Nissan Qashqai review

The Nissan Qashqai is the car credited with starting the seemingly unstoppable family SUV trend and most manufacturers you can name have followed its lead with a rival model.

For the Qashqai, that means hot competition and, to keep it fighting fit, Nissan has armed this third-generation car with up-to-date technology and engines while retaining the qualities that made it popular in the first place.

That's not all – the Qashqai recently received a mid-life update designed to sustain its popularity among the best family SUVs. The latest changes include styling tweaks inside and out, as well as upgrades to the infotainment system and improved refinement.

Nissan Qashqai video review

The question now is, does the Nissan Qashqai still rule its class or has a young pretender stolen its crown? Is it as comfortable as a Kia Sportage or Skoda Karoq or as fun to drive as a Seat Ateca? And can its top trim levels rival the premium-feel of the BMW X1 and Volvo XC40? Let's find out...

While there are three different engines available for the Nissan Qashqai, the entry-level 138bhp 1.3 DIG-T 140 mild-hybrid petrol is the one we’d go for. It has enough low-end muscle to drive around effortlessly in most situations, and while you’ll need to drop down a gear (on manual gearbox versions) to pass slower cars safely and get up to motorway speeds, you'll have enough oomph.

For a bit more power, you can upgrade to a more powerful 156bhp version. We achieved a 0-60mph time of 9.4 seconds, but it doesn’t feel noticeably faster than the entry-level version and we’re not sure it’s worth the extra investment. It does, though, add the option of four-wheel drive.

There's also the Qashqai e-Power, which has a 1.5-litre petrol engine that exists solely to charge a battery. The battery powers an electric motor that drives the front wheels, giving you instant electric car acceleration but without the need to plug it in to charge. With a 0-62mph sprint of 7.9 seconds, it’s by far the fastest Qashqai – and it feels it.

The Qashqai is available with wheels ranging from 17in to 20in, and the choice you make will have a big impact on ride comfort. We think the sweet spot is with the 18in wheels that come with our favourite N-Connecta trim. With those equipped, the suspension deals with scruffy surfaces at low speeds well and comfort isn’t far behind the Skoda Karoq.

We’d suggest avoiding the 19in and 20in wheels on the higher trims if comfort is important to you. With those larger wheels fitted, the Qashqai makes more of a fuss of bumps as they pass under the car, leading to a bit of fidget on faster roads.

If you go for N-Design, Tekna+ trim or equip the top-spec engine with optional four-wheel drive you get more sophisticated suspension that helps to mitigate the effect of the larger wheels.

Nissan would like us to believe that the Qashqai is fun to drive. We’re not convinced about that, and it's not as rewarding or capable as some rival family SUVs, including the Seat Ateca and Toyota C-HR.

There’s a healthy reserve of grip, but we’d like a slightly better sense of connection with the front wheels through the steering wheel to give more confidence. That would be helped by a bit more initial steering weight and the wheel returning naturally to centre more positively on the way out of faster corners. That said, the light steering works well around town.

While there's more body lean than in the Ateca, the Qashqai isn't wallowy, and there's a healthy reserve of grip when you need it.

Refinement is good for the most part, with the Qashqai producing very little wind and road noise, while all its engines are more muted than the Ateca and Karoq petrols when worked hard. Less impressive is the slight thump that the 19in and 20in wheels produce through potholes and sharper bumps – the 18in wheels are much better.

All versions except the e-Power get a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, and it's easy enough to use, giving a light yet positive change that makes it simple to find the right gear. The DIG-T 158 engine is also available with an automatic gearbox that's smooth and responsive enough for most driving situations.

The e-Power system has a couple of specific advantages, not just over other Qashqais but over many other hybrid cars. The electric motor doesn’t require a gearbox so you never need to worry about it hunting for gears like the hybrid Kia Sportage does when you put your foot down. Plus, the electric motor’s power delivery is consistently smooth and the engine remains hushed as it charges the battery.

