Family Car Review: 2023 Nissan X-Trail seven-seater

How big is the boot of the new 2023 Nissan X-Trail seven-seater?

The boot of the new 2023 seven-seat Nissan X-Trail is nice and spacious, especially for families that are only using the first two rows of seats. With a large opening, you can easily post prams, etc, into it, and the floor is nice and flat and carpeted for transporting a large family dog and for emergency nappy changes. There is an underfloor compartment at the front of the boot to store the retractable roller blind when you're not using it.

When using two rows of seats, thirteen bags of shopping will fit in the boot of the seven-seat Nissan X-Trail, which is comparable to the Honda CR-V, which also holds thirteen. The VW Tiguan holds twelve, the Mazda CX-5 holds fourteen, and the Toyota Rav4, Subaru Forester and Skoda Kodiaq all hold fifteen shopping bags.

When using two rows of seats, the LeclercBaby Influencer XL one-hand fold stroller fits nicely in the boot of the 2023 Nissan X-Trail seven-seater with the bassinet for those with infants with room for four bags of shopping beside it.

The LeclercBaby Influencer XL, one-hand fold stroller, fits in the boot of the 2023 Nissan X-Trail seven-seater , with room for nine bags of shopping.

The LeclercBaby Influencer XL, one-hand fold stroller, fits nicely in the boot of the seven-seat Nissan X-Trail, with room beside it for nine bags of shopping…

…and with its compatible Infasecure Adapt More Infant capsule installed into the seven-seat Nissan X-Trail.

Or a twin side-by-side pram will fit in the boot of the seven-seat Nissan X-Trail when using two rows of seats with two bags of shopping.

When using all three rows of seats in the seven-seat Nissan X-Trail, five shopping bags fit neatly.

Or the LeclercBaby Influencer XL one-hand fold stroller fits nicely in the boot of the seven-seat Nissan X-Trail when using all seven seats, with room beside it for two bags of shopping.

The LeclercBaby Influencer XL, one-hand fold stroller, fits nicely in the boot of the seven-seat Nissan X-Trail when using all seven seats, with room beside it for two bags of shopping…

…and with its compatible Infasecure Adapt More Infant capsule installed into the seven-seat Nissan X-Trail.

The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as the kids lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.

Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.

I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.

A twin side-by-side pram fits in the boot of the 2023 Nissan X-Trail seven-seater when using all three rows of seats, with the rear wheels taken off.

Or you can fit a small dog!

How good is storage in the 2023 Nissan X-Trail seven-seater?

In the cabin of the 2023 Nissan X-Trail seven-seater is some great storage. The central console bridge has a large storage tray underneath, which is great for your handbag, iPad or shoes and underneath the armrest is a generous-sized central console box.

The central console has two cup holders that are a good size to hold a reusable or disposable coffee cup.

A wireless phone charging pad in front of the gear lever also has a USB, USB-C and 12V socket.

The glove box in the Nissan X-Trail will fit my iPad, wallet and the owner's manual!

There is a glasses case in the ceiling of the Nissan X-Trail, which is fabulous, so you have somewhere safe to put your sunglasses so they don't get scratched.

The door bins in the front of the seven-seat Nissan X-Trail will hold a water bottle, and an iPad fits well, too.

Passengers in the back of the 2023 Nissan X-Trail seven-seater have good storage, too. There are map pockets on the back of both front seats, they will hold and conceal a book or an iPad.

There is a USB and USB-C charging socket in the back of the central console box for rear passengers to charge devices while travelling along.

There is a fold-down armrest in the central seatback with two cup holders that will hold a reusable and disposable coffee cup and a child's drink cup would fit too and there is a slot for holding a mobile phone.

The door bins in the back will hold a reusable water bottle and there is a little storage in the handle wells too.

Third-row passengers in the seven-seat Nissan X-Trail have double cup holders on both sides, great for storing drinks, snacks and their toys or phones.

I also like these cup holders when using the X-Trail as a five-seater so I can store things in the cup holders when I'm loading the boot.

How noisy is the new 2023 Nissan X-Trail seven-seater? How good is the media system in the 2023 seven-seat Nissan X-Trail?

The 2023 Nissan X-Trail seven-seater is a relatively quiet, smooth car to drive; there are few unnecessary beeps and whistles.

The media system in the Nissan X-Trail is really nice, simple and easy to use. Within the settings, there are lots of things you can alter and customise.

My favourite is Volumes & Beeps. So you can adjust everything to the volume that works for your family.

The Nissan X-Trail does have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto so you can access your phone's, music, messaging and navigation apps while driving.

The camera images when you put the X-Trail in reverse are quite small on the screen but they are nice and clear.

You can easily turn on and off the parking sensors by pressing the OK button on the left of the steering wheel.

Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!

That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.

If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?

It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?

A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.

Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!

I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.

The indicators are not too loud in the Nissan X-Trail, and you can lock the doors and windows separately using the buttons in the driver's door control panel.

How many child seats fit in the 2023 Nissan X-Trail seven-seater?

When installing child seats into the 2023 Nissan X-Trail seven-seater, there are ISOFix points in the two outer second-row seats; they are not within plastic guides but are nice and easy to connect to.

