Nissan X-Trail

Like the exterior, even the interior layout of this third-gen facelifted Nissan X-Trail has remained unchanged since its launch in 2017, and that makes the interior look of the car unappealing as well. The all-black theme for the cabin tries to make things look sporty on the inside, and the fit and finish levels are decent too, but the design just doesn’t feel modern enough in today’s times. 

The X-Trail has a flat-bottom multi-functional steering wheel with silver touches, which has been shared with a few other Nissan offerings from the recent past. The instrument console behind it has chrome ringed analogue dials, while having a TFT MID in between them. The slim AC vents on the upper centre console and trapezoidal vents on the dashboard corners have gloss black surrounds. 

Coming to the centre console, while a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system covers its upper part, the lower part has switches and knobs for the climate control system. The lower centre console also has a gloss black finish for the transmission lever surrounds. This X-Trail sold in Malaysia has a seven-seater configuration with excellent room in front and second rows, but limited room in the third-row seats. While the second-row seats have a 60:40 split folding function, the third-row seats have a 50:50 split folding theme. 

Pros and Cons:

Pro: Premium-looking all-black theme for the cabin

Con: The dashboard layout could have had more modernity

Features and Technology

In this day and age, where all the compact crossover SUVs have upped their ante in comfort and convenience features, the Nissan X-Trail seems to be stuck in the previous decade.

Both the variants are sparsely equipped by modern standards, with the features common in both of them including a flat-bottom tilt and telescopic adjustable multi-functional steering wheel, push start-stop button, a 4.2-inch TFT MID in the instrument console, a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and a 6-speaker audio system.

The Hybrid variant of the Nissan X-Trail has a few more goodies like leather seats, 8-way powered driver’s seat with lumbar support and a 4-way powered co-driver’s seat. And that’s all – modern-day premium features like sunroof, wireless charger, ventilated front seats and more are missing in this version of the X-Trail, making it feel outdated amidst all of its rivals. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Touchscreen infotainment is standard in both variants

Con: Several modern-day features are missing in the cabin

Boot Space and Storage

Here’s where the Nissan X-Trail truly shines, showcasing its practical side in the best form. Besides having ample room for five full-sized adults, the Nissan X-Trail also has a massive boot space of 550 litres. And if that’s not enough, this boot space is expandable up to 1,520 litres after folding down the 60:40 split rear seats. The rear doors can be opened up to 80 degrees, which makes ingress-egress for occupants and loading and unloading items from the side even more convenient. 

The X-Trail also has a few usable storage spaces in the cabin, in the form of door pockets, a conventional glovebox, cup holders in the lower front centre console and rear seat centre armrest and a small space beneath the front centre armrest. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Humongous boot space

Con: Nothing much actually

Considering the facts that the third-generation Nissan X-Trail was globally introduced in 2015 and the fourth-generation X-Trail is already serving in other global markets since 2021, it is shocking that the third-generation X-Trail is still on sale in Malaysia in 2025. The version here on sale is essentially the facelifted third-gen X-Trail, that was launched in 2017. Since then, it has remained almost similar, making it feel very outdated by modern standards. 

The front profile of the Nissan X-Trail features one of the most noticeable highlights of the facelift that was launched in 2017, featuring a bolder-looking chrome-finished V-Motion grille, which has thicker mesh surrounds. The angular and sleek headlamps on the sides have halogen bulbs in the 2.0 2WD and bi-LED projectors with boomerang-shaped LED DRLs on the inner edges of the housings in the 2.0 Hybrid variant. The angular L-shaped housings for the fog lamps further add some character to the front profile.

The crossover-esque profile of the Nissan X-Trail is more evident when it is viewed from the side, with it having a slightly slanted bonnet. While the 2.0 2WD gets 17-inch silver alloys, the 2.0 Hybrid has a more premium-looking set of 17-inch dark titanium finish alloy wheels. There are prominent contours over the front wheel arches, with the X-Trail also having slim body cladding over the wheel arches and bottom of the door panels.

