Nissan Xtrail

If he is considering a RAV4 then you should look at the CX5 - pretty similar size.

It's me considering the RAV4 and I will have to work hard on that one but I get a bit confused with what I see advertised. So many are listed as AWD and on the back the car is badged AWD but in the content of the listing it says 4WD.

Ours is AWD. That means it is on call so most of the time it is a front drive 2wd car but if it detects slippage then the rear wheels come into play to aid in grip or to get you out of a tight situation.

Watched a CX 5 a few months ago get into some trouble up Wrights Hill Road. He ended up with 2 wheels clean off the ground but the AWD kicked in and he got out of it.

Pair of eyes all you need over ranking.

20,000KM and your mazda still tight - would want to be
wouldn't it ? Reliable enough mazda's but to these peeps
quality of materials below par and that saying something
when the overall jap standard not that great these days.
Or has mazda really upped it's game since the 2014 mazda
6 ?

An Aussie view, fwiw:
https://autoexpert.com.au/posts/2014-nissan-x-trail-review

The Nissan X-trail is a "soft road" suv. Essentially a SUV body built on car underneath, with a bit bigger tires and more ground clearance. As is common in its class, it is primary a front wheel drive car, with a power take off to send some power to the rear wheels. Generally they can't send that much power to the rear, and generally can't do it for a long time (will overheat the power take off if your drive in soft sand for a long time). That said, they meet most people needs.

The distinction between AWD and 4wd isn't significant in the car based SUV's. Soft road suv's with selectable 4wd generally have a mode dial with three postions: 2wd, auto, and lock (sometimes the middle position is labeled as 4wd). Generally a AWD suv will function the same as a selectable 4wd in auto/4wd mode.

Note that the lock mode doesn't mechanically lock the front and rear axles together as it would in a 100 series landcrusier or similar full time 4x4 with center diff lock.

It is wrong to assume that the car with selectiable 4wd is better off road than an AWD. some AWD cars (i.e. many subaru's) preform very well.

Note that ground clearance is also quite important off road. In this space, the x-trail does better than most of it's peers with 210mm. (a rav4 for comparison has 176mm).

With regards to real 4wd /4x4, if you want a serous off roader (something that would allow you to join an 4x4 club if you wanted with a few mods (i.e. mud tires, recovery points), generally the minimum is a vehicle with a low range transfer case. Body on frame construction, and high ground clearance are also desirable.

Nearest competitor to the X-trail with low range is the Suzuki grand vitara. A smaller option is the Suzuki Jimny (new one out very soon with grate styling. Bigger would be the likes of the Toyota Fortuna (suv version of hilux), Mitsubishi Pajero sport etc.

All the vehicles I listed above have part time 4x4/4wd like the hilux. This does mechanically lock the front and rear axles, allowing 100% of the torque to go the the rear axle (if say the front axle is on ice). I think the x-trail can send 50% max to the rear. downside of part time 4wd is that it cannot be used on paved roads (unless icy or snowy). Doing so can cause negitive handling traits, and can damage the drive-train.

Have you lost the plot?

Have friends with x trails,one a late model the other an older (08) high ks example that still drives like a new one,have never spoken to an xtrail owner that wouldn't buy another one,as for mazda cx5 they may be okay but must be the ugliest thing on the road

And yet consistently the number 1 or 2 selling car on the market normally sapping places with the Kia Sportage. So styling is dependant on the person looking. For me j think they are one of the best looking SUVs on the market. Exterior and interior (though the Peugeot 3008 is a close second).

If you want a vehicle that can go a little off-road the two most important requirements are 1. all-terrain tyres and 2. good ground clearance.
The Nissan X-Trail is an AWD car that has very good traction off-road because of it's very complicated electronic traction control systems which will outperform most of the other AWD cars with regard to traction in very muddy and uneven ground situations where only two(diagonally opposite) wheels have contact with the ground; except for the Subaru's.
Unless you need this extremely good off road capability, I would choose the Honda CRV (AWD version) made between 2012 and 2015, or maybe even later, as they have the best safety rating of all the common medium sized SUV's. The downside is that they only have 170mm of ground clearance and average traction. Despite these limitations they may well be suitable for your intended use.
The Mazda CX5 (2012 to 2015) would be my second choice.

Proof is in the pudding - check the post
below your post.