2005 Nissan X-Trail Road Test

Seriously Innovative Little Sport Utility

I don't know why I didn't expect that much from Nissan's new X-Trail. Maybe it's that the vehicle isn't exactly new, having

While I initially didn't expect much from the Nissan X-Trail, my opinion quickly changed once I got behind the wheel. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press)

been on the European and other world markets for years. The last compact SUV to enter the Canadian market after years of European sales was the Land Rover Freelander, and that was one of the biggest automotive disappointments I can remember.

But now that I've spent a week with Nissan's new offering my feelings toward the X-Trail are quite the opposite. I immediately felt the difference between it and most of its competitors. It feels solid, well put together and despite its diminutive dimensions, almost premium quality.

I did my usual, tap, tap, tapping, that drives my wife absolutely nuts, checking out the plastic quality of various surfaces. While none were at Audi's or BMW's level of refinement, they are excellent for this class and, Nissan may not want me to mention, much better than what I've recently experienced in its much more expensive, grand-scale Armada SUV.

Where the Armada's loose-fitting, bargain-basement switchgear is a big letdown, the little X-Trail offers nicely weighted, precision quality knobs, buttons and switches, everything clicking and blipping in a very upmarket way. The climate control system, the Armada's weakest link, is especially nicely done in the X-Trail. I especially liked the layout of the dash too, but I may be a minority. I've heard

Unlike the Armada, the X-Trail offers nicely weighted, precision quality knobs, buttons and switches, everything clicking and blipping in a very upmarket fashion. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press)

less adventurous journalists complaining about the center mounted instrument cluster, something Nissan and rival automakers are doing more often these days so to save money when retrofitting for one side of the Atlantic or Pacific and the other. While North Americans and Europeans might think their markets are so important, a quick look at a globe is all that's needed to bring into perspective the fact that most of the world's population drives on the other side of the road. Just the majority of the African continent, pretty well all of Asia excluding China (which with Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia, among others, pretty well matches if not surpasses China's population) and India alone should humble the unbelievers. Australia and the U.K. don't add much to the mix but still it looks as if we're in the minority. So in other words, just shut up about the center-mounted instruments and be glad that Nissan is offering this little SUV to us at all.