X Trail advice

[vizslamad]

It is looking like my Hyundai Terracan will pass beyond economical repair ( fuel injectors ) so I was thinking of replacing it with 04 to 07 XTrail. It would be petrol not diesel ( to many turbo problems) and the question is how good will it be off road, I am not going up and down mountains but it can get pretty muddy on the shoot I look after! Whilst the SUZUKI Vitara is probably the best bet 4x4 wise it just not enough space for my stalking trips to Scotland. The Terracan was always crap in 4x4 so I am wary of buying another vehicle with electronic 4 wheel engagement. Hope some owners can help.
Thanks
John.

 

[caorach]

I had one of the more recent models - I think it was a 2009 car but a 2010 model year. I ran it for about 7 years. It went everywhere I needed it to go. In the end the key is tyres so you need to look for one with a wheel size that you can get AT tyres for and I think those older ones were 16 inch wheels and you could get a reasonable selection of AT type tyres. I now have an L200 running on BFG ATs and it will not go anywhere that the X-Trail didn't also go except for a very few spots where the overhangs were a problem for the X-Trail. According to the manufacturer the L200 has only 5mm more road clearance when compared to the X-Trail. I remain convinced that the X-Trail is probably the best general purpose vehicle for someone who shots/stalks a bit and also uses it for everyday type stuff. The Australians are very keen on them and they are doing some pretty serious off road stuff with them, though they often modify them but then most dedicated off road vehicles are modified. Mine was also reliable, with only a relay replaced while I had it, but clearly as you are looking at cars well over 10 years old there are bound to be some problems.

This is the L200 in one spot that the X-Trail wouldn't go because of the front overhang, you should note that the L200 scrapes the nose getting in here as well. Again, however, common sense would solve this problem as I always have a spade in the back and it would be a simple matter just to fill in the ditch while crossing it:

On mud like this I found the X-Trail better than the L200 on the new BFGs! I didn't expect that either but, clearly, it is almost completely down to tyres:

Mine did maybe 20 - 30 miles per week off road and probably close to 12,000 miles in total in a year:

 

[geoffrey]

I have a 2005 xtrail 2.2tdi yes the early ones had problems but all sorted now. the diesel engine is very good on fuel, poodling along on motorways it has returned 46mpg but on avarage around 38mpg. off road with decent tyres in is pretty good, my friend has the petrol version and it has poor fuel economy. mine has covered 125,000miles and drives like a new car, i did remove the duel mass flywheel and replaced it with a solid one from ttv racing in essex, and now it pulls like a train when towing. look for one with 16 inch wheels as you have a greater choice of tyres for off road use, Having owned the car from new, would i buy another??? definately yes, but not the petrol engine.

 

[FISH BOY]

I had one of the more recent models - I think it was a 2009 car but a 2010 model year. I ran it for about 7 years. It went everywhere I needed it to go. In the end the key is tyres so you need to look for one with a wheel size that you can get AT tyres for and I think those older ones were 16 inch wheels and you could get a reasonable selection of AT type tyres. I now have an L200 running on BFG ATs and it will not go anywhere that the X-Trail didn't also go except for a very few spots where the overhangs were a problem for the X-Trail. According to the manufacturer the L200 has only 5mm more road clearance when compared to the X-Trail. I remain convinced that the X-Trail is probably the best general purpose vehicle for someone who shots/stalks a bit and also uses it for everyday type stuff. The Australians are very keen on them and they are doing some pretty serious off road stuff with them, though they often modify them but then most dedicated off road vehicles are modified. Mine was also reliable, with only a relay replaced while I had it, but clearly as you are looking at cars well over 10 years old there are bound to be some problems.

This is the L200 in one spot that the X-Trail wouldn't go because of the front overhang, you should note that the L200 scrapes the nose getting in here as well. Again, however, common sense would solve this problem as I always have a spade in the back and it would be a simple matter just to fill in the ditch while crossing it:

On mud like this I found the X-Trail better than the L200 on the new BFGs! I didn't expect that either but, clearly, it is almost completely down to tyres:

Mine did maybe 20 - 30 miles per week off road and probably close to 12,000 miles in total in a year:

Always enjoy your pictures - thanks.

