Test drive: Nissan Qashqai, the undisputed leader of the SUV market, dominates for more than enough reasons

We put the Nissan Qashqai to the test, a bestseller whose price and ease of use explain its popularity

The recipe for the commercial success of the Nissan Qashqai has become clear to us once we carried out the road test of the Nissan Qashqai in Tekna+ trim, a car that, since this year, gets a new engine: the 1.33 DIG-T with 160 CV, paired with a DCT automatic gearbox.

The fact is that the Nissan Qashqai is the best-selling SUV so far in 2019, and it already was last year, thanks to its price, its straightforward driving and its comfort in everyday use, a combination that is hard to beat.

A car designed to be enjoyed while driving

Right from the start, the seats are the stars of the interior. Both the front and rear seats feature eye-catching upholstery: Nappa leather at the front and synthetic leather at the rear, whose stitching also helps shape the ergonomics. In addition, they have back and lumbar support that allow you to adjust the back support to perfection.

A very spacious cabin, made to feel even airier by a huge panoramic sunroof, covers all the seats.

If the interior of the Nissan Qashqai has any fault, it is a dashboard that is rather sober and, in places, a little dated. For example, the 7-inch screen is small and its graphics are not very sophisticated, and the dashboard has a central console with the controls and settings arranged on an analogue button panel that lacks appeal.

The same goes for the instrument cluster behind the steering wheel, a steering wheel, incidentally, with a pleasant feel and wrapped in leather, which sits in front of two simple dials, one for the rpm and one for the speed, and a central screen for the on-board computer and other information such as navigation or the multimedia system, whose audio system, by the way, offers good sound quality. A small display below the centre of the upper arc of the steering wheel, with little care in its design, sits in the driver’s line of sight.

And while the cabin is spacious, the boot is even more so. Thanks to a layout that is as simple as it is efficient, it is one of the best-utilised cargo areas we have recently come across in an SUV.

This is not always the case, and with a capacity of 430 litres it is very easy to fit in large quantities of small items, or more than enough space for long family trips, thanks to a false floor that can be removed and refitted in seconds, gaining depth or height depending on what is to be loaded.

A textbook SUV

As we said, the recipe for this car’s success rests on several points: a very attractive price (the unit used for this test, the Nissan Qashqai in Tekna+ trim, appears on the brand’s configurator from 29,500 euros, with discounts and promotions applied) and an SUV configuration exactly as the market demands.

And this car, thanks to its two-wheel drive and a controlled weight of 1,375 kg, feels agile thanks to its 160 CV and the inclusion of an automatic gearbox which could only be operated manually, via the lever between the front seats, at specific moments and at the driver’s will, such as downshifts to hold the engine speed within a given range.

The lightness of the steering can be turned into a virtue for anyone looking for a car whose wheels turn with little effort, something to be thankful for when manoeuvring at low speed, such as parking or pulling out of a space.

Likewise, traction is enhanced by Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres. This combination of grip and tyres has been one of the biggest positive surprises when driving this car in dynamic situations.

The car works better the faster you go. At low speeds, for example in urban traffic, the inertia and body roll penalise dynamism, as they do in most SUVs, while on fast roads the agility and grip of this car, despite its raised ride height, are more than significant, providing a dynamic feel at the wheel. Unfortunately, this is not common in this type of body built on chassis set high off the ground.

With an rewarding immediate acceleration you can do without driving modes such as Sport or Dynamic, since the power arrives early when you press the accelerator. Its braking is also somewhat abrupt, with a pedal that is quite aggressive in its bite, just as the braking assistant can sometimes intervene even when the driver is in control of the stop.

The average consumption of this car was 7.8 litres of petrol per 100 km, compared with the 7.1 of its WLTP homologation. It should be noted that, in the test of the Nissan Qashqai, urban driving played a major role, with about 60 per cent of the time spent in town and 40 per cent on fast roads, which also included the usual traffic jams of rush hour in a province such as Madrid.

That is why this consumption could be lower provided the car is used mainly on open roads, outside built-up areas, and with the eco mode engaged, as long as you can find its button, since its location makes it less than intuitive to operate and forces you to take your eyes off the road when you want to activate it.

The Nissan Qashqai is the leader

Given the simplicity of its driving, the straightforwardness of its automatic gearbox and a crossover-style structural architecture, as the market demands, the test of the Nissan Qashqai has given us the answer to why it is one, if not the, most popular SUV on the market: because it meets today’s standards.

Therefore, there is no doubt that the Nissan Qashqai with the 1.33 160 CV engine in Tekna+ trim, provided it stays below the 30,000-euro threshold, is a highly recommended purchase for anyone seeking an uncomplicated, comfortable SUV with reasonable consumption for everyday use.

Technical specifications of this car

CrossoverNissan Qashqai19 versions · from 32,200 €