Story & Photo by Ronald Rey M. de los Reyes
THE late US President Ronald Reagan once said, “There are no great limits to growth because there are no limits to human intelligence, imagination and wonder.”
Truly, these words are divine since they make the bounded limitless and the powerless fiercely potent.
Recently, this kind of capacity seems to have been unlocked, especially when Nissan Philippines just redefined smarter driving with the launch of the new X-Trail.
Knowing their full potential as a force to be reckoned with after its mother company sold 5.63 million vehicles globally last year, generating a sales revenue of ¥11.72 trillion and being one of the fastest growing local automotive companies, they, this time, introduced this prodigy equipped with Nissan Intelligent Mobility technologies.
“The Nissan X-Trail offers enough room for families and groups who love to go on road trips,” Nissan Philippines President and Managing Director Ramesh Narasimhan said.
“With Nissan Intelligent Mobility, our customers can enjoy each adventure as they drive safe and sound. We want them to treat the new X-Trail as a partner that looks out for them so they can have a fun and hassle-free time on the road.”
For starters, the new X-Trail is the first Nissan vehicle in the country to be integrated with the largest range of available advanced Intelligent Mobility technologies.
These technologies offer customers an improved way of driving. In the new Nissan X-Trail, for instance, these include an around view monitor that provides drivers with a 360-degree perspective for easier navigation, a moving-object detection that sends a visual and audible alert when there’s movement around the vehicle, blind-spot warning that detects objects in the driver’s blind spot, forward-collision warning and intelligent emergency braking that signals a visual and auditory warning and thus applies an emergency brake to avoid collisions, rear cross traffic alert that immediately informs the driver of any unseen vehicles while reversing. Not to mention, they included the 4×4-I System that automatically adjusts power distribution to give drivers full control of the vehicle as they get to go off the beaten path.
Exterior-wise, it’s basically almost the same as the previous model if not for its new front fascia with integrated fog lamps, bumper, the signature Nissan “V-Motion” grille and revised headlights with LED signature daytime running lights. For the top variant, drivers get to feel the different grip on the road with new 19-inch wheels. Couple it with a fin-type antenna, and a newly integrated sun roof round off the vehicle’s dynamic look, and it seems to be a totally different beast while traversing the urban jungle.
Inside, the cabin radiates a premium feel as there are new door and instrument panel finishes, coupled with a new shift-knob design, revised center console and console lid. The steering wheel, for one, has an all-new three-spoke design with a flat bottom. It has wheel-mounted controls redesigned from toggle switches to buttons. Soft-touch materials, meanwhile, make up the dashboard area.
It has the same engine as its predecessors with the 2 and 2.5-liter powertrains. The 2-liter variant produces 144 hp and 200 N-m of torque, while the 2.5-liter option rates at 171 hp and 233 N-m of torque. This higher variant get to enjoy an all-wheel drive system.
This new Nissan X-Trail is available in Premium Corona Orange, Marine Blue, Pearl White, Gun Metallic and Diamond Black. This stunner is offered in both 4×4 and 4×2 variants, priced at P1.728 million and P1.399 million, respectively.
In an interview Nissan Philippines Inc. General Manager for sales Rolando Navarro predicted that they see a more promising future with the new X-Trail.
“Compared before wherein we only sell about 30 units per month of the X-Trail, with this new one we see the number boost to about 60 to 80,” he stated.
“This is primarily because of the more unique features being offered now, particularly the Nissan Intelligent Mobility.”
Image credits: Ronald Rey M. de los Reyes