Not a BMW, Mercedes or Audi – I drove one of the | Tech News
Christopher Sharp reviewed the Nissan Qashqai (Image: Christopher Sharp)
When a car turns 20 it’s a main second – if it is reached the milestone then the producer building it has accomplished one thing proper. Good examples embody the Ford Fiesta, Porsche 911, Ford Mustang, Honda Civic, and the VW Beetle. All of these automobiles have both run or ran for a number of a long time as a result of they’ve hit their goal market efficiently. People saved shopping for them, saved wanting them, or the market dictated it was price the producer keep producing it.
This yr the Nissan Qashqai celebrates its twentieth birthday And it is going from energy to energy, turning into the fourth-most standard car in the UK with 23,102 fashions bought in 2026 to date in keeping with SMMT. Only the Ford Puma, Kia Sportage and Jaecoo 7 have bought more. So I rolled out the birthday cake, dusted off some candles, and had one on loan for a week to seek out out how the newest model stacks up.
The Nissan Qashqai (Image: Christopher Sharp)
The numbers
This is the boring, however nonetheless essential bit. The car I had on take a look at was the N-Connecta e-Power 205 PS Automatic 2WD model of the Qashqai SUV. This means the car is 2 wheel drive and has a hybrid system. It has 5 seats, a one and a half litre three cylinder engine, an automated gearbox, large boot.
The car, which weighs round two tonnes, has a boot capability of round 500 litres with the seats up and just below 1,500 litres with the seats folded down. It’s two metres broad and almost 4 and a half metres in size. The magnetic blue (official color) of the car, as specced, value £38,825.
Why it’s important
The Nissan Qashqai is important as a result of it actually began off the SUV revolution in the UK. Yes, Porsche and BMW had been out and about with the Cayenne and X5 for a few years, however this was one of the first time somebody with out a large wallet may afford a good high quality SUV.
The British public, and far of the world the place Nissan bought the car, fell in love with the Qashqai. Today, SUVs dominate Britain’s roads with manufacturers of all price ranges developing SUVs of all styles and sizes. There’s even awards for best small SUV and best medium sized SUV in addition to best massive SUV. The Nissan was half of that, and it began in 2006.
The inside of the Nissan (Image: Christopher Sharp)
What’s it like on the inside
The Nissan’s inside is, like these of many producers, at a bit of a crossroads. They’re beginning to realise that not everybody needs to do every thing by way of a touchscreen. So there may be an array of bodily controls throughout the steering wheel – no haptic contact pads right here – and it’s uncommon that you must attain throughout and use the touchscreen.
As you’ll count on from a household SUV there’s loads of cubby holes and a few USB-C charging factors to your varied telephones and units. There is a wi-fi charging pad, however I might keep away from utilizing that as a result of, like just about each one I’ve utilized in the previous, it actually reasonably warms up your telephone an excessive amount of. Plug it into the USB-C as an alternative.
Once you’re used to the controls, and how to get it set up to your liking, it’s fairly straightforward to make use of and get on. It’s inferior to others, however undoubtedly in the high half of the automobiles I’ve pushed this yr in terms of getting up and working.
Christopher with the Nissan (Image: Christopher Sharp)
What’s it prefer to drive
Like many hybrids, it’s received regenerative braking. This is the place you elevate off the throttle, the car brakes, and generates electrical energy that will get despatched back into the battery. Just like the Toyota Prius, however to a lesser lengthen than the Prius, you may modify this considerably.
It could be fairly delicate, however this implies you as the driver need to improve your self, be more delicate when coming off throttle into a nook, really feel when the regen is coming in, then react as you come out of it onto the brakes. This’ll benefit not simply the car’s stability, however make the experience smoother for any passengers in the car.
The car, as an SUV, won’t ever be sportscar slick, however if you happen to take that under consideration it’s impartial. Compared to different automobiles in the SMMT’s high 5 best-selling automobiles it’s pretty respectable. It rolls a lot much less than the Ford Puma, offers you more really feel than Jaecoo 7, and its hybrid system feels more refined than the Kia Sportage.
It’s no Audi in the steering division, however you get enough communication so that you can information the car via a B street nook. You’re by no means going to push this, however the engine is responsive, and the suspension is snug; you by no means really feel the need to put it in sport mode.
Verdict
It’s a wise car with a large boot, loads of headroom in the back for youngsters or adults, and it’s environment friendly too. You can see why Nissan has saved building it for 20 years and can keep building it till the SUV bubble bursts.
Christopher’s Verdict: 7.5/10
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