UK journalists were flown to Malaga this week to try the latest engine to be slotted into the Qashqai – the 1.6dCi.
A plane full of the UK’s media – including representatives from Auto Express, Parkers and Autoblog – made the trip to Spain and were treated to a full ‘Nissan Live’ experience.
Nissan had taken over a large section of the airport and when the journalists arrived they were treated to a press presentation on a giant screen from the comfort of the new Qashqais.
The press presentation was given inside the cars on a giant screen
Test drives followed and a series of activities took place during the day. The first was a demonstration of the Juke’s four-wheel drive system, torque vectoring control, on a karting track.
GT Academy winner Lucas Ordonez – the man that went from playing a PlayStation to racing at Le Mans thanks to Nissan – was on hand to give the journalists instruction.
And their exploits were caught on the flying Skybot camera, which you can see in our video. Many journalists utilised the free video team’s expertise at the event to create their own features about the new engine.
In the evening, the journalists were treated to the world premiere of the GT-R powered Juke R with many grabbing the chance to sit behind the wheel and poke around under the bonnet.
They were impressed by the fit and finish of the compact supercar and most asked when they would be allowed to drive it!
Demonstrations of the new Around View monitor, now an option in the Qashqai, took place on the beach. The system uses four cameras to create a 360 degree bird’s eye view of the car to help with parking.
One test of the system was in a car with the windows completely covered and the motoring writers had to use the system’s display to navigate a slalom. Most completed it with ease…
Overall the new 1.6dCi engine was very well received. The improved fuel economy and emissions were hailed as a success with many applauding the driveability the engine retained.
Expect to see reports from the event in the motoring press in the next week.
