By Karl Peskett.
The Nissan Qashqai has been living up to its nickname over the past few years – the Nissan Cash Cow. Clearly helping are the good looks, the well-sorted interior, the cabin space and, of course, the price.
The company knows the Qashqai won’t ever compete with premium brands, but if the specs and pricing is good, it’s on a winner. Which is why in May, Nissan introduced a new mid-range version of the Qashqai, the ST+.
It gets a few features the base model misses out on, but without all the bells and whistles of the top-end grades. Inside, for example, there’s a seven-inch touchscreen with digital radio, sat-nav with traffic alert, 360 degree top-view monitor (that also alerts you to moving objects), power-fold and heated door mirrors, and privacy rear glass. Given that the ST+ costs an extra $3300 over the base model ST, we’d say that’s money well spent.
There’s more to the story, though. The seats, for example, get cloth trim, but the foam padding is much softer than the harder leather in the high-end versions of the Qashqai. Sure, you don’t get seat heating, but it’s cooler in summer and is a much nicer place to sit on long drives, as it’s more comfortable.
The space is excellent, with rear seat passengers able to be tall and not brush their hair with the headlining. The boot, at 430 litres is also an excellent size. Drop the back seats down and you get 1598 litres, meaning you can travel to Ikea without wondering how you’re going to take that chest of drawers home.
Couple that with the standard features like digital radio, Bluetooth and a safety suite that includes six airbags, lane departure warning, autonomous braking and parking sensors at the front and back and it’s starting to look like a tempting offering.
What about what’s under the bonnet? Well, that’s where the Qashqai competes in an ever-crowded field of highly skilled operators. In an era of dual-clutch packs and turbocharged engines, Nissan’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder is outdone. In isolation, it’s a good unit. Smooth, reasonably quiet and with just enough power, the Qashqai’s engine is fit for purpose, but not a sparkling unit.
Part of that has to do with the gearbox, a CVT. While it does the job well for a CVT, a gearbox that actually changes ratios instead of slurring them might make it feel a little more spritely. The engine makes 106kW and 200Nm, so you can see that it’s outgunned.
Nissan’s economy claim is 6.9L/100km, however in the real world you can add a couple of litres to that easily. That’s mostly due to having to rev it to get it up and going off the line. Once rolling and past, say 60kmh, it picks up and trundles along quite nicely.
The other issue is the ride. You’d expect the Qashqai Ti to be firm, with its gorgeous 19-inch wheels, but the ST+’s 17-inch wheels should be a lot less intrusive. Instead, the suspension tune is so stiff that you wonder what wheels have been fitted. You’ll need to find some glass smooth roads to enjoy it, otherwise it feels like you’re bouncing all over the place. Admittedly, the 17-inch wheels are better on choppy tarmac, but not as much as you think.
The steering is light and it’s easy to point and shoot with the Qashqai, plus the brakes have extra assistance, so you can haul up on a dime, as the Americans say.
Overall, we can forgive the ride and the average drivetrain. The price is bang on, the space is excellent, the interior is well laid out (with plenty of storage) and there are a lot of inclusions. Certainly, the Qashqai makes a lot more sense than the more expensive (and uglier) Juke, for example. It’s also better looking than an ASX, way bigger than a Mazda CX-3, better equipped than a HR-V and more appealing than a Trax.
In fact, in ST+ guise, Nissan offers a small SUV that covers just about all bases. It really does deserve to be Nissan’s cash cow.
