► All new facelift Qashqai driven
► New styling and interior
► Evolutionary, not revolutionary
Whether you like it or not, the Nissan Qashqai has played a massive part in shaping the modern automotive world. Switching from a dowdy hatchback to a controversial yet desirable crossover ensured it far outsold the unlovely Almera, with over 4 million Qashqais built so far.
It may be the ICE version’s swansong – the next generation going all-electric – but it’s still got a crucial role to play in the manufacturer’s plans over the next few years. Nissan wants to increase its sales volume by a million units come 2030 while lowering production costs, all to strengthen its market position before diving head-first into a 100% EV sales mix.
The plans form part of Nissan’s Ark strategy, and the new Qashqai will be pivotal to its success. So, with that in mind, the manufacturer has given its prize pony a makeover for 2024, with several exterior and interior updates included as part of the refresh.
We’ve given it a thorough test on the roads of southern Portugal, and spent a week living with one in the UK. Read on to find out everything you need to know about the new 2024 Nissan Qashqai.
At a glance
Pros: Sharp new styling, impressive new tech, fresh interior design
Cons: E-Power can be a bit irksome, handling could do with more polish, easily unsettled ride
What’s new?
Not much on the driving front, but the interior and exterior have undergone a hefty makeover. The Qashqai’s front end has been revisited, with new design language that incorporates three-dimensional comma-shapes. They’ve been designed to emulate the scales of a Samurai’s amour, apparently, and along with a pair of sharper, thinned-out headlights, complete an arguably meaner and more focussed face for the crossover. We dig it.
The front end’s design language continues around the back, too, where the taillight lighting elements have also been updated in the comma style, with a deeper red hue and housed within clear lenses for greater clarity.
Fancy a flush, consistent body colour your (almost) whole Qashqai over? Well, now you can as part of a new N-Design trim grade. It includes body-coloured door sills and wheel arches, and all-new 20” alloys underneath.
Moving inside, a fresh strip of Alcantara has been introduced on certain trims that extends from the dashboard to the bolstering of the rear seats, while the centre console and upper dashboard have been enveloped with a curious new finish. We think it looks like something somewhere between galvanised steel and carbon fibre.
But don’t forget the uprated tech. Nissan has really gone to town on its parking assistance systems, ranging from a crispy-clear 360deg camera feed with eight different angles – on top of the classic birds-eye – to an all-new invisible bonnet view, or ‘Harry Potter Mode’ among certain Nissan circles.
With this function, drivers can view a stripped-back perspective of the car’s wheel positions, free from any obstruction by the Qashqai’s body, which can then be utilised to confidently park the car without curbing it. Clever stuff.
What’s the interior like?
Now one of the world’s pre-eminent and best-loved family cars, the Qashqai’s interior has always played a critical role in the model’s success. To cope with the unpredictability of family life, the pre-update’s interior combined comfort and robustness in equal measure. The good news is that these virtues are largely carried over, as the new Qashqai’s build quality remains solid with an appealing ambiance. It makes a Volkswagen Tiguan feel rather plain, and a Ford Kuga like a Christmas cracker toy in comparison.
Alcantara could prove divisive as a Qashqai interior material, having so many performance car connotations, but we find it serves well to break up the hard surfaces. Our only gripe is that the area of the front passenger door where your hand most naturally falls is not covered with the material, though the panels directly above and behind are. A small oversight, perhaps. Nothing terminal.
The Alcantara is complemented by a new material finish around the dashboard and redesigned centre console. The material has a slightly peculiar look, and we’ve struggled conclude exactly what it imitates – carbon fibre, galvanised steel, a monotone Goyard leather handbag? We’ll leave the final verdict up to you.
With identical dimensions to the previous Qashqai, roominess inside the cabin remains the same. It’s a spacious interior with good headroom front and rear, and adequate rear legroom. A six footer will be OK, but a rear-facing Isofix seat in the back gives your front passenger less legroom than is ideal.
To top it off, the infotainment system is sharp, precise and excellently responsive from the small, unassuming screen that protrudes out the dash. Google services are baked in as part of the Nissan Connect infotainment system, but that’s no bad thing as they’re highly useable with voice activation to control everything from the seat heaters to the ventilation. It’s a massive step on from the old system, and ranks amongst the class best now.
What’s it like to drive?
In a few words: a bit odd. In N-Design trim, at least.
Nissan has stuck with its 187bhp E-Power drivetrain for the new Qashqai – a drive system that utilises its combustion engine solely for the purposes of charging batteries or powering the electric motor. Think of it like a three-cylinder turbocharged generator hooked up to an otherwise full EV.
