Nissan X-TRAIL ST-L e-POWER 2023 Review

Hybrids don’t come cheap – unless you’re buying a Toyota. Indeed, the undisputed king of hybrids has been peddling petrol-electric models in Australia since 2001 and roughly a third of all vehicles it sells Down Under are electrified.

But the arrival of the 2023 Nissan X-TRAIL ST-L e-POWER, which is priced at $49,490 plus on-road costs, could ruffle a few feathers in the well-protected Toyota nest.

The ST-L takes the hybrid X-TRAIL range from two to three model grades and ditches a number of fancy features from the higher-spec Ti (from $54,690) and Ti-L (from $57,690).

Toyota charges a relatively modest $2500 to add hybrid tech to most RAV4 models, and in the Nissan X-TRAIL ST-L’s case it’s a $2700 premium, which should pique the interest of would-be RAV4 buyers facing a long wait for vehicle delivery.

Warranty provisions are good but not class-leading, with Nissan offering a five-year/unlimited-kilometre factory warranty and five years of roadside assistance.

The 12-month/10,000km service intervals are average for this class, with many rivals offering 15,000km. The average service cost at a Nissan dealership is just over $500 per visit across six years or 60,000km, whichever occurs first.

Despite sliding in under $50,000, the 2023 Nissan X-TRAIL ST-L e-POWER comes with a reasonable level of kit.

Standard equipment includes a power-operated driver’s seat (with lumbar adjust), reasonably supple synthetic leather upholstery, dual-zone automatic climate control, heated front seats, a 360-degree surround-view parking camera and twin digital screens.

On the outside you’ll find LED lights galore (headlights, fog lights, tail-lights, daytime running lights), 18-inch alloy wheels, silver roof rails and tinted rear and rear side windows.

All four powered side windows feature automatic up/down functions, and while the ST-L misses out on a lot of the big-ticket items of its more expensive siblings, like a full-width digital driver’s display, sunroof and tri-zone climate control, it doesn’t feel like a stripped-out rattle wagon.

Unlike the petrol version, there’s no seven-seat option for this hybrid family SUV, and no spare wheel whatsoever. If you pop a tyre you need to use a can of goop and centrifugal force to temporarily fix the puncture.

The entire 2023 Nissan X-TRAIL range – including the new ST-L – benefits from a host of very useful and potentially life-saving features, many incorporated within the brand’s ProPILOT safety suite.

The autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system can detect cyclists and pedestrians (as well as other vehicles), and also operates at intersections, while other welcome features include intelligent blind spot intervention, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, tyre pressure monitoring and automatic headlights with high beam assistance.

Front and rear parking sensors are fitted, working in conjunction with the surround-view camera.

In the event of a collision, seven airbags are ready for deployment, including side curtain airbags covering both seat rows and a centre-front airbag designed to prevent head knocks.

The Nissan X-TRAIL has been awarded a maximum five-star rating from independent vehicle safety authority ANCAP, based on testing conducted in 2021 and applying to all model variants.

Where cost-cutting in the 2023 Nissan X-TRAIL ST-L e-POWER starts to make itself felt is in the multimedia department, with smaller digital screens, no wireless phone charger and no head-up display – items which the up-spec Ti and Ti-L models do get.

So instead of a big 12.3-inch central touch-screen you get a rather small 8.0-inch display, but the reality is the screen is fine, the operating system is simple but effective and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto look great.

There’s no native GPS satellite navigation but you do get digital radio which is a nice bonus, unlocking loads of niche radio stations if you’re near a large city.

A 7.0-inch digital driver’s display wedged between the analogue energy consumption and speedo gauges is small but useful, with lots of good data and sharp visuals.

Four USB ports – two A and two C – are part of the package, as is an intelligent key with push-button vehicle start and an automatically dimming (monochromatic) rear-view mirror.

Nissan has taken the path less travelled to vehicle hybridisation than its rivals, the three-model 2023 Nissan X-TRAIL e-POWER range using a range-extender hybrid system.

Instead of a combustion engine that drives the wheels, augmented by electric motors that can chime in when required, the X-TRAIL has a small petrol engine that acts (almost) exclusively as a generator.

The petrol engine is a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol unit with modest power (106kW/250Nm), but with twin electric motors driving the wheels it feels seriously fast and incredibly responsive. In effect, it drives more like an EV, with instant torque and quiet cruising.