There are top tether anchorages on the back of both of those outer second-row seats that are easily accessible through the boot.

The central second-row seat has no ISOFix but does have a top tether anchorage in the ceiling above the third-row passenger's heads.

Three Infasecure child seats fit really easily across the second row of seats of the 2023 Nissan X-Trail seven-seater. I installed the Infaecure Achieve More and Momentum More forward-facing and the Adapt More infant capsule rear-facing.

In the third-row seats of the 2023 Nissan X-Trail seven-seater, there are no ISOFix or top tether anchorages, so you can not install any child seats back there.

You can use an Infasecure Versatile folding booster seat back there for older kids because the lightweight design means it doesn't require a top tether strap. With a child seat installed in the second-row central seat, it does mean you have the top tether strap going between the heads of the third-row occupants.

Legroom is pretty good in the 2023 Nissan X-Trail seven-seater, and we found with a rear-facing Infasecure Adapt More infant capsule in the second-row and a Versatile folding booster seat in the third-row we could fit a 186cm driver in the front, but there's not much legroom in the third-row.

The second-row seats are split 60:40, and with forward-facing child seats in the second row, you can slide the seats to distribute legroom as you need it across all three rows.

To access the third-row seats of the 2023 Nissan X-Trail seven-seater, you can slide the single seat forward and climb through to the third-row, if you have three child seats installed in the second-row seats you will need to remove a child seat each time to do it.

The doors of the Nissan X-Trail open really nice and wide, allowing easy access in and out of the car for passengers of all ages, and they make installing child seats easier, too.

The wide door openings make posting Bub into their child seats in the back from inside and outside the car nice and easy.

Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!

I found there is room to feed Bub in the back with a child seat installed.

How comfortable is the new 2023 Nissan X-Trail seven-seater? And How good is the new 2023 seven-seater Nissan X-Trail to drive?

The front seats of the seven-seater Nissan X-Trail are super comfortable and easily adjustable. They are divided by a slim central console, giving much-needed personal space to parents and the central console bridge gives a roomier feel to the front of the cabin.

For a mum travelling in the back with Bub, the rear seats are very comfortable too.

There is only a very small hump in the central footwell, so there is plenty of space to put your feet and good kick room.

I found I could just sit between two child seats in the back of the 2023 Nissan X-Trail seven-seater but was more comfortable beside two child seats than between.

The seats are simple in decoration and panelling in the front and back, which will make cleaning kids' crumbs and spills nice and easy!

For the first year of my first daughters life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with her so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!

The steering wheel is fully adjustable in/out and up/down in the Nissan X-Trail. The cruise controls are on the right set of controls on the steering wheel and are easy to use.

The gear lever is a push-up and-down gear knob in the central console.

There are four air-conditioning vents in the front of the 2023 Nissan X-Trail. Four across the front dashboard, two below the media screen, and one at either end of the dash…

… and air-conditioning vents in the back of the central console box for rear passengers. There are no air vents in the third row of seats for those passengers.

There are climate controls on the dash underneath the media screen.

There are handles above both rear doors that are well-positioned to hang a toy for rear-facing passengers.

I have found our kids do not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it’s really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.

Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINITELY DON’T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a five-minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it’s not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!

It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.

Visibility is pretty good in the 2023 Nissan X-Trail seven-seater. When you have three child seats installed in the second row and passengers or Versatile folding booster seats in the third row then visibility is nearly impossible out of the rear window, so you do have to rely on the side mirrors and camera, which you turn on and off with the button below the media screen.

One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and my daughter has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread parking new cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, but the Nissan X-Trail was simple to park as the footprint is small and the cameras are good!

How safe is the 2023 Nissan X-Trail seven-seater?

The 2023 seven-seat Nissan X-Trail gained a five-star ANCAP Safety Rating, scoring a very high 90% for child occupancy and 91% for adult occupancy, putting it amongst the highest-scoring vehicles on our safest family car list.

Of the child occupancy testing, ANCAP said:

Seven airbags come as standard; there are dual frontal airbags and side chest-protecting for the front passengers and side head-protecting (curtain) airbags are standard for the front and rear side passengers. A seventh airbag has been added between the front passengers' heads to prevent them from hitting together in the event of an accident.

All models include rear camera and rear parking sensors, predictive forward collision warning, intelligent cruise control with traffic sign recognition, lane departure warning and prevention (LDW), rear-cross traffic alert (RCTA), rear auto emergency braking (with pedestrian and cyclist calibration), junction assist and driver attention alert. Adaptive cruise control, anti-lock braking system (ABS), autonomous emergency braking (AEB) – Car-to-Car, VRU, backover, junction Assist, blind spot monitor (BSM), child presence alert, electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), event data recorder (EDR), electronic stability control (ESC), emergency brake assist (EBA), emergency stop signal (ESS), fatigue reminder, fatigue monitor/detection, forward collision warning (FCW), lane keep assist (LKA), reversing collision avoidance (camera), speed assistance and smart key come as standard on all variants.

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Bubi’s asleep!