“The optional automatic gearbox, called Xtronic, is smooth and I found it helps to contribute to impressive refinement.” – Will Nightingale, Reviews Editor

The driving position in the Nissan Qashqai is superb. The driver's seat is comfy, and lines up well with the pedals and steering wheel (which is height and reach adjustable). All versions except entry-level Acenta Premium have electrically adjustable lumbar support, while Tekna and Tekna+ models add full electric adjustment. The Tekna+ even has seat memory settings and a massage function.

You don’t sit as high up from the ground as you do in a Mazda CX-5 but the driving position is still appreciably more commanding than in a conventional hatchback – something most SUV fans will appreciate.

The dashboard includes chunky controls for the air-conditioning that are easy to find while you’re driving. If you go for N-Connecta trim or above, the 7in digital driver's display and analogue instrument dials are replaced with a 12.3in digital driver's display that's bright and easy to read. Tekna and Tekna+ get a head-up display that projects information higher up to keep your eyes looking ahead.

Seeing out of the front and sides of the Qashqai is relatively easy. Although the Skoda Karoq has even slimmer windscreen pillars, the Qashqai’s are still less obstructive than in many rivals, including a Mazda CX-5 and Renault Symbioz. The CX-5 and Ateca provide better rear visibility thanks to their generous rear glass areas.

Like many rivals, the Qashqai has a swept-up rear window line and wider rear pillars, which hamper the over-the-shoulder view. Luckily, parking isn’t too much of a challenge because every Qashqai gets rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera, while going for N-Connecta trim or above swaps that for a 360-degree bird’s eye view camera and adds front parking sensors.

All versions have LED headlights, and they're adaptive on N-Design, Tekna and Tekna+ trim and above, so you can leave them on high beam without dazzling other drivers.

Every Qashqai now comes with a new 12.3in infotainment touchscreen, which is a little more polished than its previous systems.

Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring are standard across the range, while all but the entry-level trim also come with Google Maps, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa built in, which means the sat-nav app and voice-command function are impressively easy and helpful to use.

The graphics (especially for the sat-nav map) are sharp but the menu lay-out is a little cluttered when looking for certain functions. It’s certainly one of the better systems from Nissan, but we still find the CX-5’s system a bit easier to use when driving because that car comes with a physical rotary controller.

The Qashqai’s interior looks smart and feels well put together compared with many of its mainstream rivals'.

Stitched faux-leather panels on the dashboard and doors give the ambience a welcome lift, there’s a big choice of ambient interior lighting colour on all but the entry-level trim, and most of the knobs, buttons and switches on the dashboard feel well-engineered.

The Karoq is just as good, while the Mazda CX-5 and Peugeot 3008 are slightly more upmarket inside (although the margins aren’t huge). If you want a family SUV with a notably plusher interior, have a look at the Range Rover Evoque and Volvo XC40.

“The Qashqai's front seats are comfortable enough for long journeys but I'd prefer a little more side bolstering to hold me in place better when cornering.” – Neil Winn, Deputy Reviews Editor

There’s decent space for adults in the front of the Nissan Qashqai, with more than enough leg room and enough head room for six-footers to sit in comfort. That’s true even if you go for models with a panoramic glass roof (standard on N-Design and Tekna), which eats into head room a bit.

The interior is a good width, meaning that even a pair of broad rugby players won’t need to worry about constantly rubbing shoulders.

Storage wise, you’ll find a reasonable-sized glovebox, a cubby beneath the front centre armrest and two cupholders. The front door bins are not particularly generous though.

Getting in and out of the Qashqai's back seats is easy thanks to rear doors that open really wide. That's also a blessing if you’re putting kids in child seats.

The rear seats are reasonably roomy by family SUV standards. Two six-footers will fit just fine, with good head room (especially if you avoid versions with a panoramic roof) and a fair amount of knee room and foot space for the two outer passengers. You sit closer to the ground than in a Mazda CX-5 so your legs feel a little more bunched up against the front seat, but it won’t cause any major discomfort for six-footers.

Three tall adults will find it more of a squeeze and the raised centre seat means there's less head room for the middle passenger. There’s also a wide hump in the middle of the floor, but the same can be said of many family SUVs. The Qashqai is more accommodating than a Renault Symbioz but the Kia Sportage, Seat Ateca and Skoda Karoq are better for three adults in the back.

