2017 Nissan Qashqai vs 2019

What's the difference?

While among the older of the mini-SUVs, the Qashqai is holding up very well. Its competition isroughly the same in most ways, with just tiny detail differences, meaning the decision really comes down to which one you like the look of and whether you can afford it.

The Qashqai's lack of all-wheel drive does count against it for some people, but unless you're heading off-road, that's no reason to pass over the Nissan. The entertainment system software isn't exactly bang-up-to-date but a quick look at the competition reveals theirs aren't either.

The Qashqai drives well, looks good and is extremely well built. It should survive a tough family life without stress or drama and apart from the indifferent fuel economy, should cost very little to run in diesel or petrol formats.

The Qashqai ST + is a jack of all trades, and when you consider some very good competition in this segment, a master of none. It’s this SUV’s unique dimensions which will set it apart for the majority of buyers, and for what it’s worth they’re getting a great car.

For the Qashqai to be truly impressive, Nissan could up the standard spec by including today’s connectivity musts and get rid of those darned halogen headlights.

It's an interesting thing this Qashqai. Many moons ago this would probably have laboured under the designation 'mini-MPV' - it really is more of a large hatchback than it is an SUV because of the way it's proportioned. I'd put a large sum of money on a quick vox pop finding that there is little to link the Nissan to other cars in the segment, at least visually.

Part of the reason it doesn't look like it competes with the CX-3 or ASX or HR-V is because it looks markedly bigger. On the road and from behind the wheel, it looks as though it towers over these cars (it doesn't, there's only a few millimetres in it) and seems like it's from a class above (it's not). So if its exterior is deliberately styled to appear bigger than it is, job done.

What's most clear about this car is that it is beautifully built.

So we've established it looks big but it's worth pointing out that it is in no way overbearing. The Qashqai is very clearly a Nissan design, with obvious links to the other big-seller from the Nissan range, the X Trail.

What's most clear about this car is that it is beautifully built. No squeaks or rattles, no sharp edges and the plastics are a cut above its immediate competition. Panel fit inside and out is exemplary.

The interior looks big in the photos, because for a car this size, it is. Again, the only one of its competitors to come close in terms of dimensions is the HR-V which has more available leg room in the back and a bigger boot.

The Qashqai’s design has moved at a glacial pace since it first launched in 2014, but in perhaps a testament to its simple, largely timless design, it has aged much better than something like the Mitsubishi ASX.

Nissan has done a great job of using minor, but effective style updates to bring the Qashqai’s front end, rear end and especially interior up to date with modern trends.

The LED light fittings help with this, as do the carefully applied touches of chrome and black in the grille, around the car’s sides and even in its window frames.

There’s a nice kind of balance to the Qashqai’s proportions when viewed in profile. Perhaps a consequence of its segment-bending size.

You could argue it looks a bit anonymous, but I reckon its better to blend into the crowd tastefully than start to come across as dated, or worse still controversial, as some small SUVs have become.

Again, not everyone wants the overt style of the Mazda CX-3, post-modern looks of the Hyundai Kona or dated design of the Mitsubishi ASX. For those who want something contemporary but not loud, the Qashqai hits the spot.

Inside the same applies, Nissan has applied tactical and tasteful updates to keep the Qashqai at least approximating the paired-back design trends of 2019.

There aren’t any loud coloured trims or contrasting panel work (as in the Kona) to be found here, just a simple, pragmatic approach that carries from the modern D-shaped and leather-bound wheel, through to the dash which is embossed with subtle matt-grey touches.

The colour scheme is a bit grey-on grey, but it’s a simple design with a focus on space. It’s unfortunately dated a bit by the old-school multimedia centre stack which has the screen embedded inside it, surrounded by gloss blacks and old-fashioned shortcut buttons.

One particular element I’d like to call out is the dash cluster. So simple in its execution, it’s brilliant. There’s no digital dash-cluster or any ultra-modern touches, but it consists of big, legible elements and in the case of the ST +, a large colour TFT screen which shows data readouts like your speed, fuel consumption and range.