Nissan says the Qashqai has the performance characteristics of an electric car, with plenty of poke to get you off the line, but real-world driving doesn’t quite back that statement up. The Qashqai has 243ftlbs of torque, but the sensation of an instantaneous pull familiar to electric-only motoring is absent – it still feels like it needs the engine to spool up to do most of the heavy lifting
And we have to mention the noise it makes. The engine is programmed to increase its rev speed as you accelerate, so as not to create a disconnect between how fast you’re going and what you can hear. When you’re really thrashing it , the engine builds in volume with a crescendo, but it has a rather tortured tone – a growl laboured with the type of reluctance a dog might respond with when ordered to move from your spot on the sofa. Driven normally, these moments are rare with the engine barely registering if you’re gentle with the throttle.
As there’s no plug and a relatively small battery, you’ll only get a couple of miles or so if you hit the EV button. You’re better to treat it as a normal hybrid, letting the Qashqai work out when to best deploy its electricity. It’s at its most efficient in town with. the engine off much of the time, yet proved capable of 47mpg on a long motorway run at a sensible pace.
The Qashqai is also available with a 156bhp mild hybrid power unit that can be configured with either a manual or a CVT gearbox. We weren’t able to give it a go, but the E-Power is both punchier and more efficient on paper.
As you might expect, the Qashqai is pretty uninterested in the process of going quickly, even if you can cover ground at a surprising pace. The E-Power provides decent acceleration and there’s loads of grip, just not much finesse.
The steering is rather numb and requires the odd correction to keep it in a straight line. Weight is fine, but there are more precise and communicative setups in this class. Push harder and it feels safe, but will tuck its nose in usefully with a lift on the way in to a bend. However, there’s plenty of lean and ultimately it’ll squeal into understeer if you get too greedy.
The ride isn’t particularly impressive, either. There’s enough softness to make sure it’s inoffensive on unbroken roads, but a few potholes and ridges can make things feel a bit jittery. Body control is also on the loose side.
We suspect the lumpy ride could be attributed to the 20″ wheels of N-Design trim, though. We also tested an N-Connecta model – complete with smaller 18″ wheels – and it felt softer and more compliant. We reckon it’s the more natural family car, so if you value comfort over sportiness or projections of grandeur, this could be the trim to go for.
Where the Qashqai really shines is in its low-speed manoeuvring. Owing to a deft set of optional parking cameras, the car can provide you with a comprehensive perspective of your surroundings. Parking has truly never been so easy, which will no doubt appeal greatly to urban residents with plenty of high curbs and narrow streets nearby.
Overall, it’s not a bad car to drive. Pushed beyond its regular remit of school runs or other family duties and you may find it a bit disorderly, but the new Qashqai can still be quiet, comfortable and refined when you want it to be. Just try to avoid the 20-inch wheels if you want the best cushioning from the UK’s crumbling roads.
What about the specs?
The Qashqai’s E-Power motor comprises of a three-cylinder engine that’s hooked up to a 140kW electric motor or the 1.8kwh battery. According to the quoted WLTP figures, the Qashqai should be capable of between 41 and 44mpg, while the emissions are quoted at 141-160g/km depending on the trim grade. The total power output of the drivetrain system is 187bhp and 243 ft lbs of torque.
What about trim grades?
The Qashqai’s trim grades now kick off with Acenta Premium for £30,135 – Visia trim has been given the chop. In this most basic trim, you get 17″ alloy wheels, a 12.3″ infotainment display and a rear view camera, among many other extras. Next up, there’s N-Connecta, which introduces Google built-in 18″ alloy wheels and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, then the all-new N-Design grade with Nissan’s special full body colour scheme for £34,845. From N-Design the system shifts laterally up to Tekna for the same money, before topping off with Tekna+. This range topping trim includes 20″ wheels and quilted, massaging front seats – all for £38,875.
As for rivals, in this class they’re many. It’s not as good to drive or as spacious in the back as a Ford Kuga and doesn’t have the rear seat flexibility of the Skoda Karoq or Renault Austral. The Qashqai is a well-rounded and efficient package, though, and one we can certainly see the appeal of.
Verdict
Previous Qashqai’s have been hugely popular, notably in 2022 when it became the best-selling car in the UK. You can understand why, as that model adroitly combined style with practicality in a way that clearly spoke to buyers – it’s difficult to see how this latest facelift version could fall short of the same response.
There are perhaps a few niggles in the way the new car drives, but the Qashqai now has a contemporary style to modernise the brand, with many of the same core principles are all still present and correct. If you want an ICE Qashqai before they put them out to pasture, now is probably the time to buy.