The Qashqai's rear seatbacks fold down in a traditional 60/40 split rather than the more versatile 40/20/40 split offered by the Audi Q3 and Mazda CX-5.

The seats don’t do anything else clever, such as sliding back and forth or reclining. Some versions of the Skoda Karoq offer those features, and even let you remove the rear seats.

There are no handles in the Qashqai's boot to release the rear seatbacks, which you do get with some rivals, including the Seat Ateca. You have to open each rear door to access a release catch on top of the seatback then haul it forwards yourself.

Boot space depends on which trim level you go for, with the Acenta Premium giving you 504 litres, N-Connecta and Tekna 479 litres and the others 455 litres. That makes the largest boot slightly smaller than the Ateca’s and around 20 litres shy of the Karoq.

We managed to fit seven carry-on suitcases below the parcel shelf of the smallest Qashqai boot. That matches the Symbioz but is one less than the Ateca and CX-5, and two behind the Karoq.

The boot has a false floor with carpet on one side and a wipe-clean surface on the other – handy if you're throwing in some muddy boots. The floor is in two sections, and you can slot it vertically across the centre of the boot to create a divider to stop your shopping sliding around.

“The Tekna+ loses some boot space due to its upgraded Bose stereo system, so I'd bear that in mind when deciding between the higher trims (and avoid it on the options list if you need more boot space).” – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

Broadly speaking, the two mild-hybrid Nissan Qashqais are priced in line with the Kia Sportage, Mazda CX-5, Seat Ateca and Skoda Karoq. Opting for the e-Power version adds a small premium but the entry-level e-Power still costs about the same as a Sportage hybrid in its cheapest trim.

When it comes to running costs, the DIG-T 158 averaged 36.9mpg – a hardly outstanding figure that was beaten by a CX-5 e-Skyactiv G achieving 38mpg on the same day. The e-Power’s hybrid system will officially manage up to 53.3mpg.

If you’re hunting for a company car that attracts low BIK tax bills, we’d suggest looking at a plug-in hybrid such as the Hyundai Tucson or Kia Sportage or, if your lifestyle allows, an electric SUV such as the Skoda Enyaq.

Entry-level Acenta Premium is pretty well equipped, coming with keyless ignition, dual-zone climate control, automatic windscreen wipers and automatic LED headlights.

Even so, we think that N-Connecta is the one to go for. As well as 18in wheels and extra visibility aids you also get wireless charging, rear privacy glass, ambient interior lighting and other kit.

Above that, N-Design, Tekna and Tekna+ all bring lots of extra equipment, including even larger wheels, an electric tailgate, a head-up display, a heated steering wheel and heated seats, but they’re all a little too expensive to recommend.

In the 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey the Qashqai performed pretty well against its peers in the family SUV table, finishing within the top half of the rankings, but below the Kia Sportage and Volvo XC40.

Nissan as a brand didn’t perform anywhere near as well, claiming 28th place out of the 31 included manufacturers. That places it below Citroen, Hyundai, Kia, Volvo, Skoda, Ford and Seat.

In case things do go wrong, Nissan offers a three-year, 60,000-mile standard warranty. That's similar to most rivals, but Hyundai, Kia and Toyota all offer longer warranties.

An earlier version of the Qashqai scored five stars out of five when it was appraised for safety by Euro NCAP in 2021. The model did well at protecting adults and children, scoring highly in all areas, but the tests were less stringent that they are today.

There’s plenty of standard safety kit, with even entry-level Acenta Premium models coming with automatic emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring, driver attention alert, traffic-sign recognition, lane-keeping assistance and e-Call emergency response.

If you go for the e-Power or the more expensive Tekna or Tekna+ trims, you get Nissan’s ProPilot driver assistance system. That adds a self-steering function that allows the Qashqai to keep itself in the centre of a lane on motorways and dual carriageways (you must keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times). When paired with an automatic gearbox it uses software from the sat-nav to anticipate the speed you should be going and adjust it for you.

"Our preferred N-Connecta trim comes with a good amount of kit for the money but I feel it’s a shame you can’t have heated front seats as an option." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here