Rent Nissan X-Trail 2023 in Dubai

Renters ask us this more with the X-Trail than with most cars: does the 2023 model feel a step behind the 2024 and 2025 versions we also carry? The honest desk answer is no. Nissan has run the same fourth-generation X-Trail across the Gulf since 2022, with an unchanged 2.5-litre engine and CVT gearbox through the whole range. A Nissan X-Trail 2023 rental in Dubai gets the identical drivetrain and cabin as the newer cars on our lot, just in grey instead of white. We hand this one over at your door within 1 to 2 hours. What decides whether it suits your week is the same question it's always been: five seats, one boot, and how far that stretches.

Still the same platform as the newer cars in this fleet

Under the bonnet is a 2.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder making 181 hp and 244 Nm, paired with Nissan's Xtronic CVT. No turbo, no hybrid assist, no mid-cycle engine swap between this car and the 2025 model parked next to it. This is the five-seat S grade, which in the GCC lineup means front-wheel drive by design rather than a downgrade someone chose. Nissan reserves all-wheel drive for the seven-seat SV and SL trims in this generation, so a five-seat X-Trail is never AWD here, regardless of model year.

On Sheikh Zayed Road it holds a steady 120 km/h without strain, though asking for a quick overtake produces the familiar CVT trait: the engine note rises before the car actually gathers pace. That's the nature of a naturally aspirated four paired with a CVT, not something specific to the 2023 build. Around town, at junctions and in car parks, it's light and easy, which is what most X-Trail bookings actually need.

Boot, back seat and everyday packing

The boot takes 585 litres with the rear seats up, enough for two large cases standing upright plus a soft bag squeezed in. That's a couple's week sorted, or a family met at DXB without anyone holding a bag on their lap the whole ride home. Fold the back seats and you get roughly 1,424 litres, which covers a flatpack run from a furniture store or a set of golf bags that won't sit upright.

Two adults on the back bench have real room for a longer drive; three across works for a short trip or kids in booster seats, not much further. Where it struggles is four adults with full luggage heading to the airport together. Seat space and boot space both run thin at once in that scenario, so book a sedan or a larger SUV if that's genuinely your trip.

At 4.68 metres the X-Trail isn't small, but it's a predictable shape to park, and it fits a standard Marina or mall multi-storey bay without the overhang some longer SUVs carry. Around 200 mm of ground clearance shrugs off sharper speed bumps and the steep ramps into underground parking that scrape a low sedan. Treat that clearance as a city asset, not a desert one; this isn't the car for soft sand or a Hatta wadi crossing.

Fuel, Salik and cooling a grey cabin in summer

Nissan's own 6.2 L/100km figure is a lab result. Real Dubai driving, air conditioning on and stop-start traffic through the week, lands closer to 9 or 10 L/100km. On the 55-litre tank that's roughly 500 to 550 km before a refill, so a normal week of errands plus one longer drive usually means a single stop at the pump. This booking includes 250 km a day, with AED 0.5 for every kilometre past that, and you'll need to be at least 25 to take the keys. Salik tolls and any RTA fines picked up during the rental are billed to you, as on any car here, and a child seat is required for anyone under four.

Grey sits in the middle for heat: it soaks up more sun than white, less than black, and the difference shows in how warm the seats and wheel are after a few hours parked at 45 degrees or above. Once the engine's running, the front vents pull a five-seat cabin down quickly, and rear vents mean the back row isn't left waiting. Give it a minute with the AC on before everyone climbs in on the worst afternoons, and a shaded bay helps more than the paint colour does either way.

Who should book the 2023 model

Book this one if you want the same five-seat X-Trail as the newer cars in the fleet, at the same specification, for a normal Dubai week: two adults, kids in the back, a big shopping trip, an airport run with sensible luggage. Nothing about the 2023 build gives anything up mechanically, so there's no reason to hold out for a later year if this is the car that fits your trip.

Look elsewhere if it's just two of you travelling light; a smaller crossover does the same errands for less and parks with less thought. Size up to the seven-seat AWD grade if you regularly carry more than five people or need real traction off a paved road, since this five-seat trim is front-wheel drive only. For the standard family week this covers, though, the 2023 X-Trail does the job as well as the model years either side of it.