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Nissan X-Trail 2023 review: ST-L 7-seat

Nissan Nissan X-TRAIL Nissan X-TRAIL 2023 SUV Best SUV Cars Nissan SUV Range Family Family Car Family Cars 7 seater
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Likes

  • Handling is solid
  • Ride comfort
  • Well-specified for price

Dislikes

  • Extra two seats cuts into boot space
  • Have to remove third row to get to spare tyre
  • Sound system isn't as good as some rivals
Emily Agar
Contributing Journalist
1 Jul 2023
9 min read

The Nissan X-Trail has finally seen a proper restyling – one that has made it competitive on the design front with other medium SUVs, like Australia’s darling, the Toyota RAV4 and the sporty Mazda CX-5.

Both of which are heavy-hitters in their category and the broader family car market! However, this version of the X-Trail has a rare feature for the class and that’s an additional two seats in the rear. 

Yep, it’s a seven-seater! It’s something that immediately sets it apart from most of its rivals but is it the ‘winning feature’? I’ve been testing this out with my family of three to find out for you.

Nissan X-Trail 2023: ST-L (4WD) 7 Seat

Engine Type Inline 4, 2.5L
Fuel Type Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency 7.8L/100km (combined)
Seating 7
Price From $37,840 - $44,550
Safety Rating

Price and features – Does it represent good value for the price? What features does it come with?

Our model is the part-time four-wheel drive ST-L with seven seats and it is $46,290, before on-road costs.

That makes it more expensive compared to its key rivals with the Mazda CX-5 AWD Touring costing $43,700 and Kia Sportage SX+ Petrol DCT AWD at $43,850. Only the Toyota RAV4 Edge tops it with a $53,020 price tag.

However, for a model that sits second from the bottom in its own line-up, it’s well-specified.

The X-trail ST-L with seven seats wears a price tag of ,290, before on-road costs. (Image: Glen Sullivan)
The X-trail ST-L with seven seats wears a price tag of ,290, before on-road costs. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

There are eight paintwork colours to choose from and none of them cost extra. This grade also enjoys an upmarket interior with two-toned synthetic leather trims, heated front seats, dual-zone climate control, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto plus those two extra seats.

The driver also enjoys four-way electric lumbar support and electric seat adjustments. The exterior isn’t forgotten with 18-inch alloy wheels, full LED lights, electric folding side mirrors and an auto dimming rear view mirror.

The X-Trail ST-L 7 Seat features wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. (Image: Glen Sullivan)
The X-Trail ST-L 7 Seat features wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

Design – Is there anything interesting about its design?

There was something robustly charming about the previous X-Trail shape and while the overall size has been maintained, most of the squared edges have been softened in the new model.

It makes it appear far more modern and it should maintain its kerbside appeal for years to come.

There’s quite a lot of chrome on the grille, making it look enormous. However, the black plastic moulding that wraps the car at its base helps it look sportier than it has the right to look. As does the dark privacy glass at the rear.

Most of the X-Trail's squared edges have been softened in the new model. (Image: Glen Sullivan)
Most of the X-Trail's squared edges have been softened in the new model. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

The interior hosts soft touchpoints, synthetic leather trims and wood-like grey panelling to create an upmarket finish.

I'm not a massive fan of the brown/black two-toned trim on the dashboard and doors; it just doesn't land with me.

But it does create a bit of interest for the cabin space.

The X-Trail's interior hosts soft touch points, synthetic leather trims and wood-like grey panelling. (Image: Glen Sullivan)
The X-Trail's interior hosts soft touch points, synthetic leather trims and wood-like grey panelling. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

Practicality – How practical is its space and tech inside?

For my little family’s needs this week, I found it to be fairly practical most of the time. The front and middle rows have loads of space and even taller passengers will find comfort with the legroom and headroom in both!

The third row should be considered as ’sometimes’ seats for kids because the legroom is very tight. Besides two cupholders, there are also no amenities back there. Adults will curse you if they get stuck back there for long.

The front row enjoys the most storage options with a deep middle console, a phone/utility tray and glove box. There are also large storage bins in each door and two deep cupholders. The sunglasses holder in the roof is a bonus, too!

