The next-generation of the mid-sized Nissan X-Trail won’t arrive here this year.
CarExpert understands it’ll instead launch locally in 2022.
That means the next-generation Nissan Qashqai will beat it to market, with the small SUV expected to arrive in the second half of this year.
This is despite the fact we’ve already seen the Nissan X-Trail fully revealed in Rogue guise in North America, where it went on sale last October, while the Qashqai has yet to shed its camouflage.
The X-Trail may also be beaten to the Australian market by the Mitsubishi Outlander, one of its in-house rivals within the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.
The Outlander is expected to move to the X-Trail’s platform and debut locally in September or October.
Details of the local X-Trail line-up have yet to be revealed, though we expect the current car’s naturally-aspirated 2.5-litre four cylinder engine to carry over as it has in the North American Rogue.
Overseas reports have indicated the X-Trail, at least in the Japanese market, will offer a choice of three electrified powertrains but may no longer offer a diesel.
These comprise the 2.4-litre four-cylinder plug-in hybrid system from the Outlander PHEV, as well as a 2.0-litre hybrid four-cylinder that’s offered in the current car in markets like Japan.
This will also be the first generation of X-Trail to use Nissan’s e-Power system, where a small petrol engine is used as a generator to charge the battery and an electric motor delivers power directly to the wheels.
We expect at least one of those powertrains to be available here, with Nissan Australia managing director Stephen Lester previously indicating his desire to have one third of the range electrified by 2022 and telling CarExpert the “market is ready” for more electrified vehicles.
The X-Trail is unlikely to be very different to the North American Rogue, as the two models were aligned with the 2014 generation.
That’s good news as the new Rogue packs a significantly upgraded and more modern interior that features a 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system and is available with a 10.8-inch colour head-up display and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster.
Wireless Apple CarPlay is included, with wireless phone charging at the base of the centre console.
Nissan will offer a full ProPilot suite of active safety assists, including adaptive cruise control with a steering assist feature backed by the navigation system. When the navigation tells the car it’s approaching a bend, the cruise control can slow down ahead of time.
Expect to see all the necessary safety features, such as blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist, rear cross-traffic alert, and reverse autonomous emergency braking, along with AEB packing pedestrian and cyclist detection.
The new Rogue looks larger and more grown up than the current car but it’s 38mm shorter than before and has a roofline 5mm lower.
Though it’s shorter, the X-Trail is still expected to offer a third row of seating though don’t expect to see that available in the plug-in hybrid model due to packaging restrictions.
The new X-Trail has already been on sale in North America since last October, which means we’re looking at a delay of over 12 months.
Unfortunately, that’s been par for the course for Australia lately, with North American buyers getting their hands on the latest generation of Subaru Outback and Toyota Kluger around 12 months before us.
Current Nissan X-Trail 
Though the current X-Trail has been around since 2014, it’s still selling strongly.
Last year, it was the fourth best-selling mid-sized SUV, surpassed only by the Toyota RAV4, Mazda CX-5 and Hyundai Tucson.
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