The Nissan Qashqai has hit the headlines for all the right reasons recently – with Auto Express and The Sun newspaper both singing its praises.
Both titles have recently published positive reviews of current versions of the car equipped with Nissan’s latest e-POWER technology – and the comments could hardly be more complimentary.
Auto Express even described Qashqai with new e-POWER as ‘one of the most complete family cars money can buy’. Praise indeed!
Writing on the Auto Express website, journalist Alex Ingram said: ‘‘We were quietly impressed with the Nissan Qashqai when it first launched, but we weren’t exactly overflowing with praise, either.
‘‘That all changes with this revised e-POWER. Smooth, responsive, refined and – most importantly – impressively efficient, it’s one of the best hybrid powertrains money can buy. Throw in some minor tweaks to the much-improved infotainment set-up that was introduced last year, and, with this engine, the Qashqai feels like the complete family car.’’
Ingram said the latest version of Nissan’s e-POWER technology ‘‘seriously impressed’’ the road-testers at Auto Express.
He added: ‘‘Perhaps most important of all, however, is that the new powertrain is able to deliver impressive fuel consumption. For a car in this class, it’s very impressive.
More responsive
‘‘Further financial savings come at service time, because this new e-POWER has 12,000-mile intervals – up from the previous 9,000 miles.
‘‘Elsewhere, the Qashqai retains all of its previous strong points. It’s towards the comfier side of the class when it comes to ride and handling, although it still feels a little more responsive than many of its rivals through turns.
‘‘Ergonomically, the interior is hard to fault. Big, physical controls for the air-conditioning are a huge plus, and a Google-based infotainment system, introduced during last year’s mid-life facelift, is miles better than the tech that the Qashqai launched with. More recent software updates have refined this system further.’’
Over at The Sun, well-known motoring writer Rob Gill heaped plenty of praise on the car. He observed that the latest version of Qashqai ‘‘doesn’t look any different on the outside’’.
But he added: ‘‘It’s been thoroughly reworked inside. Like going to a detox retreat and coming out the best version of itself. More MPG. More oomph. Less weight. Less noise. Less CO2.’’
And importantly, he pointed out that none of the extra costs involved in making these improvements would be passed on to the consumer.
Moving on to the key issue of Nissan’s latest e-POWER system, Gill observed: ‘‘Owners get the smoothness of an electric car, with diesel-like economy, and no faffing about with a plug.’’
Better all round
He continued: ‘‘The updated version we’ve just tested, let’s call it e-POWER V3, features a five-in-one powertrain (electric motor, generator, inverter, increaser and reducer) that’s smaller, more efficient and just better all round.
‘‘We averaged 52mpg over 1,000 miles on a mix of motorway, B-roads and town driving.’’
In conclusion, he said: ‘‘Qashqai with e-POWER V3 is a smooth, efficient stress-free family motor that’ll see you through to 2035 and beyond.’’