84 Nissan X-Trail: Extra toughness is oddly appealing

We suppose we could have put the Qashqai in here, a single place behind its better-looking Renault Kadjar in-house rival, but everyone’s got a Qashqai by now, so what’s the point in recommending one? It’s already an enormous sales success.

So, instead, can we point you towards an X-Trail? It’s basically an enlarged Qashqai, built bigger but based on the same mechanical package. Taller and longer, it has seven seats to the Qashqai’s five, and while the third row is pretty tight on space, it’s just about roomy enough to be useful.

All of the smaller car’s strengths are present – bright, roomy cabin, nicely-laid out dashboard and centre console and decent build quality.

The 1.6 dCi diesel engine is fine, if a bit noisy, and the X-Trail distinguishes itself from the horde of other SUVs by feeling just a touch old-school in its driving. It has a faint edge of roughness, of toughness, that we find oddly appealing.

Price range: €32,150 to €43,750

CO2 emissions: 129 to 143g/km

Which one? 1.6 SV dCI seven-seat

PCP from €301 per month