Overall I am very happy with it, been happily surprised at where it will go.
Excellent on the black stuff which makes getting to the red/brown stuff painless.
A key reason for getting this vehicle is that it's at the bigger end of the compacts, some smaller vehicles Grand Vitara, Tiguan in particular barely have room for a decent 'frig' in the back. The XTrail happily takes a 50 litre Waeco lengthwise leaving quite a bit of space for other gear and there are tie down points for safety. Another nice thing is the load area is completely flat, although folding the seats is a bit fiddly. It also has underfloor drawers in the back which are great for storing bits and pieces such as straps, first aid kit, small shovel, gloves, snatch strap, tarp for river crossings, blockout etc. These are easily removed and an extra 100mm or so of load height can be gained if so desired.
Another good feature is the CVT transmission. Never hunts for gears, always has the perfect ratio, and can be flicked across to 'manual' for overtaking, river crossings etc - brilliant, especially in sand. Hill descent control also works really well.
Issues with the vehicle so far:
lack of under body protection, various plastic guards underneath don't provide any real protection
the spare wheel (full size) is under the floor, under the drawers, so a complete unpack of the back of the car is needed in the event of a puncture - dumb!
The rear bumper is vulnerable to damage in heavily rutted tracks or deep sand. A lip on the bottom edge, which would seem to be there for aesthetic reasons only, catches on things, and in my case ripped the bumper almost off. this can be alleviated by cutting the lip off with a stanley knife (no visible difference) and I know some people have made up a cover/shield from flat steel to protect the bumper.
The (very expensive) cargo blind is of limited usefulness, because it is in two pieces, and mounted midway between the rear seats and the back door so the rear seats can recline, the bar on which its mounted gets in the way somewhat. I'd spend my money on something else, probably a cargo barrier.
Issues specific to the Ti
There is some issue with the sunroof and the cargo barrier which I've yet to figure out. I think that
a) cargo barriers for the sunroof model are hard to find, and
b) they can't be relocated to behind the front seats, so for a big trip you are stuck with the cargo barrier midway through your load area, although you could use them as an anchor point for lighter weight stuff, such as bedding, duffel bags etc, forward of the barrier
The other issue is the low profile tyres on the Ti. (215/60 x 17) from memory. These are not 4wd tyres by any stretch of the imagination, but have caused me no problems at all to date. A little more care is probably needed when picking one's path through the forest, and I do get a bit nervous about the tyres/alloys when we go over rocky stuff, but to date it really hasn't been an issue.
Overall the Xtrail is a great long range touring car with good four wheel drive capabilities.
These cars (compact 4wds generally, not just X trails) have far more off road capability than either the manufacturers or especially the reviewers say. I am really sick of reading reviews of compact 4wds by guys who generally review falcodores etc which say stuff like 'great for a gravel road or going to the snow but that's about it'. What a crock! I have been really impressed with what I have seen these vehicles do, including sand dunes and river crosings.
We have two X Trail T31s in the club, the other is a diesel, so potential purchasers can get good feedback.
Feel free to ask any questions.
