Nissan wants the Qashqai to be the best urban runabout around, writes Alastair Sloane
When is a hatchback not a hatchback? When it's a Nissan Qashqai, a high-riding, five-door wagon of sorts named after a nomadic people around the Mediterranean.
Nissan says the handle Qashqai (Cash-kai) belongs to a tribe of goat herders in North Africa. Other references narrow the name down to a similar race of people in Persia, or modern Iran.
Whatever its origins, Nissan New Zealand is comfortable with the name. It likes it better than Dualis, the handle the vehicle carries in Australia and Japan.
"What's Dualis mean?" says marketing chief Peter Merrie. "Nothing. We looked at Dualis but we liked Qashqai best. At least it means something."
Nissan wants the front-wheel-drive vehicle to redefine the hatchback market, to offer a little bit more than models like the Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus, Mazda3 and Mitsubishi Lancer can deliver.
It reckons the five-door Qashqai can be the best urban runabout around, offering the agility and comfort of a hatchback with the elevated and practical cabin of a fashionable sports utility vehicle. The 188mm ground clearance immediately sets the Qashqai apart from conventional hatchbacks.
Nissan's marketing team will say that the European-designed model was inspired not from other cars on the road but from culture, food, fashion, art, technology and other everyday influences.
"Qashqai is an alternative to the norm," says Stephane Schwarz, the director of Nissan Design Europe.
Nissan says research in Europe told it that conventional hatchbacks and saloons were no longer exciting enough for some buyers of small and medium cars.
"The car has become an extension of one's personality and fewer people are prepared to be seen as conventional anymore," says Schwarz."To cater for them, we started to create a new type of car."
Qashqai might be new to New Zealand but it has been running around Europe for almost three years. Australia has had it for 17 months. Nissan NZ says it had to wait for production to be ramped up in Japan before it could land it here.
Qashqai effectively takes the place of the Primera, slotting in between the Tida hatchback, the all-wheel-drive X-Trail and the new fifth-generation Maxima sedan.
There are two models: the ST at $34,300 and Ti at $37,300. Some markets offer an all-wheel-drive option but Nissan NZ stayed with the front-drive. "An all-wheel-drive Qashqai might have gone up against the X-Trail," says Merrie. "Besides, we wanted to aim it as a modern alternative to the hatchback, as a vehicle that will spend all its life in that role."
Qashqai is based on the platform of the X-Trail, which is based on the Renault Koleos. The architecture is also in use on other models in the Renault-Nissan alliance.
It was conceived, designed and developed in Europe and is powered by a four-cylinder, 2-litre engine producing 102kW at 5200rpm and 198Nm of torque at 4400rpm and mated to a CVT transmission with a six-speed manual mode. Nissan says around 90 per cent of torque is available from 2000rpm.
Qashqai comes with a claimed fuel economy of 7.9 litres/100km, or 36mpg, from its 65-litre tank. Nissan attributes the car's economy largely to the CVT unit, a transmission cropping up more and more across its range of vehicles. "We are absolutely committed to CVT," says Merrie.
CVT provides a number of ratios, helping the engine to work as efficiently as possible. The result compared with conventional automatic gearboxes, says devotee Nissan, is smoother acceleration as well as better fuel economy and lower emissions.
The CVT pretty much worked effortlessly on the 120km test drive between Timaru and Lake Tekapo, without the feel of clutch slip under acceleration like earlier CVT units. But the manual mode provides better throttle response when overtaking or punching into hills, for example, when the CVT's lack of kickdown becomes apparent.
In a nutshell, the Qashqai exceeded our expectations. It has a lot going for it. It is compact and agile, more car than SUV/Crossover, thanks to its predictable handling and surprisingly plush ride over all but the worst surfaces. Suspension is MacPherson struts up front and a multi-link set-up in the rear.
Qashqai doesn't have the chassis dynamics or the sharp steering of the more driver-focused Mazda3 or Ford Focus hatchbacks, but it has other strengths, like its boot space, cushy front seats, excellent driver's position, functional controls and smart mix of analogue and digital dials.
The soft-touch interior materials, part of Nissan's new design theme, also add to its appeal. A couple of downsides to the interior include the pretty tight backseat area - sacrificed perhaps for more room in the boot - and small rear door apertures. The small back window limits rear view from the driver's seat somewhat, too.
The 2-litre engine is sweet enough and didn't feel harsh or strained, even when hustling uphill in second gear through the twisty stuff. It can be worked hard - it needs to be when overtaking is automatic CVT mode.
Lay flat the 60/40 split-folding rear seats and the Qashqai can accommodate around 1440 litres of luggage. Standard equipment includes a 14-litre cooled glove box, CD audio, and anti-lock brakes.
Both Qashqai models come with six airbags - front, front side and full curtain - electronic stability programme, active front head restraints, three-point seatbelts on all seats, engine immobiliser and a five-star NCAP safety rating from the European crash testing programme.
Standard features on the ST model include an AM/FM stereo CD player with six speakers, air conditioning, power windows, heated and folding door mirrors, telescopic and tilt-adjustable steering column and front fog lights.
The Ti adds a higher grade cloth upholstery, leather steering wheel, dual zone climate air-conditioning, intelligent key, reading and map lights, rear centre arm rest with cup holders, 17-inch alloy wheels, and xenon automatic headlights.
Qashqai was launched this week along with the new Maxima sedan, with its choice of 2.5- and 3.5-litre V6 engines, both mated to CVT units. The Maxima 250L is priced at $43,495 and the 350L at $46,995.
