NISSAN Qashqai Acenta Premium 1.6 dCi

Remember last February? That was when we welcomed the brand new, second-generation Nissan Qashqai on to our long-term test fleet with an epic, 5000-mile road trip across Europe and to the edge of Asia. On its return, it was tasked with tackling the everyday driving situations that can make or break a car’s reputation.

Having driven the Qashqai from its Sunderland home to Istanbul and back, we were enamoured with the car’s easy, no-nonsense approach to long-distance touring. It particularly impressed us with its comfort, intuitive controls and punchy 1.6-litre diesel engine.

So what’s changed in our 11 months of ownership? The answer is, remarkably little. The Qashqai still impresses on a daily basis and still finds itself as the de facto choice for weekend trips.

The thing that has endeared the Nissan to me most of all is its versatility. It’s big enough to accommodate luggage, passengers and the family dog in comfort, has a wide enough boot to seat a happy-snapping Autocar photographer for those car-to-car tracking shots and feels as much at home on the motorway as it does on a winding country A-road something we’ve proven with multiple driving holidays both in the UK and abroad.

The 128bhp 1.6-litre diesel engine is refined and quiet on the move and pulls well enough to give the 1535kg Qashqai an element of sporting performance. This is a family crossover that can reach 62mph in 9.9sec, remember, and yet has happily returned around 51mpg since the start of our ownership.

Intuitive, easy controls are essential for a family car, although at first I wasn’t a fan of the Qashqai’s chunky steering wheel-mounted infotainment controls. I preferred the more delicate, touchsensitive set-up of the more premium models, but over time our car’s switches have actually proven to be easier to use.

Our Qashqai has had its work cut out over the past 11 months. So how did Sunderland’s second-gen crossover cope with life on the Autocar fleet?

Despite sampling many of the Qashqai’s rivals during the past year, I haven’t found anything to quite match its breadth of talents. A quick poll of Autocar’s road testers supports this and the Qashqai remains our favourite crossover, hands down. No surprise, then, to find that it was the sixth bestselling car in the UK in 2014, with almost 50,000 units registered.

Gripes have been few and far between, and there has been only one true fault on our car. It’s an intermittent issue with the front parking sensor, whereby it warns of impending obstacles that simply aren’t there. A trip to the dealer for a software update would likely fix it, though.

Other issues are mainly cosmetic. I’m a little disappointed that the door cards are so easily scuffed. They also appear flimsy in places, and the driver’s side carpet is forever getting caught under my shoes when changing gear. Meanwhile, the black plastic surrounding the infotainment screen and lower dashboard looks great but is easily marked by wandering fingers and attracts dust.

The multimedia system itself, while easy to navigate, has hit more than one stumbling block. The sat-nav once refused to change its route when I took a diversion on the way to Heathrow in order to avoid a traffic jam, while on another occasion it lost its way around the small country roads of the Lake District. These are niggles, though.

Perhaps most surprising is how much of a driver’s car the Qashqai has turned out to be. The combination of strong, torquey engine, excellent and slightly raised driving position and comfortable ride is enough to keep keen drivers interested.

Sure, the ride is somewhat firmer than you’ll find in some rivals, but as we noted in our road test: “If there is a base that Nissan hasn’t covered here, or an everyday requirement this Qashqai misses that it might reasonably be asked to serve, we couldn’t find it.”

For me, the Qashqai’s talent lies in how it makes your everyday jobs that much easier. The split-level boot makes loading shopping easy. The digital speedometer and driver’s display means less time spent looking at the dials. The high gearlever makes swapping cogs a quick and effortless shuffle. And minor off-road adventures in wet fields have proved that even the front-wheel-drive Qashqai has some off-road ability should the need arise.

Truth is, I’m sad to see it go. As I wrote in the car’s inaugural report, we ask a lot of the models that sit on our long-term fleet, but I’m happy to say the Qashqai has delivered above and beyond in every case. It’s a true winner.