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The Qashqai is the car that started it all. The founding father of the crossover segment.
It arrived as a replacement for the underwhelming Almera but, rather than simply building another family hatchback, Nissan took the bold decision to create a faux off-roader. It would have the looks of a rugged, high-riding SUV, but with the practicality, driving dynamics and running costs of that same family hatchback.
Late last year the second generation model was given a bit of a spruce-up with significant upgrades to the design, quality, technology and performance, plus the introduction of autonomous driving systems as part of the ProPilot package.
Those changes are aimed at cementing the Qashqai’s place at the top of the European sales charts and, as part of those upgrades, Nissan have introduced the Tekna+ trim, which sits at the top of the range and brings with it soft Nappa leather with 3D quilting on the centre panels while the driver enjoys four-way pneumatic lumbar support. A seat memory function with two stored positions has also been added and linked to the door mirrors.
Externally, Nissan have adopted a revised look they’re calling “Premium Dynamism”. The Qashqai now has an integrated front bumper featuring more of the body colour while the black plastic now has a gloss finish.
The headlamp clusters are new, with greater differentiation between the halogen units on Visia, Acenta and N-Connecta grades and the full LEDs on Tekna and Tekna+.
The signature boomerang daytime running lights have been revised and the bonnet has a new profile, with a straight leading edge and sharp creases in its surface.
There’s a redesigned bumper at the back, too, and the boomerang LEDs now extends across the whole light cluster, adding visual width to the back of the car and, providing evidence of Nissan’s attention to detail, a 3D aerodynamic element has been added to the lens casing to reduce drag, and the rear parking sensors are now flush with the bumper’s surface.
Inside it's clear that Nissan have made significant strides in perceived quality. The air vents and interior door handles are now finished in higher-grade, more tactile materials while the steering wheel is larger with a thicker rim. It’s also now D-shaped to make entry and exit just that little bit easier.
The four-way controllers on the left and right spokes of the wheel are new, designed to be more intuitive and reduce the amount of time drivers have to take their eyes off the road scrabbling for the right input.
If you’ve driven a pre-upgrade version of the Qashqai and been disappointed by front-seat comfort fear not, because Nissan may well have answered your prayers with the introduction of new furniture on N-Connecta grades and above.
The new seats have an extended base and bolster shape to improve butt and back support. The backs are high with tapered shoulders, feeling snug and liberating a little cabin space.
The high seating position gives you an excellent view of the road and, if you opt for the panoramic glass roof which almost runs the full length of the car, a great view of the sky too. You’ll also get a cabin that’s flooded with light, creating an even greater sense of space.
Not that space is something that you’ll be short of. Passengers in the front and back are well catered for – although there’s no seven-seat version this time around – even if you’ve got a couple of taller people riding up front and, while a fifth passenger might feel the squeeze from their companions either side, they’ll enjoy some compensation thanks to a transmission tunnel that won’t impact too much on legroom.
Remember, this is a car with the same footprint as a family hatchback but, because of the additional height – it’s 1,590mm tall compared to a Golf, which stands at 1,452mm – it offers considerably more room.
The boot is impressive, offering 430 litres of luggage space. It has a false floor – with storage below where you can stow the parcel shelf – that also doubles as a load divider. Folding the rear seats flat liberates 1,585 litres.
There’s plenty of storage space in the cabin too with a good-sized glovebox and plenty of cubby holes for your odds and ends.
Now you’re familiar with the layout let’s get behind the wheel.
From here you’ll learn that all the instrumentation is logically laid out and all the switchgear has a nice solid feel to it.
The infotainment system is excellent. The touchscreen is responsive, the display crisp and the menu system easy to navigate. The physical buttons that flank the screen are a little on the small side, particularly if you’ve got savoiardi for fingers.
Equipment levels are generous and on Acenta models you get climate control, Bluetooth handsfree and audio streaming (pairing a phone was a piece of cake), automatic lights and wipers.
Sat nav comes as standard on N-Connecta models and above. The seven-inch touchscreen is responsive and the menu system intuitive and easy to master.
There’s also a new Bose eight-speaker audio system available in addition to the existing units. It was fitted to my test car and produced crisp, rich sounds. Job done there then.
Under the bonnet of my test car was a 1.6-litre 4-cylinder petrol engine producing 163PS and 240Nm of torque. It’s quite and refined and, with a manufacturer-quoted return of 48.7mpg on the combined cycle, respectably frugal. The six-speed gear box is slick, precise and with well-spaced ratios.
Nissan have made efforts to improve passenger space refinement with a greater quantity and higher quality of sound insulation added inside the front doors and behind the rear wheel arches. There’s also additional sealing around the front doors and the rear door glass is thicker.
The Qashqai’s cabin has never been intrusively noisy, so to the average ear the differences between noise levels pre and post upgrades might be hard to detect but it’s still a welcome change.
The dampers have been retuned, the single wheel spring rate and reduced and rubber components modified in order to improve body control and impact shock and there’s noticeably less fuss when faced with some of the worst broken surfaces. Larger bumps are dispatched politely thanks to the Active Ride Control system.
The Qashqai maintains its composure well in corners, with direct, nicely-weighted steering that’s been revamped with a technology Nissan is calling Active Return Control that helps the wheel return to centre more naturally. It improves steering precision too and, thanks to stiffer anti-roll bars, means that you can tackle twistier roads with greater confidence.
Earlier this year Nissan introduced a significant piece of technology to the Qashqai. Called ProPilot, it’s the company’s first stage on the road to fully autonomous motoring. The system can control the steering, acceleration and braking in heavy traffic.
Rear Cross Traffic Alert has also been made available for the first time and the Intelligent Emergency Braking has been upgraded with Pedestrian Recognition which uses a combination of forward-facing radar and a camera.
Even before the upgrades it was easy to see why the Qashqai sold so well. It’s build quality, practicality and driveability all combine perfectly to serve up a compelling package. Nissan certainly haven’t rested on their laurels and while the latest changes, plus the addition of some impressive technology, might amount to little more than fine-tuning, they’ve made an already impressive automobile even better.
Nissan Qashqai Tekna+ DIG-T 163 2WD 6-speed manual
For more information visit www.nissan.co.uk
