The front seats are comfortable, offering good support, and in the rear, a six-foot tall passenger can sit behind a driver of similar dimensions if they don’t mind pushing their knees into the padded seat back a little. Headroom is also manageable, but the middle berth in the back will be a squeeze thanks to the raised seat base cushion and the hump in the floor where your feet need to go.
Like so much about the Qashqai, the 504-litre boot is competitive for the class. There’s a bit of a load lip in that configuration, but the luggage boards on higher spec cars deliver a flat floor with a compartment beneath and a 479-litre capacity. You can also mount the boards vertically to segment the boot area, which is a nice touch if you need to stop your shopping getting crushed. Fold the rear seats down and there’s 1,447 litres to play with.
The Nissan Qashqai retains its relatively broad trim level range with Acenta Premium, N-Connecta, N-Design, Tekna and Tekna+ variants for buyers to consider. However, the old Visa trim level is gone, pushing the starting price north.
Prices now open at just over £30,000, and all cars all get the 12.3” infotainment touchscreen. Base Acenta Premium models don’t have the new Google-powered features, and make do with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, while higher spec models offer wireless connections. They also miss out on all the body-coloured exterior trim, rendering the Qashqai’s new look less effective as a result.
The £2,000 premium for an upgrade to N-Connecta trim feels worthwhile. You get the improved Around View Monitor system, ambient lighting and a wireless charging pad, among other things, but the exterior trim is only partially body-coloured. You’ll have to find another £2,500 for an N-Design if you want full body-colouring on the lower bumpers, and this also adds LED lights with 20-inch wheels. For the same price as the N-Design, Tekna models forgo some of the styling add-ons but get the full suite of ProPilot driver assistance tech, a head-up display, and a lot more besides.
Tekna+ is the height of mid-size SUV luxury with quilted, massaging leather seats and a Bose stereo. Unfortunately, it’s £4k more than a Tekna, which feels a bit rich in our opinion. N-Connecta is a good value pick in our eyes, unless you really want to make a statement with the sharpened looks of the N-Design.
Model: | Nissan Qashqai N-Design e-Power |
Price: | £39,620 |
Engine: | 1.5-litre 3cyl petrol, 1 x e-motor |
Power/torque: | 187bhp/330Nm |
Transmission: | Single speed, front-wheel drive |
0-62mph: | 7.9 seconds |
Top speed: | 105mph |
MPG/CO2: | 54.3mpg/117g/km |
On sale: | Now |