Nissan X-Trail

X-Trail is better in most areas than most of its rivals. It goes up against the Honda's CR-V and Land Rover's Freelander in the soft-roader category. It cuts the mustard against both of them on the road and has a good range of engines and trim levels. Standard equipment could be better for the price (but there again, so could its rivals).

DCI, 16V, S, SPORT, SE, SVE, DI

Base S models have an electric sunroof, metallic dashboard inserts, power-assisted steering, electric windows, electrically adjustable door mirrors and a four-speaker stereo. Sport models add 16in alloys, a roof spoiler, drilled aluminium foot pedals and a single CD player. SE+ has a chrome front grille, front fog lights, leather trim and heated front seats. A range shake-up in October 2002 saw SE+ renamed to SVE and a range-topping SVE trim, with leather seats and a six-CD autochanger, introduced. April 2003 saw the introduction of Sport-X, based on the sport, but with roof bar mounted spotlamps and tinted windows. T-Spec became the top specification in October 2003 and adds DVD BirdView sat nav.

2.5