The front and middle rows have loads of space, with ample leg and headroom in both. (Image: Glen Sullivan)
The front and middle rows have loads of space, with ample leg and headroom in both. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

The middle row gets a couple of map pockets, drink bottle holders in each door and a couple of cupholders in the fold-down middle seat, which doubles as an armrest. The practical, easy-to-clean trim on the back of the front seats is great, too.

The charging options are good for the first two rows, with each one getting an USB-A and USB-C port, while the front also gets a 12-volt socket.

It is easy enough to connect to the wired Apple CarPlay and the 8.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system is responsive.

The X-Trail's middle row gets a couple of map pockets and drink bottle holders in each door. (Image: Glen Sullivan)
The X-Trail's middle row gets a couple of map pockets and drink bottle holders in each door. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

I found the digital radio cuts in and out every few seconds, which makes that feature a bit useless. There’s no satellite navigation but with your smart phone attached, it’s easily forgotten.

My six-year old had no trouble getting in and out of the car and really enjoyed the tall seating position. He also liked having directional air vents and a reading light on our little road trip this week.

The boot is 465L and that puts it on the smaller side compared to its rivals, with only the CX-5 being smaller. I like the level load space and retractable cargo blind, but after my big grocery shop the boot was full.

The third row should be considered as ’sometimes’ seats for kids because the legroom is very tight. (Image: Glen Sullivan)
The third row should be considered as ’sometimes’ seats for kids because the legroom is very tight. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

You’d have to get strategic with gear loading on a full-scale road trip.

This has a temporary spare tyre but to access it, you have to remove the third row (after sliding the second row forward) and that would be an pain to access if you had a full car load of gear and child seats.

Being a lower grade this doesn’t have a powered tailgate and I did miss it this week because the boot is heavy to close.  

Under the bonnet – What are the key stats for its engine and transmission?

Excluding the ePower hybrid, the X-Trail shares the same 2.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine across its models. It has max outputs of 135kW and 244Nm, which means it’s not super powerful but it doesn’t really whine at you, either.

I’m not a massive fan of continuously variable transmissions and this one can get a little jerky when you put your foot down. It's smooth otherwise.

The part-time 4WD drivetrain is an interesting feature for this size SUV but I didn’t test its capabilities this week. You can choose between five modes - 'Auto', 'Eco', 'Sport', 'Snow' and 'Off-Road' but I kept it in Auto.

Under the X-Trail ST-L's bonnet is a 2.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine. (Image: Glen Sullivan)
Under the X-Trail ST-L's bonnet is a 2.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

Efficiency – What is its fuel consumption? What is its driving range?

The official combined cycle fuel figure is 7.8L/100km and real-world testing saw my average at 8.1L. That’s pretty good for an SUV of this size and it was after a lot of open road and urban driving (think school and grocery runs).

The X-Trail has a 55L fuel tank and based on the official combined figure, you should be able to get around 705km of driving range. Perfectly respectable for the odd road trip or family vacay.

Nissan recommends a minimum of 91 RON petrol and adds that it is E10 suitable.

The official combined cycle fuel figure for the X-Trail ST-L 7 Seat is 7.8L/100km. (Image: Glen Sullivan)
The official combined cycle fuel figure for the X-Trail ST-L 7 Seat is 7.8L/100km. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

Driving – What's it like to drive?

The X-Trail ST-L delivered a solid performance in all the situations I put it in this week.

I was just as happy tackling the open-road as I was in stop-start traffic in the city.

It has enough power to get up to speed quickly and keep you there but you don’t feel like you have heaps left in reserve. The engine can sook a little when you get too aggressive with the accelerator but otherwise works without complaint.

The X-Trail's cabin space is very quiet, even at higher speeds. (Image: Glen Sullivan)
The X-Trail's cabin space is very quiet, even at higher speeds. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

The ride comfort is great! I took my dad on a road trip this week and he was singing its praises as a passenger. As a driver, I like how cushioned the suspension feels but it’s not at all floaty on the road.

The cabin space is very quiet, even at higher speeds. However, I wasn’t super impressed with the sound system and reckon it could be better.

Despite, looking like a big car, it doesn’t park like one. It’s actually stupidly easy to park and that’s a winning feature for me. Especially with the crisp 360-degree view camera, too. 

