X Trail advice

[JSW]

Thanks for that, food for thought. I'm leaning towards a Pathfinder as I need something with a towing capability to pull a cattle trailer on occasions.

Be careful of the pathfinder it has the same chassis problem as the Navara mines been in Spain for 3months having a new chassis put on it

 

[geoffrey]

Ive got a 2005 one, mine doesn't have a DPF and by then the turbo issue was sorted I believe. I think its the perfect all rounder, we did a month trip round Scotland was great on all surfaces including some that needed 4WD, really good on fuel too. with 50:50 tyres I was very impressed with it when going off road but have just brought some real chunky tyres to see what it will do. Love mine, would replace it with another in a heartbeat, think the 05-07 ones are the best of the t30 range. I brought mine a while ago but sure I went for a 05 as they were the last without a DPF.
Had a petrol 2 litre manual before this one, they are crazy cheap as no one wants them, fuel consumption is poor, really poor and it was REALLY underpowered, with only its own weight I was in first gear going up steepish roads in the Cotswolds.

Mine is a 2005 and it was fitted with a DMF

 

[tony rentokil]

Thinking of an x trail next,,,purchase,,,are they perm 4x4?

 

[geoffrey]

No its either 2wheel, 4 wheel as required. or 4 wheel lock.

 

[tony rentokil]

Just that in some pics theres seems to be only one gear stick.

 

[caorach]

There is only one gear stick, the 4WD system is controlled by a sort of "dial" thing. What it doesn't have is a low ratio and some 4WD vehicles have another gear stick for that.

It is possible to lock it in 4WD, and also to (nearly) lock it in 2WD, but I always kept mine in the "4WD when required" as this worked very well indeed. You need to remember that when in 2WD it is a front wheel drive car and if you are trying to enter a roundabout on an uphill gradient, for example, the weight readily shifts rearwards which can lead to wheelspin even with careful and gentle driving. The 4WD system is very clever indeed and with it switched in I was never able to spin the wheels on a good road, I'm sure it is possible but you'd need to be very keen indeed, and on extreme uphill gradients on gravel it manages the drive exceptionally well.