Nissan has an enviable line-up of 4x4 vehicles that seems to cover all bases. There is the Navara pickup that has successfully crossed over from being purely a commercial vehicle, to being one of the most popular lifestyle 'trucks' out on the UK's roads. The giant Pathfinder covers the high end of the market; the unusual Murano crossover has the trendy market covered. And finally, here's the X-Trail, competing in the smaller end of the market inhabited by such as the new Toyota RAV4, the Land Rover Freelander and the Honda CR-V.

The Nissan X-Trail has been with us since 2001, and judging by the numbers I see daily on the road, has been a success. Revisions for 2006 include a restructure of trim levels to SE, Columbia (in a tie-in with the American high-tech sportswear company) and Aventura. The X-Trail is available with a choice of three engines, 2.0 and 2.5-litre petrol, and the 2.2-litre dCi diesel engine tested here. The range starts with the two smaller engines being available with two wheel drive only, but our test vehicle was the full four-wheel drive model in SE trim.

Even the SE trim comes more than well equipped; there is climate control, cruise control, cooled can holders, steering wheel mounted audio controls, and storage simply abounds. There's even a toy repository in the back behind the centre console!

The 2.2-litre dCi engine develops 136bhp at 4000rpm and a massive 232lb.ft of torque at 2000rpm. This torque makes the Nissan X-Trail nippy round town; to be beaten away from traffic lights takes a concerted effort by other drivers. On motorways the Nissan X-Trail builds up speed very quickly indeed, feeling far quicker than the 0-62mph figure of 11.5 seconds would suggest. The downside is that the engine is noisy, just as loud as when we first tried it in the Primera in 2004. In the X-Trail, this unit is raucous from start-up and the dominant noise at any speed up to the motorway limit, after which wind noise becomes more prevalent. Admittedly, wind noise is commendably low at 70mph, but increases quite dramatically at higher speeds.

All this torque means that the Nissan X-Trail is a very capable tow vehicle. The legal towing capacity is 2000kg, between 300 and 500kg more than any of the X-Trail's rivals. This alone could be what swings a purchase of the Nissan. As Nissan very thoughtfully sent us the X-Trail with a tow bar (and a spare number plate in the boot) it seemed rude not to check its towing ability. My race car and trailer weighs in somewhere just under 2000kg and normally I use an old Mitsubishi Shogun V6 to move it around. The Nissan proved to be a far better tow vehicle, able to maintain speed up motorway inclines, even in sixth gear. At lower speeds it was easy to forget the trailer was even there; and all this without drinking the fuel tank dry. One tank of diesel split 250 miles without trailer and 100 miles with trailer still worked out at nearly 35mpg. Another tank where no towing was involved came out nearer 38mpg. For someone used to less than 15mpg when towing, the Nissan X-Trail would almost pay for itself in fuel bills alone.

As a family car the Nissan X-Trail is fairly successful. There is space (and seat belts) for five adults; rear leg room was described by my passengers as adequate rather than generous, but the boot still retained 350 litres capacity with the rear seat in place - that's a lot for those to whom numbers mean little. With the rear seats both folded (flat) a massive 1841 litre space is available, or in simple to understand terms, we got ten 17-inch tyres in there! Better still is the wipe clean hard surface that means dirty/messy loads won't damage the interior.

The four wheel drive system, called All Mode by Nissan, allows three modes of operation. For everyday work it's best to leave the system in two-wheel drive to save on fuel and tyre wear. For optimum traction, select auto mode. This will apportion torque to the rear wheels as necessary, the proportion of torque being sent rearwards constantly changing to provide the optimum traction at all times. Finally for proper off road work, mode three engages electronic clutch locks to fix the four-wheel drive with a 53:47 front/rear split. The mode is changed by the turn of a switch that can even be done whilst on the move.

As is usual for this type of vehicle, visibility in all directions is excellent, although we found a bizarre problem in heavy rain. Water was carried up the side windows from the door mirrors in such a quantity as to not be able to see the mirrors clearly through it. Inside, the centre mounted instruments were clear and easy to read, although I would like to be able to see the outside temperature/trip meter and odometer all at once rather than having to select which one I can view.

As can be seen from above, there is an awful lot to like about the Nissan X-Trail. Niggles on the other hand were few and far between. I didn't much care for the seat design - it looks like someone has laid a net over the seats - and the wiper stalk was too complicated: the very end rotated to adjust the speed of the intermittent wipe but was very loose and easily moved. Just in from that was the next rotary section which operated the rear screen wiper, but it was almost impossible to turn this without turning the outer section. Finally, the controls for the electric mirrors were down on the right side of the dashboard, almost invisible from the driver’s seat and not an easy stretch while belted in.

And that's it - all the grumbles I could find. It's hard not to recommend the Nissan X-Trail. If towing is part of your lifestyle, it's even harder to suggest going elsewhere. The extra capacity can either be the difference between being able to tow or not, or if your trailer is lighter, then just consider it as extra safety margin. I've used a large number of vehicles to tow my race car around, and the Nissan X-Trail has probably been the most capable of them all.

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Nissan X-Trail UK range overview

- Nissan X-Trail SE 2.0i 5-speed manual 4x2: £16,825
- Nissan X-Trail SE 2.2 dCi 136 6-speed manual 4x2: £18,425
- Nissan X-Trail SE 2.2 dCi 136 6-speed manual 4x4: £19,925
- Nissan X-Trail Columbia 2.5i 5-speed manual 4x4: £20,345
- Nissan X-Trail Columbia 2.2 dCi 136 6-speed manual 4x4: £21,325
- Nissan X-Trail Columbia 2.5i 4-speed automatic 4x4: £21,345
- Nissan X-Trail Aventura 2.5i 5-speed manual 4x4: £22,345
- Nissan X-Trail Aventura 2.2 dCi 136 6-speed manual 4x4: £23,325
- Nissan X-Trail Aventura 2.5i 4-speed automatic 4x4: £23,345