The size of the elements makes reading your speed at a glance a cinch. I wish more SUVs had dash clusters like it.

The Qashqai is certainly one of the bigger cars in the small SUV class - at 4.377 metres, it's longer than CX-3 (4.275m), HR-V (4.294m) and ASX (4.355m).

The interior is well thought-out, with four cupholders (two front and two rear) and bottle holders in each door for a total of four, although you're restricted to smaller bottles of around 500ml. You could put either a super-dooper-whopper-gulp type cup in the centre console bin as there's a shallow cut-out at the bottom. It's deep, so you might even be able to get a wine bottle in there as long as you don't want to close the lid/armrest.

The boot space is versatile if not gigantic. At 430 litres it seems smaller than the looks suggest but it offers more luggage capacity than most of the rest of the class (HR-V excepted). The boot has two cubby holes behind the taillights with their own stretchy straps and the floor is split into two sections you can lift to hide things beneath or pull out altogether to make the boot a little deeper. It's all fairly intuitive, too. No need to resort to the owners manual here.

If its exterior is deliberately styled to appear bigger than it is, job done.

Additional storage comes in the form of a couple of open slots on the console and beneath the climate controls, a good size glove box (big enough for a hefty owner's manual) and on some models, document pockets in the front seatbacks.

Dropping the rear seats increases the load area but the seatbacks don't sit flush with the boot floor when you've removed the floor pieces - that's a trap for young players. Nissan doesn't quote a figure for the total load volume with the seats down.

Rear legroom is spacious enough for most folks, but the lack of rear air vents is a bit of a blow (sorry). Three kids could cheerfully spend time on the rear bench, but three adults would be a stretch. The Qashqai is a true five seat car where the CX-3 (for instance) is stretching the friendship, with the rear seats more a child-only zone.

The front seats are reasonably comfortable and adjustable but are a little over-stuffed for some backs.

The Qashqai’s most defining element is its strong point. Being sized above most small SUVs but below mid-sizers means the Qashqai will be perfectly suited to someone who needs to dart down alleyways but also needs a decent amount of boot space and a back seat to suit adults.

It does both brilliantly, and there are other benefits. Storage for front seat occupants is excellent, with big cupholders in the doors, a phone or wallet sized trench under the centre stack (with a 12-volt outlet), a massive centre console box which I can almost fit my entire arm in (with more power outlets and even clips to manage stray cables) as well as two cupholders behind the shift-knob which can fit large objects.

Nicely designed doorcards are simple, but nice to rest your elbows on. The switchgear is plain, but solidly put together.

Up the back there’s legroom that’s well above average for the segment. It won’t put larger sedans on notice, but you’ll be able to fit two, maybe even three adults back there with ease.

They’ll also get pockets on the backs of the front seats and small bottle holders in the doors, but in a major let-down for something this size, there are no rear air vents.

Boot space comes in at 430 litres, which threatens some SUVs in the mid-size segment. It’s also a big empty space, void of inconvenient obstructions.

Boot space maxes out at a solid 1598 litres with the 60/40 split rear seat folded, which will be enough to even move some whitegoods.

A space-saver spare lives under the boot floor.

If you’re really intent on towing, the Qashqai is capable of dragging a 729kg unbraked trailer or 1200kg braked.

Small SUVs need to get buyers in the door with value offerings. Especially those of the Qashqai’s vintage, which don’t quite have the lustre of more recent entries in the ever-changing segment.

Nissan has adjusted its range once again with the variant reviewed here, the ST +. Sitting one rung up from the base ST, the ST + brings some spec adjustments which range from competitive to lagging behind the competition.

First of all, it’s probably a good time to single out some competitors, at the Qashqai’s unique size, there aren’t too many.

Mitsubishi’s latest effort, the Eclipse Cross is one, and size-wise it also competes with the significantly more expensive Jeep Compass, but you can also pitch it against pricier versions of the Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-3 and Hyundai Kona.

