The Nissan Hi-Cross concept, which has made its debut at the Geneva motor show, explores the expansion of the marque's crossover line-up. The design could influence new variants of the Qashqai, X-Trail and Murano.
Andy Palmer, Executive Vice President Nissan said: "We don't do concepts for the sake of it, so it's fairly clear this is a car showing how a vehicle above Qashqai could look. That high front sweep, the front V, the lamp signature are all likely to make it to production in Europe.
"We are actively trying to be different in each sector of the market - that doesn't mean building niche vehicles, but cars that are innovative and exciting in the mainstream sectors they operate in."
The concept has a dramatic design, with smooth, cross-over styling. The road manners are understood to have a far a stronger on-road bias to the ride and handling. Both two and four-wheel drive transmissions are expected to be engineered.
The aim with production versions of the Hi-Cross is to score a sales success against conventional saloons like the Ford Mondeo and Vauxhall Insignia. ‘Building on the popularity of the Qashqai in its segment, the idea is to repeat its success in the D-segment,’ says a source.
Another competitor will be the highly-successful Ford S-Max, which the new model will tackle with a seven-seat configuration. A five-seat version may also be engineered.
Details of the engines have yet to be revealed, although the core engine is expected to be a 2.0-litre diesel, backed-up by smaller capacity oil-burners and some petrols.
The new X-Trail is being readied for a UK launch in autumn 2013 and prices are likely to start from £25k.
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Re: New Nissan X-Trail teased
Er....no this won't be the first 2wd Nissan X-Trail. There was a 2wd version of the first model (which Autocar tested).
As at least one person has pointed out, it would be a shame if the X-Trail got too deep into crossover territory as this is one of the few soft roaders that people actually take off road. In fact, 20% of X-Trail owners take their vehicle off road, which is the highest percentage barring Land Rover owners. Anyway, don't Nissan have the Quashqai +2 as their offering for that space?
Re: New Nissan X-Trail teased
If it's conceived as a 7-seat version, I suspect that spells the end of Pathfinder, which is older.
Curious that it will be more road-biased. I ran an X-TRAIL for 2 years and loved it. Drove brilliantly on-road - same underpinnings as Qashqai - and, not withstanding a bit of body-roll, was quite a lot of fun to punt around enthusiastically (less so for passengers, mind). Off-road, it was very capable too.
I think that with Qashqai and X-TRAIL, and also Pathfinder and Murano all in the range, there was cannibalisation. A less boxy looking and slightly bigger X-TRAIL (or maybe two wheelbases) will fill the hole left by the Pathfinder.
Re: New Nissan X-Trail teased
I feel like they need to split the X-Trail line if they're going to do this then. I can see why they'd want to produce something that's more of a crossover. Yet one of the reasons people still buy the X-trail is that its far more capable than almost any other "soft roader" for towing, off-roading and generally poor conditions.