When the original Nissan Qashqai arrived in South African in 2007, it was reasonably impressive. This was after all one of Nissan’s earlier “soft” SUVs, and to live with on a daily basis it ticked a lot of the boxes writes Wilhelm Lutjeharms
Fast forward a decade and half later, and as with several SUVs, the Qashqai is now slightly more upmarket and luxurious than the original. It is offered with more technology and is aimed at one of the busiest market segments.
On the exterior there is clearly a very modern approach to the Qashqai. The sharp design elements at the front are in line with some of the rest of Nissan’s offerings while the two-tone bodywork further contributes to this modern design elements.
As previously reported, the range is made up of three models. The Visia, the Acenta and the Acenta Plus, all equipped the 1.3-litre turbopetrol engine, although in the Visia it delivers 96 kW and 240 N.m, while in the other two models a higher 110 kW and 250 N.m.
Our test model was the Acenta Plus which we drove in Johannesburg for a number of days. There are few places to experience a car in a variety of conditions like Gauteng. From good roads to deteriorating roads, densely traffic to open and quiet roads, they have it all.
Behind the wheel
In the rear the head and knee room are quite good for adults, considering I’m 1.87-metres tall and felt quite comfortable.
The front of the cabin firstly offers very comfortable (quilted stitched) seats, while to your left is the large landscape format information screen. Here my Android-based phone easily connect to and we could stream music and use Google Maps during our excursions. The steering wheel also has all the necessary buttons to allow access to several functions including the information screen behind the steering wheel.
Under the bonnet is the relatively small 1.3-litre, four-cylinder turbopetrol. It might sound insufficient in size for such a medium-sized SUV, but it performed quite well during our various daily trips. It is connected to a continuously variable transmission (CVT) though. The result is, as with all of these transmissions, that the engine revs permanently stays as low as necessary.
At an indicated 120 km/h, the rev needle will, for example, sit at around 2 000 r/min, which is rather low for such a small capacity engine. It makes for a relaxing ride and it is obviously only when you need a healthy dose of acceleration that the revs will rise towards the red line. For the rest of the time the needle hovers easily in the lower third of the rev range.
As expected, this also helps with fuel consumption. During a variety of driving conditions, we were able to achieve a respectable, indicated average consumption of 7.5 litres per 100 km. The result is a tank-to-tank range of around 800 km.
There are three driving modes you can select if you find they need. These include Sport, Standard and Eco. I left it most of the time in Eco an Standard modes.
Another highlight of the driving experience is the ride quality. Even though the car is fitted with a 235/50 R19 tyre-wheel combination, the bump absorption was good and noise levels entering the cabin was limited.
Some of the other technological features that stood out in the Qashqai were the USB and USB-C sockets at the back for when you have passengers that need to use or charge devices.
There is also a slight two-tone colour effect in the cabin, offering a mix of a dark blue hue with the other colour leaning towards purple – both adding to the modern aura of the cabin.
Summary
Overall there is a feeling of quality throughout the Qashqai cabin. The 1.3-litre turbopetrol impressed, considering we are permanently two adults onboard. However, loaded with four adults and maybe towing a small trailer it might be a different scenario. Overall, there is little to point out that should made you scratch your head, except that there is such a wide variety of vehicles to choose from in this market segment.