At the back, the Nissan X-Trail has angular-looking combination tail lamps with LED inserts and a hexagonal license plate housing with a chrome garnish at the top. The X-Trail also features a roof-mounted spoiler as standard here, with the 2.0 Hybrid also having a powered tailgate and a chrome garnish strip on the rear bumper. 

There are four colour choices for this version of Nissan X-Trail in Malaysia - Tungsten Silver, Brilliant White, Diamond Black and Titanium Olive. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Premium-looking LED headlamps and tail lamps in the 2.0 Hybrid variant

Cons: Overall exterior styling has been too long in the tooth

Both the variants of Nissan X-Trail have different claimed fuel efficiency figures, with the higher-spec Hybrid variant putting up a higher figure. While the 2.0 2WD has a claimed fuel efficiency of 13.4 kmpl, the 2.0 Hybrid delivers 16.1 kmpl. However, in real-world conditions, the 2.0 2WD returns 9-10 kmpl, while the 2.0 Hybrid’s efficiency is around 14-15 kmpl. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Good fuel efficiency of 2.0 Hybrid variant

Con: 2.0 2WD variant could have been more efficient

The suspension setup in both the variants of Nissan X-Trail is the same, with the SUV getting Macpherson struts with a stabiliser at the front and multi-link independent suspension with a stabiliser at the rear. The X-Trail has always held its candle as an SUV that feels car-like to drive with minimal body roll and excellent high-speed stability, and this third-generation crossover continues the feeling, with its better aerodynamic efficiency and softer setup for the springs. 

This version of the X-Trail was previously offered with the option of an all-wheel drive, which was discontinued a while ago in Malaysia. Now, the X-Trail is offered with a front-wheel drive system as standard in both of its variants. 

Pros and Cons:

Pro: Very comfortable ride quality

Con: No all-wheel drive option 

Both the variants of Nissan X-Trail are clearly distinguished through the powertrains serving under their hood. The entry-level 2.0 2WD variant features a conventional 2.0-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine, which churns out 144 PS of maximum power and 200 Nm of maximum torque output.

Meanwhile, the higher-spec 2.0 Hybrid variant uses this same 2.0-litre petrol engine in conjunction with a battery and an electric motor, that delivers an additional boost of 41 PS of power and 160 Nm of torque. Both these variants have a front-wheel drive configuration, and have their engines paired with a CVT which features 7-speed manual mode. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Smooth and refined powertrain options

Con: CVT feels lazy at higher speeds

While the comfort and convenience features list of the Nissan X-Trail is disappointing by modern standards, the safety equipment list manages to keep up with the modern trends. The standard safety features offered in both variants of X-Trail are active brake limited slip, ABS with EBD and brake assist, hill start assist, front and side airbags, reverse parking sensors and intelligent around view monitor with intelligent moving object detection. 

The 2.0 Hybrid further feels more premium with several ADAS features like forward collision warning with forward emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, high beam assist, lane departure warning, blind spot warning and rear cross traffic alert. This variant also gets rain sensing wipers and curtain airbags. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: ADAS features in Hybrid variant

Con: No hill descent control and front parking sensors

Competitor Comparison

The Nissan X-Trail belongs to the premium compact SUV crossover category, where it competes with other popular offerings like Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson, MG HS, Toyota Corolla Cross, Mazda CX-5, Peugeot 2008, Kia Sportage, Subaru XV and Volkswagen Tiguan AllSpace Life. A few Chinese SUVs like Jaecoo J7, Haval H6 and Chery Tiggo 8 Pro are also priced in the vicinity of the Nissan X-Trail.

Conclusion and Final Verdict

As a premium compact crossover SUV, the Nissan X-Trail ticks a few boxes like offering a spacious and comfortable cabin, supple ride quality and smooth, efficient and reliable powertrain choices. While this version of X-Trail still feels a sorted product owing to its mechanical finesse, the styling and equipment lists feel outdated and do not feel relevant by modern standards. It’s high time Nissan brought the fourth-generation X-Trail to the Malaysian car market.