Nissan Qashqai review

Fairly dull. Despite Nissan’s liberal use of the word ‘sporty’, the Qashqai is about as sporty as an ice cream van. It rides well enough - though the bigger 20-inch alloys do add a bit of shuddery completion over speed bumps - and is well insulated so it’s very quiet on a smooth road. But at anything above 7/10ths it just shrugs its shoulders and gives up. Safe and early understeer, absolutely nothing to recommend if you actually enjoy driving.

Obviously this is what 99 per cent of people expect from a front-wheel drive Qashqai, so it’s not exactly fatal. But still. There are modes to try and liven things up but even in the incongruously named ‘Sport’, the Qashqai simply doesn’t feel like it’s interested in deploying the e-Power’s 187bhp/243lb ft of torque in any way enthusiastically. Probably good for passenger comfort.

Tell me more about that fancy e-Power drivetrain?

The e-Power drivetrain is a strange one. This is a hybrid with a slightly odd configuration that’s more like a full-strength range-extender. So, there’s a 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine that isn’t connected to the wheels. Instead, it can either power an EV motor or charge a wee 1.8kWh battery.

Bare EV mode will only last a mile or so in practice (so good enough to leave the house silently, but not much more), and after that, the little three-pot chunters away fairly randomly. It actually rises in pitch as you accelerate, which gives the impression that it’s driving the wheels, but it isn’t; it just drives the e-motor that then sends its power to the front wheels. Got it?

The figures are 7.9 seconds to get from 0-62mph and a 105mph top speed, but it honestly feels strange most of the time. Sometimes you’ll be bumbling about town feeling like you’re driving an EV, and then suddenly a little bit of 3cyl thrum will be heard from up front.

Nissan reckons this system gives the feeling of an EV without the hassle of plugging in, and although acceleration off the line is actually fairly smooth, we’d be forced to ask if anyone has actually driven a Nissan Ariya, or any pure electric car for that matter. The e-Power system really doesn’t feel like that at all.

You can activate a Brake mode for extra regen or an e-Pedal mode for one-pedal driving, but when the engine’s on and running that makes the whole driving experience even more strange. 

Again though, potter about quietly and never try to stretch things, and it’s smooth and more than adequate. The payoff isn’t huge though: we managed around 42mpg with the e-Power setup on a run that included inner-city driving, motorways and country lanes. 

You sound a little… unimpressed.

The thing is, the QQ really isn’t about being impressed with the driving experience. In town and under lighter duties it’s the right size, is easily parked thanks to the extra cameras and sensors, and it rides very nicely having been developed on poor British roads. The drivetrain doesn’t show itself up in the same way, and it’s very amenable. It’s fine. Oh, and you can set up a shortcut so that it's just two presses of steering wheel-mounted buttons to turn off all of the annoying driver assistance systems. Great news.

TG very much realises that there aren’t many people buying a family SUV at this price level expecting razor-sharp dynamics, but some may expect a car that doesn’t sound quite so… groany.

What if I don’t want that e-Power setup? 

We’re yet to try the mild-hybrid petrol in this Qashqai, but it’s a 1.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder that can be had with either 138bhp or 156bhp. Oh, and here’s something you probably weren’t expecting: a six-speed manual gearbox is standard fit with both the power outputs, although a CVT auto is an option on the higher powered MHEV.