Nissan X-Trail

stever

Yep, ergo my link to the CrossTrainer topic for those wanting to talk about the Ford (although a little topic drift is expected and tolerated).

Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards

storyteller

I'm to blame for the off-topic post. I did it because this thread had a vigorous discussion of the need (or lack of it) for car-based SUVs. Sorry.

cb70

At least I have no problem with it. I do think that Nissan will bring a version of the X-Trail in a year or so, but I think that it will take a lot of complaints from the general US car buying public to make it happen.

artdecho

I think the point of the above diversions only emphasizes the fact further that Nissan is way behind on crossovers in the US & Canada (they haven't even started or announced any plans) where as just about every other manufacturer already has some on the market with plans for many more. Even Kia (Sorento) is poised to get in on the market. Go figure.

stever

The "comparison" issue arose 40 posts or so ago when a little flame war broke out. It's your discussion, and you can talk about X-Trails and Liberties all day long if you keep it civil.

Carry on (not literally ).

Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards

diploid

The new mini mini SUV (smaller than the Escape) will be named Fusion.

artdecho

From the Edmund's article "The Next Big Thing"

http://www.edmunds.com/news/column/writeanddrive/48982/article.html

and I quote:

"Crossovers are good. Crossovers are wise. Best of all, crossovers are cool. The Next Big Thing has already arrived."

"Nissan, oddly enough, is notably absent from the crossover trend, though the European-market X-Trail would probably do quite nicely in the States."

"Now that everyone has figured out how to make these trucks drive like cars, in the form of the crossover, and the sales numbers prove that consumers want them, traditional SUVs' (like the Explorer, Durango, TrailBlazer and 4Runner) days as sales leaders are likely numbered."

Well-said, Edmunds

wildcorgis

I too am looking forward to the release of the X-trail. I am stringly considering the Highlander which is a wonderful car but seem over-priced for what you get and even if the X-trail is the same price as the HL I'm sure it will will be better equipped.
I was looking (briefly) at the Pathfinder but neither my wife nor I was too interested. The salesperson mentioned to stick with Nissan and at the San Diego Car Show they might debut a X-trail.
So, would a car maker not announce a premier of a new model to make it more eventful? I know the Nissan design studio is in San Diego so even tho we're not a big show there might be a chance.
Has anyone heard anything about when the X-trail will come out?The salepersosn made it sound like March.

Thanks,

Steve

varmint

Wildcorgis - So far, Nissan has not announced plans to bring the X-Trail here to North America. Your salesperson's information is the first we've heard that Nissan intends to bring it over.

georgeimre

hi everybody!

do not worry. It is coming - very soon. I work for nissan, and last week on a meeting I was told by someone high on the ladder at Nissan Canada, that we going to see a Nissan cross-over vehicle in the showrooms across north america at the time (aug./sept.)when the new Z arrives. He did not mentioned any names(X-Trail) but told me ,this vehicle is to compete with Toyota's Highlander. Nissan just not ready yet to unveil this car, but they have to do it soon. If it arrives let' say in September,then dealers have to order it no later than late may or very early jun. Keep your eyes on the Auto shows in march / April. I think that is the latest Nissan can hide this. Just for your information we already ordered the 2003 Maximas. NO CHANGES other then forged alloys and standard Bose stereo on the"SE".

scname

he might be talking about the Pathfinder replacement. I saw a photo somewhere. More like tall station wagon like Highlander.

storyteller

The G35 Sedan board has a Nissan press release on it talking about Nissan's plans for new releases. Without giving dates, the release says two Nissan SUVs will be introduced soon. Two? Odds are good one is the X-Trail.

diploid

The Pathfinder is due for a redesign...

artdecho

....'cause if one is a Highlander competitor, it'll be priced about 8-10 grand higher than the
CR-V/Rav-4/Triscape/VUE/Forester market where the X-Trail would compete (and conquer!). Mag-X and FreshAlloy.com had a pic of Nissan's Highlander competitor....very PT-Cruiser-like in styling.
Let's hope the X-Trail makes it as well, for it would suit my needs and budget far better.

varmint

Well I dunno about "conquer", though I certainly think it would do better than the Xterra. In Australia, the X-Trail sold 544 units. Not bad for Ozzie sales, but still behind the rest of the competition. The other "all-terrain wagons" sold in the following numbers (from highest to lowest):

CR-V (1154)

RAV4 (839)

Forester (663)

Here's some nice pics of a X-Trail from an owner in Singapore.

