Qashqai just gets better
GIVEN the choice, I probably wouldn’t have selected the Nissan Qashqai for a 400-mile return journey over every kind of road.
But while I had the most powerful model with the latest tweaks recently, I enjoyed the drive immensely.
The Qashqai has always been good, but in this latest sleeker incarnation it really is close to the top of the list.
Over that journey – which it managed on a single tank – it averaged more than 40mpg and I wasn’t driving particularly carefully.
The whole car performed beautifully and is accomplished in every way, with a very refined chassis.
There is not much urge under 2,000 revs, as there is with some other turbos, and there’s little in sixth gear of six even then. It does have enough for lane changing on the motorway, but little more.
I had to drop down to fourth or even third for overtaking but when I did it was brilliant, pulling hard and making light of the task.
There are plenty of electronics to keep you happily on the road, with different levels of braking force applied to each individual wheel in corners.
This keeps the body as flat and stable as possible, making the car more nimble.
I drove the N-Connecta two-wheel drive towards the top of the range which comes with a split fold back seat and a double level boot.
It also has excellent keyless entry and starting, very good stop-start, climate control, stability and traction control, DAB stereo with aux in and USB, sat nav, parking sensors, alloys and audio remote control on the leather multi-function steering wheel.
The six-inch touchscreen is easy to use for sat nav, stereo and phone but the climate system, sensibly, has its own controls below.
The Nissan Qashqai 1.6 dCi N-Connecta I drove costs £25,225.