Nissan Qashqai+2 n-tec - Qashqai Tekna

It’s too soon to call the Nissan Qashqai an icon, but be in no doubt, it is one of the most significant cars of the last decade. It defines the very sector it created and has managed to amass more than two million sales in just eight years. Not bad for a car that effectively replaced the Nissan Almera. The second generation Qashqai, introduced at the start of 2014, picked up where the old Qashqai left off, scooping numerous awards, including the coveted Diesel Car, Car of the Year trophy. By the end of the year, sales almost exceeded 50,000. Pretty good for a new kid on the block.

Only the Nissan Qashqai isn’t so new anymore. Twelve months after its launch, the second coming of Britain’s favourite crossover can be found on used car lots up and down the land. So to celebrate the Qashqai winning the title of Used Car of the Year in the last issue, we gave a thoroughly used Nissan Qashqai to a family who know a thing or two about Nissan’s top seller. Meet the Jones family of Devon Mick, Maria and their two boys, Jacob and Ben. They’ve owned their Nissan Qashqai+2 1.5-litre dCi for nearly two years, buying it from their local Nissan dealer.

Rather aptly, Nissan provided a 1.6-litre diesel with over 12,000 miles on the clock, so you could say it had been properly run-in. The range-topping Tekna trim is a notch or two higher than the Joneses n-tec model, offering the full range of Nissan’s Safety Shield and Smart Vision Pack technologies. But while Nissan’s chief creative officer, Shiro Nakamura, may use words such as athleticism, dynamism and fluidity to describe the styling, Mick was initially unimpressed. “It’s too flash, too street”, bemoaned Mick, a chap who as a design director for a yacht company should know a thing or two about styling. The family resemblance is clear, but the new Qashqai looks like it has spent many hours working out in the gym. Gone is the Tonka like styling of the original car, replaced instead by something decidedly more Hot Wheels.

The Qashqai may have picked up both our new and used Car of the Year titles this year, but how do existing customers feel about the new car? We arranged a new Qashqai for the Jones family for a week to see how it compared to their own 2010 Qashqai+2.

But if Mick was sceptical about the styling, it didn’t take him long to warm to the dynamics. “I used to own a few performance cars in my time”, Mick explained, with the kind of resigned tone many dads will relate to, having swapped bucket seats for pushchairs. “Ooh, that’s a bit good”, said a surprised Mick, as he took a tight B-road corner for the first time, taking each subsequent corner more quickly than the last. The latest Qashqai has no right to drive as well as it does. Whether in front-wheel drive or, as with our test car, all-wheel drive, the new Nissan Qashqai rides and corners in a way that would shame many hatchbacks and family saloons. For Mick, the discovery that a crossover could be as satisfying to drive as a performance car was a revelation, but for Maria, the benefits were of a different nature. Unlike Mick, Maria wasn’t a fan of the Qashqai’s “firm ride”, but was full of praise for the intelligent all-wheel drive system, “pleasantly surprised to get such good economy on a four-wheel drive vehicle”. But while many Qashqai buyers will opt for front-wheel drive, Maria takes a different stance, suggesting she would “spec it for sure”. For her, all-wheel drive instilled a greater level of confidence, often assisting in the most unlikely of occasions.

“I found myself relying on the all-wheel drive system in unpredictable circumstances”, recalled Maria, “being able to pull over on to a grass verge to allow an oncoming vehicle to pass on a narrow lane is something I’m unable to do in my Qashqai+2. With all-wheel drive, I’d have the confidence to turn up at a point-to-point, knowing I could park anywhere”. Maria went on to draw comparisons between a crossover and an old-school 4x4, suggesting quite brilliantly that the crossover is like central heating, whereas the 4x4 is like an electric fan heater. Both effective in their own ways, but one far more efficient than the other.

The “general uplift in interior trim quality” impressed Mick, who also grew to love the driving aids. The blind spot recognition system, part of the Safety Shield pack, was described as being “absolutely fantastic”, with the hill start assist, standard across the range, labelled as “brilliant”. But the pair stood in unison over their derision for the electronic handbrake, with Maria arguing the lack of control compromises the feeling of safety and Mick suggesting it would be enough to put him off buying the car. But Maria thought the reversing sensors accompanying the 360-degree camera was a big positive, far better than the camera-only set up of their existing Qashqai.

It defines the very sector it created and has managed to amass more than two million sales in just eight years.

Having spent a week with the Qashqai, the pair would actively seek a car with its impressive range of safety features. “Once you’ve used them, you can’t live without them”, argued Mick, going on to praise the new infotainment system and colour display in the instrument cluster. Mick was totally won over by the new car, acknowledging that Nissan had clearly done its homework by ironing out some of the issues of the previous generation Qashqai. It’s the small details, like having drinks in the cupholders, which no longer renders the centre armrest useless, while also making it tricky to change gear. But not everything is a step forward. The entire family claimed the space in the back was restricted, with even the boys, aged 15 and 11, criticising the lack of head and legroom. Maria also felt claustrophobic in the back, putting it down to the raised window line, black headlining and the lack of a view over the front seats. Jacob, 15, failed to find total comfort in the leather seats, complaining of a “numb bum” on long journeys, but was enthusiastic about the vanity mirror light. Such things matter when you’re a growing lad!

The Nissan Qashqai is successful because it makes you feel special. By taking all the ingredients of the first generation car and improving the styling, dynamics and interior, Nissan has made the best crossover even better. It’s still the benchmark for rival carmakers to aspire to. Mick and Maria are certainly fans of the new version, but were they impressed enough to consider buying one? Well no, because for all its qualities, Nissan no longer offers a seven-seat version, instead reserving that option for the new X-Trail. For the Joneses, this creates a problem, because a less than satisfactory experience with the Nissan dealer and no real affinity to the Nissan brand means they could look elsewhere for their next car. That said, Maria is looking further ahead and would consider a top-spec Qashqai when the boys leave home. Could this be the world’s first couple aspiring to crossover ownership after the children have flown the nest? This came as a surprise to Mick, who started muttering things about SLKs and sports cars. But for now, if you’re looking for a car to keep up with the Joneses, you could do a lot worse than a Nissan Qashqai. As Mick and Maria told us, it ticks a lot of boxes.

The Joneses car
Model : Nissan Qashqai+2 n-tec
Price : when new  £20,995
Engine : 1.5 dCi, 105bhp, 177lb ft
Transmission : 6-speed manual,  front-wheel drive
CO2 /economy : 138g/km/54.3mpg

Test car
Model : Nissan Qashqai Tekna
Price : when new  £28,500
Engine : 1.6 dCi, 129bhp, 236lb ft
Transmission : 6-speed manual,  four-wheel drive
CO2/economy : 129g/km/57.6mpg