Our Mini 2024 Nissan X-Trail Ti-L Roadtrip to Berrima

An X-Trail is a neat, medium-size SUV comfortable enough to criss-cross a country like Australia with grace and aplomb. An old friend has come to stay and we decided to make the most of the stunning spring weather for a day’s outing.

Nat and I headed south-west, motoring down the Hume Highway towards Canberra. It is just the sort of thing punters do on weekends, so I am reliably informed. A glint of excitement flashed across the afternoon as we passed a beautifully restored XA Falcon GT belching along at near top speed. Our hot lunch-date destination was the elegant 1834 Surveyor General Inn, a part of early Australian colonial history that trades heavily on a Ben Hall gentleman bushranger connection.

ABOVE: 2023 X-Trail Ti-L

Hume Highway

Before the current road was laid out, the Old Hume Highway weaved through vignettes of bucolic beauty, one after another. As new roads do, the bends were removed and all of the delightfully picturesque villages were side-stepped to create a grandiose high-speed avenue between capitals. By definition, highways almost always by-pass areas of outstanding natural beauty to keep the speed limit at maximum. While it makes a trip faster, it gets a trifle boring.

The Hume allows motorists to traverse the Sydney-Melbourne route without slowing down for stray bits or rural Australia. The only time a driver needs to turn off the main road is to refuel, eat, or “make potty.”

The open road is where X-Trail shows its greatest strengths.

The 134kw 2.5L engine power runs through a less-than-dramatic CVT automatic to a wonderfully grippy AWD system. Roadtrips need a comfortable seat, and X-Trail Ti-L’s outboard seats are heated and have lumbar support. Hoorah!

Sound from the Bose speakers delivers a calming backdrop to a thoroughly charming ride, even though suspension is firmer than I’d like.

We arrived at the Berrima’s old coaching in, had a tasty steak sandwich and small shandy, and interrogated the X-Trail Ti-L spec sheet HERE: Nissan X-Trail Spec Sheet

Berrima boasts the old goal, vineyards, and some of Australia’s best food.

The mix of the great and mediocre made to our Top-10 list.

The auto steering is meant to keep you centred in the lane but favours the left, coming uncomfortably close to planet-sized trucks next door. It otherwise makes a good job taking the chore out of long distance.

Setting the cruise system allows a limited amount of autonomy, aided by a head up display and digital driver screen.

On the whole, X-Trail Ti-L feel safe and competent, and could only be bettered by her hybrid sister. The engine could use more oomph and that CVT wants strangling, but apart from that, the X-Trail Ti-L is a brilliant SUV.

Fuel consumption on the highway trip was 4.9L/100k, not bad for and SUV. Remember when all SUVs were called gas-guzzlers?

7 seats are completely unnecessary, but the generous equipment list means X-Trail Ti-L will stay current for years. The cabin looks cosy and very up-market,

Even if the looks aren’t your cup of tea, X-Trail Ti-L is a great package

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