Are you on the lookout for a stylish new SUV that places itself delicately in the market between $35–60k?  A new Nissan Qashqai has got the looks, space, and features to make it a great travelling companion – whether it is used for touring, commuting, or being put to work towing the garden trailer full of weeds.  In a small SUV market that is chock-a-block full of alternatives, the Nissan Qashqai has plenty of tricks of its own to make it a standout performer.

The Qashqai isn’t the biggest SUV nor is it the smallest.  What you’ll find inside the cabin is a comfortable pair of seats for those seated in the front.  Even if you are taller than average, the Qashqai provides an accommodating environment around the dash for both driver and front passenger.  An abundance of storage areas as well as a generous quota of USB charging points keeps life ticking along nicely for Qashqai owners. 

Life in the back seats may not be quite as glamorous as what it is for the front seat occupants, however there is decent leg and head space.  The class leaders’ back seat space – the Skoda Karoq, SEAT Ateca, and Volkswagen Tiguan – are out in front, but the Qashqai is not far off.  And when you have a boot with 504 litres that can swallow a large amount of gear even with the rear seats up, you’ve got yourself an SUV ready for accommodating family and friends for the roadie.  What I like about the Nissan Qashqai’s boot is that it comes with the highly-configurable Flexible Luggage Board System.  This system offers you a variety of depths as well as an in-built divider, which is great for fitting in tall objects when you require it.  The parcel shelf can also be lifted off and stored underneath the boot floor – another handy feature.  You can even get a powered tailgate that opens up with a wave of your foot under the SUV’s rear bumper.  The Nissan Qashqai e-Power hybrid loses none of the practicality of the other 4 models, maintaining the same capacity as these standard mild-hybrid versions. 

On the topic of engines, most of the Qashqai models (ST, ST+, ST-L, and Ti) are powered by a 1.3-litre Turbo 4-cylinder engine that has 110 kW of power (at 5500 rpm) and 250 Nm of torque (from as low as 1600 rpm).  This power if fed to the front wheels via a continuous variable transmission.  These models average around 6 litres/100 km and put out 138g of CO₂.  The most expensive Qashqai is the Ti e-POWER, which uses a more comprehensive hybrid power source of energy that drops fuel usage to nearer 5 litres/100 km.  The combined hybrid power output via this 1.5 Turbo 3-cylinder motor rises to 116 kW.

What’s a new Nissan Qashqai like to drive?  Being a compact small SUV, the Qashqai is very easy to manoeuvre about town and in and out of parking spaces thanks to its tight turning circle and great visibility.  All Qashqais comes equipped with front and rear parking sensors, while cameras are available on all but the entry-level version.  Zip out on the open road, and the 2023 Nissan Qashqai feels nice and solid at higher speeds.  The steering is responsive along with an upright driving position which all adds to the pleasant driving experience.

The Nissan Qashqai scored a full 5 stars from Euro NCAP tests.  As standard, the 2023 Qashqai comes with automatic emergency braking (AEB), blind spot monitoring, traffic sign recognition, and a driver attention alert system.  Nissan’s excellent ProPilot+ system comes with a head-up display and is reserved for top-end models.  Lane-keeping assistance is available too. 

The small Qashqai is a solidly built FWD SUV that looks pleasant on the eye, is comfortable, well-equipped, spacious, safe, and nice to drive.  Other offerings in this segment are the Mazda CX-3, Mitsubishi Eclipse and the Kia Sportage, along with the European models mentioned earlier.  So, yes, there are no shortages of alternatives.  But, I’ve got a soft spot for the Qashqai. 

The 2023 Nissan Qashqai models include the:

• Qashqai ST
• Qashqai ST+
• Qashqai ST-L
• Qashqai Ti
• Qashqai Ti e-POWER

For any more information on the new Nissan Qashqai or, for that matter, any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181.  If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quote requests out to our national network of Nissan dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours.  Private Fleet – car buying made easy!