 

[kenbro]

I have a 2005 xtrail 2.2tdi yes the early ones had problems but all sorted now. the diesel engine is very good on fuel, poodling along on motorways it has returned 46mpg but on avarage around 38mpg. off road with decent tyres in is pretty good, my friend has the petrol version and it has poor fuel economy. mine has covered 125,000miles and drives like a new car, i did remove the duel mass flywheel and replaced it with a solid one from ttv racing in essex, and now it pulls like a train when towing. look for one with 16 inch wheels as you have a greater choice of tyres for off road use, Having owned the car from new, would i buy another??? definately yes, but not the petrol engine.

Very interesting re. the flywheel...why did you replace it,and, how is it better at towing without it?
I don’t know much about these things, but, would have thought your vehicle came with a dual mass flywheel for a reason.
Regards,Ken.

 

[geoffrey]

Hi Ken, The duel mass flywheel has been a desaster from the start, over engineered and prone to failure, I tow a caravan and twin axle trailer, when reversing up an incline with a loaded trailer the flywheel would judder and get hot. when i tried to get a solid flywheel Nissan said they were not available so i sent my duel mass flywheel to TTV racing in essex who made one for me. Nissan said the engine would need re mapping, which of course was nonsence. the new clutch and flywheel has been on the vehicle for around 50000miles with no problems. just google Duel mass flywheel problems and you will see. cheers Geoff

 

[Bavarianbrit]

The dual mass came in in an attempt to get smoother motoring but the downside is weakness and serious replacement costs had one done on My Terracan once.

 

[vizslamad]

Thanks for your reply’s gentlemen, it looks like it’s off-road capabilities will certainly be enough for what I require.
My main reasoning for leaning towards the Petrol version would be that a DPF would probably seldom come into its own to perform its self restoring with the the type of driving I would be doing + the turbo issue. I know the petrol is more expensive in terms of MPG and road tax but the fuel and tax savings of a diesel could quite easily disappear if I were to have problems with a DPF or turbo.

 

[Everycal]

Thanks for your reply’s gentlemen, it looks like it’s off-road capabilities will certainly be enough for what I require.
My main reasoning for leaning towards the Petrol version would be that a DPF would probably seldom come into its own to perform its self restoring with the the type of driving I would be doing + the turbo issue. I know the petrol is more expensive in terms of MPG and road tax but the fuel and tax savings of a diesel could quite easily disappear if I were to have problems with a DPF or turbo.

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.

 

[JSW]

I had one of the more recent models - I think it was a 2009 car but a 2010 model year. I ran it for about 7 years. It went everywhere I needed it to go. In the end the key is tyres so you need to look for one with a wheel size that you can get AT tyres for and I think those older ones were 16 inch wheels and you could get a reasonable selection of AT type tyres. I now have an L200 running on BFG ATs and it will not go anywhere that the X-Trail didn't also go except for a very few spots where the overhangs were a problem for the X-Trail. According to the manufacturer the L200 has only 5mm more road clearance when compared to the X-Trail. I remain convinced that the X-Trail is probably the best general purpose vehicle for someone who shots/stalks a bit and also uses it for everyday type stuff. The Australians are very keen on them and they are doing some pretty serious off road stuff with them, though they often modify them but then most dedicated off road vehicles are modified. Mine was also reliable, with only a relay replaced while I had it, but clearly as you are looking at cars well over 10 years old there are bound to be some problems.

This is the L200 in one spot that the X-Trail wouldn't go because of the front overhang, you should note that the L200 scrapes the nose getting in here as well. Again, however, common sense would solve this problem as I always have a spade in the back and it would be a simple matter just to fill in the ditch while crossing it:

On mud like this I found the X-Trail better than the L200 on the new BFGs! I didn't expect that either but, clearly, it is almost completely down to tyres:

Mine did maybe 20 - 30 miles per week off road and probably close to 12,000 miles in total in a year:

Hi there did you have the draws in the back specially made or are they standard

 

[Buchan]

