New Nissan X-Trail starts at £22,995. But it's FWD

The new Nissan X-Trail – which debuted at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show – is now on sale in the UK from £22,995 for the new FWD version.

The new Nissan X-Trail (pictured) falls in price

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The styling of the new Nissan X-Trail, which arrived last year at Frankfurt, has eschewed a lot of the boxiness of the old X-Trail and taken on many of the styling cues from the new Nissan Qashqai. And in the process it’s perhaps become ‘softer’.

The old X-Trail was more rugged than most modern compact SUVs, but the new X-Trail has arrived with a choice of Front Wheel Drive versions – no doubt aimed at keeping the price down – as well as cuddlier looks.

Nissan has also replaced the old 2.0 litre diesel lump that delivered 171bhp and 266lb/ft of torque and replaced it with a 1.6 litre diesel with just 129bhp and 235lb/ft of torque.

Nissan aren’t admitting what the drop in horses and twisty stuff has done to the performance of the X-Trail, but it has improved economy markedly, with 57.6mpg and 129g/km on the official cycle. Maybe it’s a sensible trade-off?

The reduction in power and the option of FWD has, however, made the entry-level X-Trail – the X-Trail Visia 2WD – a chunk cheaper at £22,995, and it still gets 17″ alloys, LED running lights, Bluetooth, AirCon, heated door mirrors, delayed headlights and electric parking brake.

There’s also a meter display which features 12 graphic displays including average and actual speeds, turn-by-turn instructions from the SatNav, traffic sign recognition and torque distribution (assuming you opted for 4WD).

The X-Trail Acenta – which costs from £24,795 – adds in privacy glass, climate, electric folding mirrors, electric sunroof, auto lights and wipers and parking sensors.

Noth the lower spec levels – Visia and Acenta – can be further optioned up with a choice of a Smart Vision Pack, with auto lights, High beam Assist, Lane Departure Warning, Forward Emergency Braking, Traffic Sign Recognition and parking sensors for the Visia at £495, and High Beam Assist, Lane Departure Warning, Forward Emergency Braking and Traffic Sign Recognition for the Acenta at £450.

Next rung up the ladder is the X-Trail N-Tec which gets everything the Acenta with Smart Vision Pack plus 19″ alloys, keyless, DAB, roof rails, power tailgate, around view monitor and NissanConnect. The X-Trail N-Tec starts at £27,295.

Finally, if you want all the toys, the X-Trail Tekna – which starts at £29,295, adds BI-LED headlights, heated leather seats, Blind Spot Warning, Attention Alert and Nissan’s automatic Park Assist.

The Acenta, N-Tec and Tekna trim can be had with 2WD or 4WD, with the 4WD versions getting Nissan’s ALL MODE 4×4-i system and you can opt for Nissan’s XTRONIC CVT as well a spending an extra £700 on turning the X-Trail from a 5-seater to a 7-seater.

The new Nissan X-Trail will be in Nissan’s UK showrooms on 17th July 2014.