 80’s. The Freelander has the honour of being the most recalled car in history and has lost nearly every comparison it has ever been in. They have shocks like a bicycle pump and handle like a whale on castors…yet because it is an AWD you are saying it handles better?
I remember years back when Motor tested the Integra type R (the good one), the WRX and the s15 200 sx back to back.
Fact was the quickest car point to point.
Lose the old-school approach and you will open yourself up to a world of FWD cars that can mess with the big boys.
Anyway, back on topic.
The x-trail seems to only sell well when Nissan run heavily discounted advertising campaigns. It’s just another me-too soft roader that looks good on paper but compromises on absolutely everything it’s supposed to excel at in the real world. Luckily though, somebody has their head screwed on right at the Nissan Oz in the pricing department and has not made the same blunder as other manufacturers by over-inflating the diesel option. Therefore Nissan will sell plenty of these (to the uninitiated – that believe that they need a diesel and dont know why) and most likely spell the end of the V6 Rav, OUtlander, Forrester GT and any other anti-social petrol soft roader.

By: BIG JIM

BIG JIM — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 01:47:11 +0000

The FWD of the x-trail will mean bad handling. It s diesel competitors with fulltime 4WD/AWD such as Landrover Freelander and Suzuki Grand Vitara would be a better option.

By: bogong

bogong — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 06:41:13 +0000

I would like to see a proper comparison of the Xtrail Vs Tiguan Vs Santa Fe Diesels head to head (Manuals). I am in the market for one of these.

By: ChrisJ

ChrisJ — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:51:33 +0000

After test driving one of these cars last week, I can say the X-trail diesel is an excellent drive. The engine is fantastic, and really makes the X-trail the diesel compact Suv class leader in terms of price/features. It will also do some moderate off-roading. They aren’t bringing in many this year, so they may be hard to get hold of.

I don’t believe they are ugly, maybe a bit boxy…. damn if you want a pretty car by a Pug….