The X-Trail ST-L delivered a solid performance in all the situations it was put in. (Image: Glen Sullivan)
The X-Trail ST-L delivered a solid performance in all the situations it was put in. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

Warranty & Safety Rating

Basic Warranty
5 years/unlimited km warranty

ANCAP Safety Rating

Safety – What safety equipment is fitted? What is its safety rating?

The X-Trail has been fitted with a good list of safety features, with the following being standard: LED daytime running lights, lane departure alert, lane keeping aid, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, 360-degree view reversing camera, dynamic parking guidelines, front and rear parking sensors, rear occupant alert, intelligent seatbelt monitoring and a driver fatigue monitoring system.

It also features adaptive cruise control with lane keeping assist; meaning, so long as you have your hands on the wheel, the car essentially steers itself. It's great to minimise fatigue on longer journeys.

It has AEB and forward collision warning with car, pedestrian and cyclist detection which is operational from 10-80km/h (5.0-130km/h for car detection). It is usual to see it operational from 5.0km/h, though. 

The X-Trail has been fitted with a good list of safety features, including a 360-degree view reversing camera. (Image: Glen Sullivan)
The X-Trail has been fitted with a good list of safety features, including a 360-degree view reversing camera. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

The X-Trail was awarded a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2021 but it is based on its stablemate, the Qashqai. I think it’s worth mentioning that ANCAP’s individual assessment scores were all fairly high (hitting the 90 per cent range for all but one) which is great to see on a family car.

It only has seven airbags but that includes a front centre airbag and curtain airbags covering all three rows. 

There are ISOFIX child seat mounts on the outboard seats in the middle row, along with three top-tethers. You could get lucky in fitting three seats side by side but two will fit best. There's just enough room when a 0-4 rearward facing child seat is installed.

The X-Trail features three top-tethers in the middle row. (Image: Glen Sullivan)
The X-Trail features three top-tethers in the middle row. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

Ownership – What warranty is offered? What are its service intervals? What are its running costs?

The X-Trail comes with the market standard five-year/unlimited km warranty term and you can pre-purchase three-, four- or five-year capped-price servicing plans

On the five-year pre-paid plan, services average $425 annually which is great for this class.

Servicing intervals are every 12 months or 10,000km, which could get a little annoying if you put a lot of kays on your car every year.

The X-Trail comes with the market standard five-year/unlimited km warranty term. (Image: Glen Sullivan)
The X-Trail comes with the market standard five-year/unlimited km warranty term. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

Verdict

The Nissan X-Trail ST-L 7 Seat is easy to drive, has some great features and fit my family of three just fine. The on-road handling is solid and there’s enough power under the bonnet for longer road trips. On a car this size, I’m not sure those extra two seats are worth losing the boot space but if you occasionally need to ferry your kid's friend to a game or something, it will be worthwhile. There are a few little things that aren’t quite up to a standard I like to see but overall, we like this one and it gets a 7.5/10 from us.

Pricing Guides

$43,677
Based on 877 cars listed for sale in the last 6 months.
LOWEST PRICE
$31,990
HIGHEST PRICE
$60,990
Emily Agar
Contributing Journalist
Emily discovered her interest in cars early through her mum’s passion, and quickly found herself researching the cool cars her mum’s S15 Nissan 200SX passed on the highway.  Emily's readiness to engage and have a chat wound up opening her first door in the media, spending time as a freelance events and news photographer for her local paper while undertaking a Creative Writing degree at the University of Wollongong. After graduating, Emily helped to build the family real estate business. Not satisfied with the high-octane environment of sales, Emily signed a book deal for her YA fantasy novel and has successfully published the first novel in the series.  Always one to be busy (sometimes to her chagrin), she wrote the novel and then completed the edits while pregnant with her cheeky five-year-old boy. As if growing a little human wasn’t exhausting enough!  But her natural curiosity of ‘what’s that car?!’ and 'why don't they do it this way?!' continued throughout and it didn’t come as a surprise to her family when she was drawn into the automotive world professionally as a Contributing Journalist with CarsGuide. Aside from her passion for what makes a good family car, Emily has a soft spot for Nissan Skylines, big utes and any muscle cars that make the heart thump. 
About Author
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Pricing Guide
$31,990
Lowest price, based on third party pricing data.
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2023 Nissan X‑TRAIL
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