LOUTH MOTORING: Nissan’s Crossover Pioneer grows up – and grows premium

We are certainly creatures of habit and that's hard to change. We buy most of our cars in Jan-Mar and July, mostly SUVs/Crossovers, and mostly petrol and diesel.

There are signs of change with electric car sales 25% higher so far this year as are petrol hybrids up 20%. Nissan, who was one of the first mainstream manufacturers out of the blocks selling electric cars, have electric sales of 11% between their two models the Leaf and the glorious Ariya.

And a habit that is hard to break is the Qashqai - the original Crossover - that remains Nissan’s best selling model here.

The Qashqai has gone on some journey and has moved up the premium ladder. For a start the looks are “sleeker, sportier and bolder” and I don't disagree with Nissans boast/claim.

READ NEXT: LOUTH MOTORING: The Ultimate All-Round Utility Vehicle

It is certainly a premium looking car and has all the styling cues to seriously tempt an SUV/Crossover buyer. The colour selection from Nissan really shows off the looks and red, blue or whatever fancy name used for grey are the pick of them.

That buyer will also be impressed with the look and feel of the interior which treats you royally. The interior of the new refreshed Qashqai with the upper grades featuring a new application of Alcantara on the dashboard, door inserts, door armrests, centre storage lid and knee pads elevate the onboard experience.

The tech onboard is dazzling with the likes of Google/Google Assistant built into the infotainment system with voice activation for practically everything.

Above: Interior of the Nissan Qashqai

There's the Around View monitor which shows you from the outside how the car is positioned which is a godsend for parking and manoeuvring and a new to me feature called 'invisible hood view' that allows the driver to see the position of the front wheels as if looking at them from just behind, which enables you to manoeuvre into tight spots.

The drive in the Qashqai is what you’d expect in a car with premium notions. It’s quiet and hushed and a very pleasant cabin to pass away a few hours on a long journey. The new 1.3l turbo-charged petrol mild hybrid engine, in my case with a 6-speed manual gearbox, has a punchy 156bhp to support you when you need power for the motorway or overtaking and is quite responsive.
It was a delight to be driving a manual car as most new cars are offered as automatics now. I love the role of deciding what gear to select.

There is little noise from the engine when pressed and the power available is more than enough for the bulk of drivers that opt for one.

It has a respectful 0-100kmh time of 8.8s for a car weighing 1.5T. My fuel return was 8.3l/100km which is away from the 6.9l/100km Nissan claim so I must have enjoyed those gears a little too much.

Passenger and carrying space is excellent but behind its bigger and better selling competitors like the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage and Toyota RAV4.

These all arose to take on the once mighty Qashqai when they saw the burgeoning sales it got. It is now one of the smallest of the genre and considering where it will mostly be driven is not a bad thing, bigger is not always better.

That boot is a very usable 504 litres and being a hatchback when the rear seats are folded it can take quite a large load/object.

Pricing starts at €39,900 for what is quite a good spec. SV model. This is on par with the Tucson and Sportage pricing but approx €5k less than the RAV4.

To be frank you’d want a higher spec model to get some of the cool stuff but there is no shortchanging when it comes to safety as all models have a long and impressive list of those features. But the prices do rise and you can top out with the top spec at €54,800 - let that sink in for a bit.

For balance, the amount of standard features on new cars these days is incredible and is a world away from what was standard on the original Qashqai and we are all the better for it in terms of comfort and safety and is not truly reflected in the price movement to date.

There's a 3 year 100k kilometre warranty which is not as good as the ones on offer from Hyundai (5 years unlimited mileage) or Kia ( 7 years 150k kilometres) that I believe has hurt Nissan sales. Parity would restore sales but would it take the Qashqai to No.1 - probably not.

The competitors have really upped their game and are all very attractive propositions.

Nissan needs a new game-changing move, like what they did with the original Qashqai, to do that. The beauty for Irish drivers is that in the battle for your money there are really strong options available, the Qashqai being one of them. I prefer its cleaner looks over the Tucson but could be swayed by the fetching Sportage.

The Qashqai may no longer be the undisputed king of crossovers, but it’s still a class act with serious appeal.
In a fiercely competitive segment, it still holds its ground with style, comfort, and cutting-edge technology.