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of the $30,790 price tag on the ST + is how close it flies to entry-level mid-sizers like the Hyundai Tucson Go ($30,650) and Honda CR-V Vi ($28,290), but not everyone wants something that size, and you’ll be making significant spec sacrifices to step up.

Standard on the ST + are 17-inch alloy wheels, LED DRLs and tail-lights, halogen headlights, a 7.0-inch multimedia touchscreen with built-in sat-nav and DAB+ digital radio (but no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto…), Nissan’s 'Around View Monitor' 360-degree parking suite, a six-speaker stereo system, privacy glass on the rear windows, power-folding rear-vision mirrors, an electric handbrake, and keyless entry with push-start.

It’s a decent spec level, and the upgraded 7.0-inch multimedia touchscreen and parking suite in particular are welcome inclusions over the base car’s less-impressive 5.0-inch multimedia system.

But the Qashqai's really showing its age in the connectivity department with an old-looking user interface and that lack of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. 

Annoyingly, this is one on a very short list of current models which don’t have auto lights as standard… come on Nissan, it’s 2019.

Other spec inclusions which would be nice at this price include electrically adjustable seats, and I found the halogen headlights to be simply not good enough outside of cities, where spotting an animal further down the road is a matter of safety.

You’ll have to step all the way up to the top-spec Ti ($37,990) to get much better LED headlights.

The Qashqai is available in a variety of colours, all of which aside from ‘Vivid Blue’ are $595 options, including our car’s ‘Ivory Pearl’. My advice is to get ‘Vivid Blue’ because it’s the best colour anyway.

Every Qashqai now comes with a decent set of active safety features explored later in this review.

The Qashqai comes with a choice of two engine specs and two transmissions. When compared to the competition, engine size is a moot point as they're all around the 1.8 to 2.0-litre mark for petrols and 1.5 or 1.6-litre with similar specs across the segment. Horsepower doesn't seem to be a priority with buyers, so there aren't any outstanding power ratings to tempt you from one to another.

The 2.0-litre petrol four is naturally aspirated and produces 106kW/200Nm. This will motor you along from 0-100km/h in just over 10 seconds. The petrol has a timing chain, so rest easy, you won't have to pay for a cambelt change at any point.

The 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel produces 96kW and a rather more impressive 320Nm of torque. This adds an easy half-second to the 0-100 acceleration time, coming in at 11.1 seconds. The diesel is automatic only. As with the petrol engine, the diesel (known as R9M, R is for Renault), runs a chain rather than a timing belt, so again, that's one less maintenance worry for long-term owners.

When it comes to reputation for durability and reliability we're not aware of any common faults or specific problems.

With petrol-powered cars, you can choose either a six-speed manual or an auto, which is a continuously variable transmission (CVT) rather than traditional torque converter type found in, say, the Mazda CX-3.

The CVT gearbox is also found in Nissan's own X Trail, while rivals Honda and Toyota favour this type (Toyota's CH-R will join the fray in 2017 with a CVT).

When it comes to reputation for durability and reliability we're not aware of any common faults or specific problems; and that goes for turbo problems, gearbox problems, clutch problems, cruise control problems, diesel problems, injector problems... any problems, really. If anything crops up, you'll find it on our Nissan Qashqai problems page. 

If you want a Qashqai with all-wheel drive (or, if you prefer, 4-wheel drive), you'll have to move countries - the Qashqai is front-wheel drive only in Australia.

The Qashqai's towing capacity is rated at 720kg for unbraked trailers and will carry a 1200kg load for those with brakes. Petrol vs diesel? Doesn't matter, they're both the same.

All Qashqais are powered by the same 2.0-litre four-cylinder non-turbo engine. It produces an on-par 106kW/200Nm, which isn’t super exciting, but it also isn’t as underpowered as some of its competition.

