Up front, it’s mostly Nissan Qashqai. Save for some different colours and a new pattern for the piece of trim on the passenger side, the dashboard is the same as in Nissan’s smaller SUV. You might hope to get a bit more for the price premium over the Qashqai, but frankly there is very little to genuinely complain about.
Other cars have a more avant-garde style, but the X-Trail hardly looks dated. There are soft-touch materials as far as the eye can see, and the practical usability is far more carefully considered than in most modern cars. The climate control panel uses all chunky, physical buttons and there’s very little fingerprint-attracting glossy black plastic.
The centre console is the biggest change from the Qashqai. It is a floating design with space beneath. On top, there are generous cupholders, a wireless phone charger, a 12V socket, a USB-A port and a USB-C port. The rear seats also get a USB-A and USB-C port.
It’s worth studying the brochure, though, because the lower trims get de-contented quite heavily. For instance, Visia trim has fewer USB ports and doesn’t even have an infotainment screen. The digital gauge cluster also only comes on N-Connecta and up. Instead, lower grades use analogue gauges with a smaller, 7.0in screen. The 12.3in digital cluster in our test car isn’t hugely configurable but it makes good use of space and is very clear.
The X-Trail is a brilliant place to be if you’re in the front. However, as an SUV with an optional third row (adding the extra two seats equates to a £1000 price increase on average), it’s a car you buy for the space it offers, and in that respect it might somewhat disappoint, depending on what you compare it with.