Designed to offer an SUV-style vehicle without the fuel guzzling and lack of ride comfort that those cars featured, it would replace both the popular but waning large Primera saloon and the compact Almera hatchback.
BY BRIAN BYRNE
Looking like a hatch on steroids, the concept retained 4WD but didn’t have the bulk or height of the company’s X-Trail SUV.
Most buyers would be in urban or suburban locations, Nissan’s designers and marketing people reasoned.
I remember being at that show and I don’t recall being blown away by the concept – which, it seems, was the reaction from many journalists like me.
When, later in development, Nissan forecast that six in ten buyers would likely go for a 2WD version, a common reaction was that the car would fall between the two proverbial stools and please no one.
How wrong that proved to be.
By the time the third generation came along in 2021, almost 3 million Qashqais had been sold in Europe (and nearly 16 million in China).
Since 2009, Qashqai has been Nissan’s biggest selling car in Ireland.
My reason for reviewing this one is a mid-cycle refresh which has made some detail changes that cumulatively enhance the car.
The essential shape hasn’t changed, but a complete rejig of the front transforms the car’s recognisability on the road.
When I first saw the photographs I wasn’t exactly impressed, but a day or so with the car in the metal and I got to like it.
Some smoothing of the rear bumper style also sets the latest version away from the immediate predecessor.
I have previously commented on how the designers provided edgy shapes along the profile, managing to meld curves and angles into unexpectedly attractive elements.
All that is still there, making the overall style of a very attractive car.
Upgrades inside include trim elements with a more premium feel, and an interior that already had a high level of perceived quality.
Thankfully, while providing more colour and a bit of extra digital style to the instrumentation and infotainment, the knobs and buttons for climate management are all still in place.
As a driver I felt I was allowed be in control, which is too often not the case these days.
Nissan is one of a number of carmakers who have adopted Google Assistant and Maps directly into their systems and I like that.
The trim changes include a frame around the base of the central screen that makes it seem to rise from the dashboard though it’s really positioned just as before.
Qashqai sits in the middle of a segment that can be classed as compact crossover, so interior room is par with the likes of the Volvo XC40 or Toyota’s Corolla Cross.
There’s a decent boot capacity of 480L, all the foregoing reasons for its popularity as a family car.
Qashqai now comes with a choice from just two engines, a 1.3 petrol with mild hybrid electric boost, and the e-power full hybrid based on a 1.5 petrol hybrid with a similar size electric motor that powers the all-electric Leaf.
That last is important because in this Nissan version of full hybrid, the electric motor has the only direct drive link to the wheels.
The petrol engine keeps the car’s battery charged up to whatever the electricity demand is for different driving conditions.
The result is a smooth and torquey performance like a pure electric vehicle, but without having to worry about running out of energy as long as there’s petrol in the tank.
There are advantages in that the petrol engine can be run in a way that maximises efficiency, and there’s no need for a multi-ratio transmission.
I’m not sure anyone is in agreement about whether this or the traditional Toyota-style hybrid is better than the other, but I do like the concept of e-Power.
And it gave me a consumption figure of 5.7L/100km, not bad for a car of its size and performance.
I did like the fact that it includes the ‘one-pedal’ ability to drive with less use of the brakes when set to high regeneration on overrun.
All the safety systems expected are there.
I must at some stage do a 30-year comparison on this aspect in cars.
It no doubt has substantially improved crash frequency and outcomes, at a cost.
A cost I hope we all feel is worthwhile.
I do.
