Front-drive X-TRAIL to lead an advance?

Word from the front: Nissan plans incursion on FWD RAV4 and Outlander market share with new X-TRAIL variant
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The product planners at Nissan have knocked half a grand off the price of the front-wheel drive X-TRAIL -- measured against the new variant's direct competitors.

Priced at $28,490 (with a preliminary driveaway price of $27,990), the entry-level X-TRAIL ST 2WD is $500 less than the RAV4 and Outlander equivalents. According to Nissan's marketing team, the new entry-level FWD model offers additional equipment also, placing it ahead of both the Mitsu and Toyota models.

There are 17-inch alloys fitted to the basic Nissan (trumping the Toyota's 16-inch steel wheels and the Outlander's 16-inch alloys). Up against the RAV4, the Nissan also offers a leather-bound steering wheel, a trip computer, six-disc CD audio system, dual side-impact airbags, side-curtain airbags and Bluetooth controls on the steering wheel. The Outlander lacks the Nissan's telescopic steering column adjustment, the additional airbags and the six-disc CD audio. Both the competitors make do with five-speed manual transmissions, whereas the X-TRAIL comes with a six-speeder.

The X-TRAIL FWD is powered by a smaller 2.0-litre engine that develops 102kW of power and 198Nm of torque. Fuel consumption is 8.5L/100km for the manual variant or 8.4L/100km with the optional CVT, which adds $2500 to the purchase price.

Equipped with the CVT as the default transmission, the higher-grade X-TRAIL ST-L is powered by the same engine and is priced at $34,990 and features, as standard, leather trim, electrically-adjustable heated front seats, cargo blind, privacy glass, climate control and front fog lights.

"The arrival of the new Nissan X-TRAIL in 2WD form gives Nissan the firepower to make a significant impact in the increasingly popular Compact SUV segment," said Dan Thompson, CEO of Nissan.

"We are confident that our specification advantage, combined with a dynamite $27,990 Driveaway launch price position will vault the Nissan X-TRAIL to the top of the shopping list for couples and families in the market for a practical and flexible vehicle of this type."

Nissan will crank up a media campaign -- entitled 'Wanna Live?' -- to introduce the new X-TRAIL variants before the end of this month.

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