THE NISSAN X Trail which competes with the Land Rover Freelander Honda CRV, Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe, was originally launched in 2001 and improved in 2007. The latest car introduced last year is all new and a big improvement on the current car which was pretty good too.

The latest car is offered in either front or all-wheel drive with just one engine, a 1.6-litre, 130PS diesel, with a standard six-speed manual gearbox. Automatic transmission is available as an option on all front-wheel drive versions apart from the entry model Visia.

There are five levels of trim: Visia, Acenta, Acenta+, n-tec and Tekna. The Visia which is available only as a front-wheel drive manual offer anti-lock braking; six airbags; electronic parking brake; tyre pressure monitoring; hill start assist; all electric windows; cruise control/speed limiter; split folding rear seat; air conditioning; fully adjustable steering wheel; 17” alloy wheels; LED daytime running lights; radio/CD/AUX/USB with four speakers and remote audio control.

The Acenta additionally features front and rear parking sensors; automatic headlights and wipers; dual-zone climate control; electric folding mirrors; leather-trimmed steering wheel; six speakers; front fog lamps and power sunroof.

The Acenta+ also sports front emergency braking; traffic sign recognition; lane departure warning; high beam assist and satellite navigation.

The n-tec also provides intelligent key; one touch automatic tailgate; colour front, rear and side cameras; 19” alloy wheels and DAB radio.

The range-topping Tekna wants for nothing with Bi-LED headlamps; automatic headlamp leveller; intelligent park assist; leather-trimmed seats, electrically adjustable in the front; blind-spot warning and moving object detection.

X-Trail prices range from £23,195 for the Visia dCi130 front-wheel drive manual to £31,345 for the Tekna dCi four-wheel drive manual. The car comes standard with five seats but an extra row of two can be fitted for £800.

The new X –Trail holds itself high in the sector and is comfortable for four adults or two adults and three children and even in the entry versions are very well equipped. The car has excellent dynamic qualities with accurate steering, well weighted brakes and good towing capability. There is a downside to the high driving position, a lot of roll when driven briskly and the car does tend to move around on uneven roads.