Cargo area

Side view Reminds me of the Highlander from this angle.

Dash He even has a drink in the cooler.

Profile Check out that spoiler!

storyteller

Great pix. That drink looks like water, which is good because it seems this guy might be a fast driver (radar detector). I'm committed to getting a Forester, yet this vehicle is really desirable.

diploid

Why is it so low in sales number?

cb70

http://just-auto.com/news_detail.asp?art=37362&dm=yes

squiredogs

I don't know a thing about it though. I guess that's what will be the highlander competitor. I looks like the concept Quest.

cb70

Heard on http://www.freshalloy.com/ that some people say it is on the way this Novenmber. I hope so.

Global website http://www.newxtrail.com/

diploid

There's the Murano, and here's the Nissan Yanya



If Honda is successful with the X-Box, this may not be a concept after all.

varmint

Somebody move that truck out of the way!

diploid

Despite the X-Box and the Yanya having the same silhouette, the Honda just looks more attractive.

cb70

beholder but compared to the X-Box this is a real schnauzer. I don't understand the Murano-Pathfinder ideology. Going off the same idea that the X-Trail would directly compete with the X-Terra costwise, why the h-e-double hockeysticks are they bringing out an SUV in the same price range as the Pathy? No wonder Nissan has been in the red for so many years.

diploid

The Murano *is* the Pathy's replacement?

beatfarmer

but beautiful women.

What's with the rolling box concept?

diploid

Very own Aztek.

cb70

At least to me anyways. Here is the letter they sent me.

Dear Cory,

Thank you for contacting Nissan North America, Inc. and allowing us the
opportunity to be of assistance.

We appreciate your interest in Nissan products.

Unfortunately, we have not plans in bringing the Nissan X-trail to the
U.S.
market; however, the all-new Urban Nissan SUV, the MURANO, is scheduled
to
be released this fall. More information on this vehicle will be
presented
at the 2002 New York auto show.

For more information on current or upcoming Nissan vehicles, such as
the
Murano, please visit our web site (www.nissannews.com or
www.nissandriven.com).

If you have any further questions or comments, please feel free to
e-mail
me.

Sincerely,

Roman
National Consumer Affairs

3-11-02

artdecho

.....too bad, 'cause while Nissan will now, at last, have a cross-over-type SUV (Murano) in our market, the fact that it will be priced well over 30g's Canadian means that they still won't have an AFFORDABLE car-based SUV in our market.
Sorry, Nissan......I'm taking my sub-30g's ($Cdn)
elsewhere......
now, if you want to stick the Altima's 4-banger in a well-equipped 28-29G version of the Murano, then maybe we can still talk.

mtnbiker3

...sounds awefully familiar. I received the exact same one, word for word. But I honestly didn't expect to hear anything different. Maybe they are just sandbagging and waiting for the NY show to make the big announcement. I'm not holding my breath, but you never know. If not, Nissan won't be getting any of my $ either.

varmint

miamicrv1 Nov 15, 2001 3:03pm

Nissan has been saying "no" for quite a while.

gman40

I really think Nissan should address the small
SUV segment, the Xterra is not going to be cross
shopped by folks looking at Escapes and CRV's.
They already made this mistake with the old Altima. Just a little smaller than Accords and
Camry's and a little larger than Civics and Corolla's. I think Ideally the Xtrail vs Crv, RAV4, Murano vs Pilot and Highlander,Pathfinder vs. 4 runner.

diploid

Pathfinder will kill the 4($)Runner anyday. It's more powerful, better looking, and uses interior space more efficiently.

The Pilot's trump card is that 3rd bench. The Highlander (IMO) looks better. The Murano is a bit on the edge in terms of style, but if Nissan drops the either torquey Pathfinder engine or the Infiniti's G35 engine into it (they can't go wrong with either engine)...

cb70

All I can say is "WHY DON'T WE HAVE THIS VEHICLE IN THE U.S.!" Very nice from the monster moonroof to the soda pop holders that can be used to either keep your drinks cool or hot. I even picked up a brochure from there. Really nice vehicle that is well thought out for less money than a CRV which, in my opinion, is a substantial downgrade from the X-Trail. Wake up Nissan of USA, your prospective buyers are telling you something. We want this vehicle.

diploid

They're going to send us a cross-over SUV. It's going to be the Murano. That's the prospective buyer that Nissan is listening to.

