So are you saying....
Your X-trail is the sportiest car you've owned? On what basis do you judge "sporty"?
Good question, Tweaksta. I mean sporty in terms of pick-up. While my Forester featured the more powerful 2.5 liter US-market engine, it was naturally aspirated and mated to the 4-speed auto box. The X-trail I have here in Africa is a turbo-diesel with a 6-speed manual, which gives it better go. The X-trail definitely can't keep up with the suspension and handling of the Forester, which was excellent for a CUV. So if sporty = handling, then the X-trail definitely lags far behind the Forester.
The other factor influencing my evaluation of the X-trail as "sporty" is that our other car here is a 1998 Land Cruiser, which is anything but sporty. More of a bulldozer, actually. :biggrin:
I suspect they are both aimed at the same market and price down here - we'll see.
Aha! I agree that in terms of marketing, both are more for show than for actual off-road performance. This would hold true both back in the US, and here in West Africa. However, I've seen plenty of FJ-Cruisers covered in mud that came from obvious off-road duty, whereas I have never seen a recent-model Range Rover (esp. Sport and now Evoque) with any signs that it has been used off-road, other than having driven down the short driveway to the horse farm.
As to X-Trail offroad capability - be careful on sand as they work very well until the AWD overheats then drops back to 2WD. The older models did it and our club had a new diesel model out on training 2 weekends ago and it did it too!
Thanks for the warning, Kevin. Mine's the older model (2008, now sold as "Classic"). But it's been used mainly as our city car, i.e. to drive through giant puddles during rainy season as well as pot hole-riddled roads generally. While the 2.2 liter turbo-diesel has nice pick-up on-road, it has
zero low down torque. Even after a year of ownership, I still regularly stall it in first gear! Something that's impossible to do in our old Land Cruiser, where we hardly use first gear at all, as it launches fine in second. :biggrin:
I hear the X-trail is even more prone to stalling once you engage AWD. So I can't even imagine what it will be like when I finally take it to the beach. Although this will likely be in convoy with the Land Cruiser, which could always just tow the X-trail if needed.
And I have invested in a low-pressure tire gauge, because the locals tell me that airing down is more important than AWD/4x4, clearance, or off-road tires.
On a totally unrelated note, even though there are virtually no Subarus here, I've seen a Legacy, an Outback, and a new Forester with the Boxer Diesel in taxi livery!! It appears to be some promotional thing by a PR firm, although I have yet to get to the bottom of the story or be able to take a photo of one. Really need to start driving with my DSLR in hand.