New Nissan Qashqai – Third generation with major overhauls to both interior, exterior and drivelines
The Qashqai has been the backbone of Nissan. One of the first to adopt to the then new crossover lifestyle, the Qashqai quickly became a top selling model. Now, with dwindling sales numbers thanks to the second generation ending its production life and other car manufacturers honing in on making a competitive product, it was time for Nissan to NEXT, Nissan´s transformation plan, the Qashqai. They were also kind enough to let me have a look at it in real life.
Nissan is not only revamping the Qashqai, they are slowly revamping their whole lineup, and from the looks of it, it seems that the design language from the Ariya will trickle down to almost every Nissan model. The new Qashqai looks mature than before, while still getting the now standard addition of lines, creases and thinner lights. Interestingly, the launch color looks awfully similar to the launch color of the second generation.
Where most of the changes have been done is the interior. To put it bluntly, and since I have not actually tested the last generation Qashqai, the middle console, and the interior in general has not aged well. In contrast, the new Qashqai looks almost like a completely new car. Although, the swooping passenger glovebox-area and the parallelogram looking air vents give some hints to the past. Sitting in it feels quite premium and I especially like the steering wheel. It is also nice to see a well-designed optional digital gauge cluster, the standard one Is still analog, and a big plus with the dial controls for the AC.
There are three engine options, all of which use some sort of hybrid system:
- 140 hp – 240 Nm – Manual – 2WD.
- 158 hp – 270 Nm – Automatic Xtronic – Both 2WD and 4WD.
- Both based on a 1.3 L engine with 12V technology – Electric oil pump helps with shifting and during quick acceleration.
New E-Power engine option.
- 190 hp – 330 Nm – Automatic – 2WD.
- Electric engine powers the wheels with a three cylinder petrol engine used as generator to fill a battery.
- Claimed consumption is 5,4-5,6 L/100 km.
No full hybrid or fully electric options have been announced or hinted at, which is odd since Nissan has a long experience with electric vehicles. The problem I see is not that they have hybrid options, but the CO2 emissions. Here in Sweden, if your combined emission is over around 90 g, for every car, you pay a fine according to some equation, and all of engine options let out 120 g or more. Each year this CO2 limit gets even tighter, and since the Qashqai is the bread and butter for Nissan, they better come out with a pure EV option soon.
No price have been announced, but the new Qashqai will see dealers sometime in the lesser part of 2021.