Nissan X-Trail takes hints from Navara
With 'soft-roaders’ giving families the chance to take their family cars away with fewer compromises, Nissan has joined the game.
Back in the 1990s, the likes of the first-generation Toyota RAV4 and Nissan X-Trail were seen as ‘soft-roaders’, capable of delivering all the day-to-day requirements of city driving, but with enough clearance to do a bit of light off-roading.
Though their section of the market has largely swung away from that ethos – with a clear delineation of monocoque and body-on-frame SUVs – Nissan has decided to give it another crack with the new X-Trail Rock Creek.
Already available in Japan and the US (where the X-Trail is sold as the Rogue), the Nissan X-Trail Rock Creek adds a handful of more rugged details to the seven-seat X-Trail ST-L, giving it a more outdoorsy appearance.
From its black ‘V-motion’ grille with a D21 Navara ute-inspired three-slot top, black roof rails and mirror caps to a unique lower front bumper, orange exterior highlights and unique 18-inch alloy wheels, its design sets it apart from the rest of the X-Trail range.
While US market versions – which are built in Tennessee – are fitted with all-terrain tyres, the Australian-delivered, Japanese-built Rock Creek makes do with more road-biased rubber.
The X-Trail Rock Creek is the only member of the SUV’s family available in a new Baja Storm exterior finish, which is complemented by a black roof.
Inside the cabin, its nylon-trimmed seats feature embroidered Rock Creek badging, contrasted with orange stitching, carried across to the dashboard.
Like higher-equipped X-Trails, the Rock Creek gets a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, rather than the X-Trail ST-L’s 7.0-inch TFT display, as well as a 10.8-inch head-up display.
It continues to be powered by a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, producing up to 135kW of power and 244Nm of torque. The engine drives all four wheels via a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT).
Priced from $48,315 plus on-roads, it’s $2435 more than the ST-L upon which it’s based, while undercutting the Subaru Outback AWD – priced from $48,990 before on-road costs.
While there are more off-road ready versions of the Forester (Wilderness) and RAV4 (Woodland) overseas, these are not available in Australia.