Every Qashqai drives the front wheels only, there’s no all-wheel drive option, and the only auto available is a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

If you’re after all-wheel drive you’ll have to step up to Nissan’s mid-size X-Trail, and more power is on offer from Hyundai’s Kona (130kW/256Nm) or Suzuki’s Torquey Vitara Turbo (103kW/220Nm).

Nissan claims 7.7L/100km on the combined cycle for the petrol. Our most recent test of the 2.0, a Ti automatic, showed this consumption figure to be fairly optimistic, averaging 11.2L/100km in a good mix of urban, suburban and highway running, admittedly in a hot, damp Sydney summer heatwave.

The Qashqai is almost like an overgrown hatchback.

For the diesel, Nissan says it will return around 4.9L/100km on the combined cycle. The most recent CarsGuide test yielded 8.6L/100km, so it seems you've got to be super-careful to get anywhere near the official figures.

Fuel tank capacity is a generous 65 litres. Based on our fuel economy figures, the petrol will get you around 550km before you have to top up the gas, and the diesel about 720km. Out on the freeway, you'll get a lot further with either engine.

One benefit from the Qashqai’s non-turbo engine is its ability to run on 91RON base-grade unleaded.

The ST + has a claimed/combined fuel consumption rating of 6.9L/100km, against which I scored a reasonable 7.3L/100km over my week of mixed freeway/urban driving.

Surprisingly, this was a lower number than the one produced by the top-spec Ti I reviewed last year (8.2L/100km) so your driving style might impact this number by a litre or two either way.

All Qashqai’s have a 65-litre tank which offers a little more range than most small SUVs which have 45-55L tanks.

The Qashqai is almost like an overgrown hatchback - with FWD and modest power outputs, it's always going to be most at home in the city. Nissan seems to have a good grip on that concept, because the city is where the car excels.

This car is not about performance figures. Neither the manual or automatic is a speed demon, it's all about smoothness. In the manual you can get it moving your way but the CVT is a little more leisurely - if you want a bit more urgency you have to clunk the selector into manual, remember it's around the 'wrong' way (up is to up a gear) and force the changes yourself. It's a bit awkward, so if you're looking for a quick response, this isn't the car for you.

For the most part, refinement is good.

Front suspension is by McPherson struts, while the rear is a multi-link arrangement. This combination means good ride comfort for both front and rear passengers - most in the class make do with simpler (and cheaper) torsion beams at the back. That rear suspension is one of the reasons you'll pay more for the Qashqai. It's also one of the reasons that on bumpy roads the suspension is quieter, although the other road noise might just be drowning it out.

For the most part, refinement is good - the engine is quiet unless you floor it and on smooth surfaces, the tyres don't make too much racket. Once the surface deteriorates or breaks up, the noise comes with it - coarse roads produce a bit of a roar at the front and you'll hear every stone pinging the underbody, seemingly undamped by any noise-abating plastic skins or sealing.

Steering weight and feel are fine, and the turning circle is a reasonably small 11.17m. You won't get around in a standard suburban street, but a three-point turn won't be a bother either.

The Qashqai's off-road ability is, well, minimal. As there's no all-wheel drive option, what you've got is basically a hefty hatchback - Honda's HR-V is no different in that respect. This is despite a ground clearance of 188mm and Nissan's quoted approach angle of 19 degrees and departure of 28.5.

The explanation for those figures even existing is that other markets do have an all-wheel drive option for the Qashqai. Having said that, Nissan doesn't quote a wading depth, which is probably for the best.

The Qashqai drives about how you’d expect. But don’t get me wrong, that’s not a bad thing. The engine can be on the thrashy side, but it’s powerful enough and has nice predictable and linear acceleration which won’t offer nasty surprises.

Sure, the CVT gives it a bit of a rubbery feel, with a slight delay, but most won’t be bothered by it. There are competitors with six-speed traditional auto transmissions for those who are really turned off by it.

Otherwise the Qashqai has great fast handling wielded well through the leather bound steering wheels, and suspension which is a little on the stiff side.