Following with interest as considering one to replace my Freelander whose rear diff is knackered. Is the 1.6 diesel OK? I'd prefer the 2.0 feeling 1.6 will be working hard if fully laden

 

[Siggy]

I had one of the more recent models - I think it was a 2009 car but a 2010 model year. I ran it for about 7 years. It went everywhere I needed it to go. In the end the key is tyres so you need to look for one with a wheel size that you can get AT tyres for and I think those older ones were 16 inch wheels and you could get a reasonable selection of AT type tyres. I now have an L200 running on BFG ATs and it will not go anywhere that the X-Trail didn't also go except for a very few spots where the overhangs were a problem for the X-Trail. According to the manufacturer the L200 has only 5mm more road clearance when compared to the X-Trail. I remain convinced that the X-Trail is probably the best general purpose vehicle for someone who shots/stalks a bit and also uses it for everyday type stuff. The Australians are very keen on them and they are doing some pretty serious off road stuff with them, though they often modify them but then most dedicated off road vehicles are modified. Mine was also reliable, with only a relay replaced while I had it, but clearly as you are looking at cars well over 10 years old there are bound to be some problems.

This is the L200 in one spot that the X-Trail wouldn't go because of the front overhang, you should note that the L200 scrapes the nose getting in here as well. Again, however, common sense would solve this problem as I always have a spade in the back and it would be a simple matter just to fill in the ditch while crossing it:

Great post! I was looking at switching to an L200, but now I am reassured that the Xtrail can handle what I've got planned for it over the next year or so. Still want the larger carrying capacity of the L200 but it can wait until finances are a little healthier! just need to get some knobbly tyres

 

[caorach]

Hi there did you have the draws in the back specially made or are they standard

The drawers in the back are standard in them, though some only have one drawer and a long "cubby hole" as I think for some weird reason that the second drawer was an option. I'd guess you might be able to get the second drawer from a breakers and just slide it in if you ended up with only one, they are asymetric though so you'll need to be sure to get one for the right side of the car. As you can see the rear load space isn't exactly square and so has a sort of bevel at the bottom so the drawers "square" this off. Although they are only 6 inches deep or so they run the whole length of the load bay so they can hold a lot of stuff. Get some foam cut out and you could easily keep your guns in them, at least shotguns or something like my Blaser that breaks down. They also mean that with the seats down the load area is pretty much flat, you could lay the sleeping bag out in it and sleep there.

@Siggy - Having run both I've no doubt that the X-Trail is a much more flexible option unless you need to carry 1 ton bags of sand in the rear. I moved to the pickup as they'd stopped making an X-Trail that did what I needed. With the seats down the X-Trail probably has a larger load area than the L200 plus it is a lot easier to carry longer stuff in the X-Trail than in an L200 with a canopy on it. There were lots of things I could do around the croft in the X-Trail, moving lawnmowers and so on, that the L200 can't do and I have to borrow another vehicle now! Of course having a canopy on my L200 is the issue, but I can't be without the canopy either. The tyre choice was a big problem with the X-Trail but there are now a lot more options in the 17 inch wheel size. I've not been overly impressed with the BFGs on my L200 and in moderate mud found that the Yoko Geolander ATS on the X-Trail did a better job, plus they were better on snow. The BFGs seem very prone to slip and slide about on mud whereas the Geolanders felt more stable plus the BFGs clag up much more quickly than I'd of expected, when I took this photo both the front left and rear right tyre was just spinning and as you can see from the tracks I'd only actually gone about 4 feet in relatively shallow mud over a rocky base:

 

[labrador77]

How do you find loading deer carcasses into the xtrail (or any if the suv types). Considering replacing my long in the tooth ranger but not sure I can live without the open buck.

 

[caorach]

How do you find loading deer carcasses into the xtrail (or any if the suv types). Considering replacing my long in the tooth ranger but not sure I can live without the open buck.

I only shoot sika when I'm on my own and it was a lot easier to lift a sika into the X-Trail than into the L200 as the floor was a lot lower. I kept a big fish box in the back as you can see in the earlier photos, put the deer into the fish box and simply lifted it into the boot. There is no way I could get a big sika stag into the L200 as I simply couldn't lift it on my own but I've had a few in the X-Trail. I know some will say they didn't want blood in their car etc. but I simply used my brain and didn't get blood in my car and so there was never a problem, and it never created a smell in the car.

