Motoring writer Matt Westcott headed to Portugal for the launch of two important Nissans.

ONE’S had a makeover, the other is reborn, and both the Juke and the X-Trail are key to the continued success of Nissan.

The Juke, built here in the North-East at the company’s flagship plant in Sunderland, has been a resounding success since it went on sale in 2010.

More than 100,000 have been sold in the UK alone, a figure which would seem to make a mockery of claims its design is divisive.

Looking good in the Lisbon sun, the Juke’s front and rear have been remodelled, there’s a punchy new 1.2 litre engine and, perhaps the biggest bug-bear, the size of the boot, has been addressed with an additional 40 litres of space found.

In addition, the Juke plays up to our current desire for personalisation, with everything from alloy wheel inserts, to colour-coded centre consoles, seat trims, air vent rings and steering wheel stitching available.

The unveiling in Portugal offered opportunities to test the new car’s credentials on a variety of surfaces, including the ancient cobbles of the historic city.

What we found was a car that was very much in tune with its driver, came with a gem of an engine, that offered style and substance and that, in terms of the tech onboard, was about as cutting edge as it gets for a mass-market model.

The new X-Trail, meanwhile, is a world away from the car it replaces. Gone is the boxy utilitarian off-roader to be replaced by something that so mirrors the all-conquering Qashqai at first you wonder why if it’s been given the right badge.

Nissan, however, has a plan.

Up until recently the Qashqai +2 offered a funky, practical car with a third row of seats.

That has now been discontinued. So if you want the option of additional seating or just a bigger boot the X-Trail should tick all the boxes.

Viewed front on, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference. Side on, the similarities are still obvious, the only tell-tale sign being the higher roofline and additional length.

Nissan speak of the desire for corporate identity, the fact the previous models looked like they could have come from two different manufacturers – that may very well be true, I, however, think, in part, it has to do with the Qashqai’s phenomenal popularity.

Once you get past that, the X-Trail makes its own case.

It’s classier than some of its rivals, with considerable space for both front and rear.

Nissan expects the five-seater to be the biggest seller because of that load space – 550 litres– but even with seven seats in place the boot is more than serviceable.

Powered by a 1.6 litre turbo-diesel – a turbo-powered petrol variant will come in 2015 – the X-Trail pulls well and the engine is refined at speed.

It doesn’t offer the same level of driveability as its smaller sibling, but kept within its comfort zone it performs well.

With the Juke and the X-Trail joining thoroughly fresh-faced line-up, you don’t need to go to Portugal to see the sun is certainly shining on Nissan at the moment.