cb70

profits than the X-Trail would. Murano is a nice looking vehicle that will get totally beat upon by the Pilot and Pacifica because of its price point and lack of third row seating. Just poor marketing IMHO.

artdecho

Seems to me the Murano is a psuedo-luxury crossover SUV that will go for well over $35,000 here in the great white north......the X-trail (if we could get it) would be much more reasonable at about 10 grand less and is all alot of us really need. Nissan, you're still ignoring a big chunk of the market with still no product in the economical car-based SUV segment in North America.......unless your definition of N.A is Mexico only.
We don't need a "fancy-glassware" overstyled, expensive SUV with a lot of gizmos 'n gadgets.....just a thoughtfully-designed, reasonably-priced, fuel-efficient car-based SUV that can carry our stuff and our small families and gets us where we need to go (X-Trail). Is that too much to ask?

diploid

That's quite expensive for a Nissan. If Nissan prices the Murano like that, there's no way it will compete with the Pilot.

Hey, that other Japanese brand (Mitsubishi) is bringing over the Outlander. Not as powerful as the X-Trail, but if you don't want a CR-V/Escape/RAV4/Sportage(Heaven forbid), you now have another choice.

varmint

I think Artdecho quoted the price using loonies not American dollars. $35K isn't too bad in Canadian currency.

cb70

not nearly as refined as the X-Trail IMHO.

artdecho

Yeah, that's definitely $36k in loonies....just going by the price of it's most obvious competitor, the Highlander, which is about 30 grand in FWD/4cyl form and over $36 grand in base V6/AWD form ($46 grand if you want the Limited)
Heck, even the CR-V EX-Leather is over $32 grand.
The Outlander looks somewhat promising, though it seems somewhat under-powered. Don't know if I can wait 'til the fall or much about Mitsu's reliability. CR-V is back at the top of my list now, side-swinging door and all. Sorry Nissan, can't wait forever.

cb70

X-Trail. Maybe we could open our own little X-Trail dealership? Heck we seem to know a little more than Nissan does about their own possibilities with the X-Trail.

cb70

At today's conversion rate it goes $20,262. That's for a fully loaded model with auto tranny. Pull your head our of your rear Nissan of America. This would sell a TON in the U.S.

http://www.nissan.com.au/x-trail_full/line_up_and_pricing.htm

varmint

The trouble is, you can't do a straight conversion and expect the prices to work out. There are things like taxes, shipping costs, etc. that drive the price up. If you did a straight conversion with many of the X-Trail's competitors, you'd find they're comparable or possibly even cheaper.

cb70

equipment here in the U.S. would also drive that cost up. But even at 20% more this vehicle would be quite a seller IMHO. Nissan needs offers nothing in the small SUV car based arena, they could have a huge market share with this vehicle.

artdecho

I guess Nissan's too busy licking their lips in anticipation of the big profits they'll reap on their fancy-glass Murano to be concerned about serving the economical, affordable, fuel-efficient compact SUV market.

diploid

chooki

I've been seeing it around for a couple of months now, without knowing what it was. I spotted the Nissan badge on the front this afternoon, as it drove past me down the road.

I (and presumably the owner of the xtrail) live in Maryland. There's a lot of military folks around here - perhaps one purchased one abroad while out of the country?

It is very nice looking, from the outside.

-Chuck

cb70

was complete. Of course they didn't say much at all. Maybe they are tired of hearing from me. Or just maybe (doubtful) they figured out that they need a small SUV to compete with the Escape, CRV and VUE. Here's the gist of what they sent me.

Dear Cory,

Thank you for contacting Nissan North America, Inc. and allowing us the
opportunity to be of assistance.

Thank you for your comments.

If you have any further questions or comments, please feel free to
e-mail
us.

Sincerely,

Daniel Montoya, Sr.
National Consumer Affairs

wolverine_x

The one who quoted US$20,000+ as the Xtrail's price is just right. I have a friend who works in the Middle East and he just bought one. Price- full option with the 2.5 L 180Hp CVTC engine and leather seating- US$ 22,500 at todays exchange rate. Another plus is that, the model offered in the middle east looks way better than the pictures posted here. The bumper grille made a lot of difference. the interior looks the same though. Back there it is also offered with a Mobile DVD Entertainment option that cost 2 grand. It is selling faster than the newly designed CRV. Really looks way better than CRV. Of course that is just my opinion.

Wolverine