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F
ew people will have seen the real
Qashqai, the people who make up the
tribe that wanders the deserts of South
West Iran. But lots of people will have seen the
Nissan Qashqai, which borrowed the nomads’
identity and wandered all over the world’s car
markets, to critical acclaim.
Looking back 10 years to when the Qashqai
launched, we penned a piece under the
headline “Nissan’s urban nomad is a brave
move”. At the time it was radical. The car
replaced three unloved and decidedly
lacklustre models, the Primera, Almera, and
Almera Tino, a small MPV that was actually
quite good at its job.
The Qashqai was Nissan’s “What the hell…”
moment and thankfully for the workforce at
the Japanese maker’s Sunderland plant it
succeeded to a spectacular degree.
Nissan has sold more than a million Qashqai
models and the car is now in its third
generation. In Europe, its top markets are the
UK and Russia, but the Italians, Germans, and
Spanish also love it.
So great has been its influence that when
AutoExpress
published its list of the 50
greatest British cars the Qashqai was in there
at number 11. Even the Range Rover Evoque
only achieved number 30.
Look at a Qashqai today and you might think it
appears very similar to the first models to roll
out of Sunderland back in 2007. But there’s far
more detail to the design with advanced styling
features that make some rivals still look quite
staid.
It doesn’t go to the extremes of the smaller
Juke, which is all hips and width, but has
inherited some of the smaller car’s flowing
curves, this time in sensible proportions.
One thing buyers need to avoid is the 19-inch
wheel option that, when combined with low
profile tyres, gives a hard edge to the ride that
is detrimental to comfort levels. Cars like this
just don’t need that kind of add-on shod with
45 profile Dunlop Sportmaxx tyres.
Looking back to our original Qashqai test, we
had the 1.5 litre dCi in Accenta trim with a list
price of £16,099, just about enough to buy a
decently-equipped supermini these days.
This time round, Nissan sent a 1.6 dCi Tekna
costing £28,590 including the £575 for metallic
paint. It’s a fair old leap but in exchange you
get a lot more car, even if they look very much
the same size. And, to be fair, if you don’t
want all the Tekna kit you can be mobile in a
Qashqai for only £18,955, a bargain price.
The generational difference is most significant
under the skin. There are now better crash
structures – at its launch the Qashqai was
already the highest-scoring car in EuroNCAP
tests – and driver aids thanks to advances in
technology.
The modern Qashqai presents its driver with a
vast amount of information, down to the current
speed limit display and sat nav, the latter
keeping the former up to speed with pinpoint
accuracy.
Without sounding like luddites, we still spend a
couple of quid a year on a large scale AA road
atlas and make do with that.
I can’t remember when we last programmed a
sat nav to deliver us anywhere and even if you
do rely on electronic guidance you still need to
have a good idea of where it should be taking
you before you set out.
Wasted miles mean wasted fuel but the Nissan
is thankfully great on the economy front. The
car is now heavier and more complicated,
powered by a gutsier and slightly larger engine.
But the payback from modern engineering
comes at the pumps with today’s test car
delivering a 53 mpg average, a 12.7 per cent
improvement over the 2007 car’s 47 mpg.
Qashqai has always been about maximising
space and this has also improved – not by a
huge margin but with the seats down there’s
1,585 litres of capacity, an increase of 62 litres
and likely to be appreciated by families who
always find plenty to take on a trip.
Hobbyists will also like this Qashqai’s 1.8 tonne
towing capacity, the same whether you have
the front wheel drive of the test car or go for
the full-fat 4x4 which lifts the price by another
£1,740.
55
Take a wander with Nissan
Car:
Nissan Qashqai Tekna dCi 130
Does it fit your ego...
0-62 mph: 9.9 secs
Top speed: 118 mph
PS: 130 @ 4,000 rpm
Torque: 320 nm @ 1,750 rpm
...and your wallet...
Price: £28,045
Combined: 61.4 mpg
CO2 emissions: 120 g/km
MAURICE and ANNETTE HARDY say the
Qashqai has stuck to its nomadic roots
Best bits: roomy body with compact dimensions (just like 2007)