25th January 2006, 02:11
| #31 | |
| Senior - BHPian  | Quote:
can you please also include forester? I know that it is a petrol Quasi-SUV but still it lies in the same segment and is competition to the x-trail too?  | |
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11th August 2006, 09:12
| #32 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore
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10th September 2006, 12:58
| #33 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Tura
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|   With X-Pecial, Nissan strikes out on new Trail S. Muralidhar Nissan offers a new X-Trail variant with changes to the exterior and some trim options. Nissan's India web site says that this is a market of new opportunities for the Japanese company. In the public domain, the company's profile has been relatively low, despite that statement acknowledging India's potential. Though the company is yet to announce the juicy details of its manufacturing plans for an aggressive push into the market here, it has had a fairly active presence the last couple of years. Since establishing its India office and expanding its dealership network, Nissan has, till date, been a one-product company. However, this high-profile Japanese company will soon announce detailed plans for entering other segments of the passenger car market. Joint production The plans could include local manufacture of a compact sedan and, possibly, even a small car at a later date. For now, the only bit of official news, which came earlier this week, is that Suzuki Motor Corporation is entering into a joint production collaboration agreement with Nissan. The plan envisages the setting up of a new plant for the manufacture of big and small cars for sale in domestic and export markets. Nissan is expected to invest up to Rs 2,000 crore in the new facility, where Suzuki will be directly involved in co-producing the former's vehicles. In the last three years, Nissan has focused on the X-Trail for the Indian market. The company had identified and has been catering to a niche — the premium compact sports utility vehicle segment. All through this period, since officially launching the X-Trail, Nissan has been busy collating customer feedback about not just this vehicle, but also the others in its stable. Customer clinics and surveys have been conducted to gauge demand and interest in specific Nissan models. These should help the company identify the right products for the market here. Part of the customer feedback mechanism was also directed at identifying possible changes and improvements to the X-Trail. A culmination of the process is the new X-Trail — X-Pecial. Modifications to X-Trail The X-Trail has been available in two trim options till now — Comfort and Elegance. Nissan officials say that there was a latent demand for a variant that could offer most of the features of the top-end Elegance model with a few modifications. Two of the features that potential customers for the top-end Elegance variant felt could be omitted were the 2-DIN music system with six-CD changer and the leather seat covers. Nissan officials add that customer feedback also pointed to a few favoured exterior changes, which if incorporated would improve the X-Trail's appeal among such buyers. As a result, Nissan, in an arrangement with its five Indian dealers, has introduced the new, modified variant — X-Pecial. The X-Pecial features considerable changes to the exterior of the original X-Trail's familiar looks. At the front, the X-Pecial sports a new bumper and bonnet grille combo. In the place of the smaller, diamond-mesh grille of the original (that remains in the Comfort and the Elegance trim models), the X-Pecial has been given an aggressive, large slatted bonnet grille. Sporting a large chrome lip and four chrome slats, the new grille plunges well into the new front bumper. Striking onlookers with its bold theme, the variant now also sports rectangular fog lamps and a new larger air-dam. The overall bumper design remains the same, but the change to rectangular fog lamps is also said to have been driven by customer feedback about this being a better fit with the X-Trail's headlamp design. At the rear, the only change is to the tail lamp cluster. Again, while the overall design has been retained, the coloured glass cluster has been replaced with clear-lens style combination lamps. The rear bumper in the new X-Pecial variant also features a practical addition — a guard that will take the nicks and scratches from everyday driving on crowded roads and will thus protect the bumper from damage. Premium feel The other addition that is being offered in the new variant is a chrome exhaust finisher to give the X-Pecial a more premium feel. The X-Pecial variant will continue to offer all the other features that has made X-Trail such a hit among compact SUV buyers. That includes the powerful and torquey 2.2-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine with direct injection common rail system. Generating a peak power of 135PS and a maximum torque of 314Nm, the engine complements the X-Trail's famous four-wheel drive capability. Most of the changes for the new-look kit are being done by Nissan's five dealers, who will retrofit some of the additions to the X-Trail X-Pecial variant. Nissan's dealers can be contacted at: Shahwar Motives, Bangalore, 080-41235305 P. S. Natarajan & Co., Chennai, 044-28270244 Aquest Auto, Mumbai, 022-26527359 Pushpanjali Motors, New Delhi, 011-41427243 Tapasvi Motors, Secunderabad, 040-6648 8899 |
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11th September 2006, 22:28
| #34 |
| BHPian Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Pune
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13th September 2006, 10:16
| #35 |
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7th October 2006, 23:10
| #36 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: BLR, HYD
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26th October 2006, 22:21
| #37 |
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