Hey guys here's a heads up.
In my line of work my Xtrail kicks ass in the mud and the worst scenarios of flood and anything you can throw at it.I also have a snorkel add on so that when I'm going thru some floods (not the sheit in claxton bay.Its a vehicle not a boat
) the vehicle wont stall once you keep the revs up.
The 2001-2003 xtrails have plastic fenders due to a safety issue and renault trying something.
If you look into the engine bay the engine is located very low down in the bay.This is built like this so that on impact the engine doesnt hit you in the face or break your legs.
The plastic fenders were also part of this on impact crash situation.
All newer xtrails(2007 and up) like the ones which have the 2.5 De engines all have metal fenders so go ahead and pull my brother.
The dash in the xtrail is cool I find.It was different.
It was built that way so that you could treat it like (a wet dog treats your house when he gets in after a good wet bath) as rough as you want it and have no probs.
The door panels are all plastic and sealed so that you have to be a magician to destroy the doors.
All in all I bought the Xtrail cos I never knew where i would end up when i got to work cos I'm either going on raids with the police or going on tours with a minister and I need something that can kick some ass and you dont have to be petting it all the time at toyota service center.
Dont get me wrong if i can afford a subaru forester I would buy it cos i love the engines in this car and yes its offroad and can take some serious licks but I like the height bro.
I recently bought a honda civic two door hatchback(1995) model ( as a run around car) and jesus i miss my height.i feel like i driving on the floor and i aint small either so its a real pain.
So everyone who dont like the xtrail thats your problem but i have mine 5 yrs now and I can do everything with it without any hesistation cos it will perform at 100%.
While i am at work and I either have the seats down carrying camera equipment in it or them big assed army and police patrols and when they all muddy up the jeep all it takes is patience and a good hosing and I'm back to a clean xtrail.
All in all the xtrail was built for an all rounder not like the CRV and rav 4 which was built as a small 4x4 but man when you look at the space and the compactability the xtrail is my choice.
To be fair, think about it.
A manufacturer makes a vehicle and puts a prototype out re the 2.0 engine & GT engine and sees how the public views it.Its going to have design issues and yes the dashboard was different.
Now if you look at the pics of the new one they put the instrument panel where it is the norm and they have fixed most of the other issues(complaints from the owners of old model).
Now if i had the money i would go for the newer model cos now it looks like a luxury SUV without the harsh price (foreign used. Massy is mad!!)
All modifiactions to allow the xtrail to go fully off road are available on line once you have a credit card and dont mind shopping in australia.
Even down to the police in australia have xtrails all jazzed up to take the licks they put on it when they have to drive in that harsh terraine.
Every thing takes time.
If you havent been in one or driven one just take it in stride and dont knock it.
I own one and drive the sheit out of it and I still luv what it can do.
later dudes and happy 4x4 ing.
...hmm.
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