Nearly a year after the latest Nissan Rogue was introduced in the United States, the mid-size family SUV finally wears the X-Trail badge. The fourth-generation model that has been revealed at the ongoing Auto Shanghai motor show is practically identical to its American cousin, with one key difference.
That difference is under the bonnet, where
the Chinese-market X-Trail jettisons the 2.5 litre naturally-aspirated
four-cylinder engine in favour of a brand new 1.5 litre turbocharged three-pot.
The mill is the first in China to utilise Nissan’s variable compression
(VC-Turbo) technology to deliver both high performance and low fuel consumption
– something that was first seen on a 2.0 litre engine in Nissan and Infiniti
models in the US.
The engine produces 204 PS and 300 Nm of
torque (hence the VC-Turbo 300 badge) and is mated to an improved Xtronic CVT
with a wider ratio range and a higher torque capacity, plus a second-generation
4×4-i all-wheel drive system. Fuel consumption is rated at 5.8 litres per 100
km.
Elsewhere, the X-Trail carries over the
Rogue’s extroverted styling, featuring a large V-motion grille, split LED
headlights, prominent front and rear haunches, slim trapezoidal taillights and
a “floating roof” design. Inside, there’s the same horizontal dashboard design,
low and wide centre console and stubby electronic gearlever, as well as a
12.3-inch digital instrument display and 10.8-inch head-up display.
However, Chinese buyers get a larger
12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen (which appears to be aftermarket) instead of
a nine-inch NissanConnect display in the US. Nissan is also touting an enhanced
ProPilot semi-autonomous driving function, triple-zone automatic climate
control and active noise cancellation.
The X-Trail will go on sale in China in
the second half of the year. Separately, Nissan has also announced that the car
will be sold in Europe, although those in the continent will have to wait quite
a bit longer – sales of the crossover will only kick off there in the summer of
2022. That’s more than a year from now.