The e-motors – producing 150kW/330Nm up front and 100kW/195Nm at the rear – have plenty of gristle and propel the almost-1.9-tonne mid-size SUV with smooth and refined but forceful propulsive dynamism.

The e-motors are fed electricity via a small 1.8kWh lithium-ion battery, which cannot be plugged in – only the engine can recharge it.

Nissan says the petrol engine never drives the wheels but when the battery is low it certainly feels like engine revs match the acceleration forces the driver requests.

Transmission? The same as most EVs, a single-speed reduction gear that automatically apportions torque.

Average fuel consumption over the combined city and highway driving cycles for the 2023 Nissan X-TRAIL ST-L e-POWER is listed at 6.1L/100km.

In the real world during our two-week test, we achieved 5.6L/100km, which is quite impressive and comparable to what many RAV4 Hybrid owners experience.

That was over roughly 600km with about two thirds being highway driving – cruise control engaged at 100km/h in speed camera-mad Victoria, Your Honour.

Even if you do the calculations and figure out how much fuel $2700 can buy (a lot, it turns out), the driving experience the 2023 Nissan X-TRAIL ST-L e-POWER delivers is worth the premium.

Why? It’s more responsive, more powerful and more engaging than its non-hybrid sibling.

As well as delivering more driver satisfaction than a regular SUV, it’s quieter and more pleasant to punt around at civilian speeds too.

The chassis fundamentals that make the latest Nissan X-TRAIL a comfortable mode of transport that can still be driven with a bit of enthusiasm in the right scenario returns for the hybrid version, which is around 200kg heavier than the ST-L AWD and 300kg heavier than the ST-L FWD non-hybrid models.

Ride comfort is good, the compliant suspension settling quickly after traversing speed bumps and ably absorbing crumbling country road edges and pockmarked roadworks in the ’burbs.

The intelligent cruise control works quite well in tandem with traffic sign recognition, updating the speed limit via the digital display and providing one-touch speed switching to changing speed limits.

There’s one-pedal driving which dials up the regenerative braking when you lift off the throttle pedal and an EV mode that stops the petrol engine chiming in.

But the reality is the X-TRAIL e-POWER can barely drive more than a kilometre using only its puny battery, and when the charge runs low the variable-compression engine kicks in and can be a little intrusive.

It’s not loud but its three-cylinder layout is fairly thrummy when maximum recharging is required.

We only took the 2023 Nissan X-TRAIL ST-L e-POWER on gravel roads, where it felt predictable and composed, so it’s hard to say just how far off-road you could take this range-extending hybrid.

That said, it’s reasonably well equipped for light-duty detours off the beaten track, aided by its all-wheel drive layout, dedicated off-road driving mode and reasonable 190mm ground clearance (for a mainstream SUV).

Despite being the cheapest 2023 Nissan X-TRAIL e-POWER hybrid available in Australia at present, the ST-L model grade doesn’t feel stingy and spartan inside.

Sure, the smaller digital screens lack the wow factor found in the more expensive models, and there’s no sunroof – jumbo or otherwise – but the synthetic leather upholstery ain’t too shabby, seat comfort is good and the two-tone brown-on-black doors and dashboard trim have a contemporary look.

The rear compartment is roomy and features fore/aft seat slide adjustment, which is great when you’ve got a baby seat in and need to liberate more boot space. There’s also twin USB ports, air vents and pretty good back-seat amenity all told.

Together with super-wide-opening rear doors that make shifting toddlers in and out of the X-TRAIL mercifully easy, a big boot adds plenty of versatility.

The fitment of ‘divide and hide’ partitions are great for segmenting the boot and keeping objects or shopping from slewing around.

The 2023 Nissan X-TRAIL e-POWER is one of the best mainstream mid-size SUVs going around, providing muscular EV-like propulsion that is now even more attainable with the new entry-level ST-L model grade.

Packed with equipment and technology, featuring loads of space and now with a more competitive price tag, the Nissan X-TRAIL ST-L e-POWER ticks a lot of boxes – and is arguably one of the best mid-size hybrid SUVs on the market today.

It may never be quite as popular as the top-selling Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, which has an entry retail price below $43K and attracts a lot of fleet buyers, but those who take the ST-L e-POWER for a test drive and consider the value equation carefully should come away impressed.

2023 Nissan X-TRAIL ST-L e-POWER at a glance:
Price: $49,490 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol-electric
Output: 106kW/250Nm (electric motors: 150kW/330Nm and 100kW/195Nm)
Combined output: 157kW
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Fuel: 6.1L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 139g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2021)