 

[rover]

Hi I have one of the last old shape 2014, diesel 2lt. I get around 41mpg. I've had it around two years now very happy with it. Only thing is trying to find mud tyres for it. Its great for towing my 17foot Wilson boat no problem, load space is great, as are the drawers for holding all my shooting gear. Would highly recommend it.
Jim

 

[Siggy]

@Siggy - Having run both I've no doubt that the X-Trail is a much more flexible option unless you need to carry 1 ton bags of sand in the rear. I moved to the pickup as they'd stopped making an X-Trail that did what I needed. With the seats down the X-Trail probably has a larger load area than the L200 plus it is a lot easier to carry longer stuff in the X-Trail than in an L200 with a canopy on it. There were lots of things I could do around the croft in the X-Trail, moving lawnmowers and so on, that the L200 can't do and I have to borrow another vehicle now! Of course having a canopy on my L200 is the issue, but I can't be without the canopy either. The tyre choice was a big problem with the X-Trail but there are now a lot more options in the 17 inch wheel size. I've not been overly impressed with the BFGs on my L200 and in moderate mud found that the Yoko Geolander ATS on the X-Trail did a better job, plus they were better on snow. The BFGs seem very prone to slip and slide about on mud whereas the Geolanders felt more stable plus the BFGs clag up much more quickly than I'd of expected, when I took this photo both the front left and rear right tyre was just spinning and as you can see from the tracks I'd only actually gone about 4 feet in relatively shallow mud over a rocky base:

Thanks for the advice! Siggy,

 

[labrador77]

I only shoot sika when I'm on my own and it was a lot easier to lift a sika into the X-Trail than into the L200 as the floor was a lot lower. I kept a big fish box in the back as you can see in the earlier photos, put the deer into the fish box and simply lifted it into the boot. There is no way I could get a big sika stag into the L200 as I simply couldn't lift it on my own but I've had a few in the X-Trail. I know some will say they didn't want blood in their car etc. but I simply used my brain and didn't get blood in my car and so there was never a problem, and it never created a smell in the car.

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.

 

[Hayduke]

X-trails look like and feel a little like a concrete block on wheels, I love mine! Had some mods done and engine tuned up and she goes like sh!t off a shovel, it's a hoot blasting past new evokes, audis and discos.

If getting an old one DPF filter will give you headaches. Go for 2.0li plus, any less will be gutless. It's good off road for what it is, I've bellied it out a couple of times and bust a spring or two.

I will get three reds in the back easy (with back passenger seats still up), with seats down 6-8 probably wouldn't be a bother, I either heave them in or slide them up a plank of wood and in.

I reckon on spending about £500 on a good year to keep running well. I have a 07/08 and close to 200k on the clock, I hope to get another couple of years out of her but may not.

I have no idea what to replace it with, I hate the new look x-trail - too small and too urban. I was thinking either L200, Freelander 2, Help Please? What next ?

 

[caorach]

I was thinking either L200, Freelander 2, Help Please? What next ?

Never buy anything made by Land Rover - there is little enough time and money and absolutely no reason to waste any of it dealing with their rubbish and bad customer service.

I'm kind of in two minds about my L200 and I bought it as a sort of "general purpose" X-Trail replacement. If you go to a pickup you will find parking and town driving becomes more tricky, not impossible but if I did a lot of driving and parking in town I simply wouldn't have one as too much bother and too many places you can't get it parked. Mine has had some warranty work done on it, mostly cosmetic type stuff, but the fact that even cosmetic stuff is rusting at this stage is a concern as I'd hoped to keep it for a good few years. The L200 is comfortable, you can drive in 4WD on the road which you can't do with most pickups, it is about the smallest of the pickups with the smallest turning circle which is a big plus on a small road or off road, fuel economy isn't bad and so far it has gone everywhere I've wanted to go in it. So, the L200 has done OK for me but I'm not as positive about it as I was about the X-Trail.