The video production team are quite far down the pecking order when it comes to driving cars at Goodwood – I’m usually found hanging out a boot filming them. So, it was a fortunate turn of events that meant I could use our Nissan X-Trail last week.
GRR Garage: Nissan X‑Trail – fresh eyes
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With Ben road testing another car and Ethan on holiday, it was sat in the paddock waiting to be used. It was particularly lucky as the weather had taken a nasty turn, and as someone who regularly commutes on a motorcycle, I wasn’t looking forward to a dicey ride home.
In a smaller car, never-mind a bike, the drive home would have been daunting. The spray made visibility near zero, and the impressive amounts of standing water on the A27 made every dark patch a squeaky bum moment. The X-Trail took it all in its stride.
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It’s chock full of driver aids like automatic full beam and lane departure warnings that make driving in such conditions a breeze. It even increases the volume of the stereo as the car accelerates to combat the higher noise. The devil’s in the details.
Perhaps the best thing I can say about the car is that it made me enjoy the journey. On the bike, I’m eager to reach my destination. It’s all about speed, filtering and getting places faster than others, butut the X-Trail was such a nice place to be. I didn’t care about when I arrived, I just relaxed and enjoyed the ride.
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