Price £18,265
MPG up to 74.3
Top speed 118mph
Back in 2006, when Nissan first dropped the “crossover” on to an unsuspecting motoring public, we were all snuffling around like misguided moles, happy in the knowledge that a family hatchback was just that: a boring car with four doors and a sensible boot. What fools we were!
Nissan saw things very differently. They thought the family hatchback should be chunky and funky. They thought it should look like a 4x4 even though it was just for cities and school runs. They thought it should be elevated, durable, modern… And so they invented the Qashqai.
Sadly, Nissan also thought their new car had to be edgy, challenging and modern – designspeak for coyote ugly. That high back, the overbite, the unsettling dimensions: it all added up to make the crossover one of the most ungainly body shapes on the road.
Despite that, or maybe because of that, the Qashqai has won friends all over the world. So many, in fact, that it’s totally outstripped all Nissan’s hopes and sold at twice the rate they expected.
The Qashqai is an all-British affair. It’s designed in Paddington, its technical centre is in Cranfield, it’s marketed from Rickmansworth and it’s built in Sunderland. Along with the Note and the Juke (another assault on the eyeballs), Nissan Sunderland has now made more than 7m vehicles – 80% of which have been exported to 97 markets around the planet. The Qashqai is, in fact (dad-joke alert), a cashcow!
So what’s this second-generation model like? Well, like the outgoing one, it is elevated, durable, modern – and still ugly. It now has a weirdly protruding nose and an assertive stance that makes it look aggressive. If the first was a crossover, then this has truly crossed over. It’s now more SUV than saloon.
Qashqai Mk II is longer and wider than Mk I, which results in increased cabin space. But the five-door option with two extra seats in the boot is no longer offered. Power comes from a choice of four engines: 1.2- and 1.6-litre turbo petrols, plus 1.5- and 1.6-litre diesels. The diesel engines come from Nissan’s sister company, Renault. These days motor manufacturers hop in and out of bed with each other faster than suburban swingers. Economy is impressively frugal, especially in the 1.5dCi diesel, which will do an amazing 74.3 miles to the gallon.
The Qashqai comes in three trim levels, all of which feature a generous range of smart in-car wizardry. Among the highlights are automatic headlamp-dipping, moving-object detection and low-speed collision avoidance.
The car also boasts some very fancy new technology. “Active trace control torque vectoring” is a complicated way of saying the car brakes its wheels individually to help you stay in control around high-speed bends. “Body motion control” means the car constantly dabs the brakes to smooth out movement over bumps and rough roads. Both result in an extremely comfortable, composed and controlled ride.
Inside, the Qashqai is a lot plusher than you would expect for a family workhorse. It’s practical and tough, yet has an unmistakable air of no corner having been cut in production. Considering all this, it comes as no surprise that WhatCar? named the Qashqai its car of the year for 2014.
And best of all, you don’t have to look at it when you are driving…
Revving up on Regent Street
On Saturday 1 November, Regent Street, London W1 will see the return of the annual Regent Street Motor Show, the UK’s largest free-to-view motoring extravaganza. From Piccadilly Circus to Oxford Circus, the capital’s world-famous shopping street will be closed to through traffic, making way for hundreds of display cars that will be on show in the middle of the street, including vintage and performance cars, racing cars, family and eco cars. Featured in the Bonhams Veteran Car Zone, there will also be 100 veteran cars in the EFG International Concours d’Elegance which will all be taking part in the annual Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, the next day. Now in its 10th year, the Regent Street Motor Show attracts a large number of manufacturers keen to display their newest products to an audience made up of car fanatics, tourists and shoppers alike. Last year saw a record 400,000 visitors come to the Mile of Style to peruse the huge amount of machinery on display. It’s a fantastic day out, totally free and a lot more fun than Christmas shopping, so why not go along and see for yourself? For more details, go to regentstreetmotorshow.com
Don’t drink and drive
It’s the party season, it’s dark and the roads can be treacherously slippery – all the more reason therefore to be incredibly careful you don’t drink and drive. On top of that, new evidence suggests that one in five convicted drink drivers are caught the morning after, often due to unintentional drink driving. Just 3-4 drinks the night before could be enough to put you over the limit the next day. An award-winning pocket-sized breathalyser from Alcosense could be a real lifesaver. They are accurate, quick and easy to use and available from Halfords and Boots nationwide. Disposable single-use tests cost £5.99 for a twin pack, and prices for the reusable kit start at £39.99. For more details, go to alcosense.co.uk
Email Martin at martin.love@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @MartinLove166
