Nissan’s mainstream crossover SUV is more expensive, but also more capable as it goes upmarket in Singapore

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SINGAPORE

Riding on the wave of popularity that crossover SUVs have been experiencing, the last Nissan Qashqai (if you’re having trouble with the name, it’s read as ‘cash-kai’) was a pretty good alternative to cars like the Honda HR-V and Mazda CX-30. It was promoted as an easy-to-drive, practical family car that did everything expected of it, and it also had a punchy 1.2-litre turbo engine that was economical on fuel.

Now meet the all-new, third-generation Nissan Qashqai. The car’s 4,425mm length is just three centimetres longer than the old version, but once again, clever packaging of the interior has made it more spacious than one might expect from a car of this size.

It’s powered by a 1.3-litre, four cylinder turbo engine that’s combined with a 12-volt mild-hybrid system. There’s 157 horsepower available from the engine, which puts the car into the more expensive Category B COE segment here but it’s also a very clean burning engine, netting it a VES A2 grade on the emissions scale. This means that there’s a S$15,000 green rebate on the car’s price, already factored into its final retail pricing. 

Don’t get too excited with the mild hybrid claims though, as it’s only a 12-volt system against the more comprehensive 48-volt systems of something like the BMW 220i Active Tourer. This just means that the car cannot cruise with the engine shut off, much less be driven in electric mode. What the 12-volt system with lithium ion battery power does is give the engine an additional boost when accelerating, and allows for the electrical systems in the car to keep running seamlessly while the engine is automatically powered down at traffic junctions. 

Design and Interior

First thing to take note of here is that Nissan is pitching the new Qashqai as a more premium car than its predecessor. First impressions certainly attest to that. It’s got an almost continental vibe to the design with details like the embossed Qashqai logos at the sides of the headlight assemblies and two-tone roof paintwork.

There’s nothing overly dramatic about the car’s styling, and it’s clearly within the realms of the current crossover SUV design trend. Nissan’s V-motion front intake grille is prominently on display at the front, and the high specification Prestige variant driven here has larger 19-inch wheels over the Premium’s 18-inch rollers. 

It’s on the inside where the Qashqai delivers the goods. A fully integrated NissanConnect entertainment system with native GPS navigation on the 9-inch display screen makes for easy usage, and the Premium variant gets a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel plus heads-up display for the driver as well. 

Nappa leather seats make for comfortable seating, though the diamond pleating on the material is a matter of personal taste, based on the comments that we got when polling the design amongst the CarBuyer crew.

A conveniently placed wireless smartphone charging pad on the centre console is easy to place a phone onto the moment you step in. With large and chunky gear selector levers being a thing of the past now, the Qashqai uses a low profile knob that keeps the centre console reasonably neat. Drivers used to chunky mechanical gear selectors may be wary of electronic contact wear and tear, though this rarely happens with cars less than five years old these days.

Rear seats have plenty of legroom, though space for three adults is ultimately limited by the car’s 1,835mm width. It’s still pretty roomy compared to something like the Honda HR-V, though as it stands now, the Qashqai is already a step above the Honda with a much more powerful engine and more upmarket cabin.

Another feature of the Qashqai is that the rear doors swing open up to 85 degrees for easy entry, but it’s not much help if the car is in a cramped car park space.

The Prestige variant also gets a full length panoramic moonroof, a feature that’s also found in another of the Qashqai’s main competitors, the similarly-sized Peugeot 3008. 

The boot is about what you would expect from a car of this size with a capacity of 504 litres. The split level floor, with a floor board that can be deployed as a divider, is handy, as are the hooks and a 12-volt power socket along the sides.

Nissan states that the chassis is lighter than ever thanks to the use of composite materials in its construction. The rear hatch might look like its metal, but is actually formed out of a plastic composite material over the inner metal frame. This saves 2.6kg over if it was an all-metal construction. Across the whole car, Nissan claims a weight saving of 60kg and a 41 percent increase in structural rigidity over the previous generation car thanks to new bonding techniques and lighter materials.

A lighter car is more economical because there’s less weight to haul around, and though official stats claim a fuel economy of 5.5l/100km, we found that in real-world use on the roads of Singapore 6.2l/100km is the more realistic number.

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