I’d say it’s on par with the suspension tune in the Mazda CX-5 or Hyundai Tucson, softer more comfortable tunes are available in Honda’s HR-V or CR-V, and the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is perhaps a little softer, too.

The Qashqai is reasonably quiet, helped by the reasonably-sized wheels and soft rubber. The Ti I drove last year was noisier thanks to its slim tyres and huge wheels.

Visibility is also a strong point. I always felt like I could see plenty out of this car's windows and mirrors, if the multimedia screen was raised up a little

There are more fun small SUVs to drive and more comfortable small SUVs, but the Qashqai hits the nail on the head for the silent majority of consumers looking for something predictable and secure, with enough power for everyday duties.

Thankfully, all Qashqais have been updated to have the expected suite of active safety items as standard from the base ST up.

These include auto emergency braking (AEB) with forward collision warning (FCW), and lane departure warning (LDW).

That’s decent, but where the spec ends for even the ST +, you’ll have to step all the way up to the Ti to get blind spot monitoring (BSM), rear cross traffic alert (RCTA), park assist, and lane keep assist (LKAS).

A boost to safety on the ST + is the around view monitor 360-degree parking suite. It uses a series of cameras to offer a top-down view of the car, a feature usually reserved for more premium models and marques.

Given you also get surround parking sensors with movement detection to help you avoid nasty surprises, it’s a welcome bit of kit, and better than what most small and even medium SUVs have to offer at this price.

The Qashqai carries a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating as of 2017 in which it scored a particularly impressive 36.56/37.

Nissan's standard new car warranty runs for three years/100,000km. You can also choose from one of two extended warranty programs. The first is a time-only arrangement of 12, 24 or 36 months, but exceeding 100,000km will invalidate the extension.

You can choose the time and distance option for the same periods but an increase to the kilometre limit to 150,000km since new. An extended warranty also includes an extension to the free roadside assist period.

Nissan also offers capped price servicing which it calls Service Certainty. This means you'll never have to worry about greasy and obscure details like oil type and oil capacity, ever again.

Service costs differ from petrol to diesel but both are to be presented to your dealer every 12 months or 10,000km, whichever comes first.

Servicing on petrol models costs from $224 to $532 over 12 services. Added together it comes to $3684 or $307 per service. Every other service costs $224.

Resale value appears reasonably strong.

Diesel pricing is markedly higher - $4745 for the 12 services, averaging $396 per visit.

You'll also need to factor in $32 for a brake fluid change every 40,000km or two years, meaning another $200-odd over the fixed-price period of six years. There will, of course, be other items that need replacing such as brake pads, tyres etc. that aren't covered.

Diesel servicing costs are significantly higher than the petrol-engined Qashqai while delivering a real world economy figure 3.0L/100km lower than the petrol. Assuming a price difference of about 15c/L over 15,000km, the diesel is $70/year cheaper to fuel but $89 per year more expensive to service. Then there's the $3000 purchase price difference.

Resale value appears reasonably strong. 2014-plated entry-level manual petrol STs are trading for between 54 and 61 percent of their new price, Ti autos between 57 and 64 percent and the TL auto diesel between 57 and 65 percent. Private prices appear to be about 60 to 70 percent of the new car price in 2014. As always, your mileage will vary depending on dealer or private buyer.

All specifications come with a space-saving spare tyre.

Nissan has updated its warranty recently, to bring it in-line with an ever-competitive batch of opponents.

That means five-years and unlimited kilometres of warranty coverage, up from three years. Nissan has a fairly transparent list of what is and is not covered on their warranty page.

You’ll need to service the Qashqai once a year or every 10,000km. Service prices are capped, costing between $226 and $435 which add up to a yearly average of $357 over the life of the warranty. You’ll also need to change brake fluid every 24 months at a cost of $32.

It adds up to an average-priced program. It would have been nice to see it cost a smidge less given the less complex nature of the engine.