Published:
20 April 2012Nissan offers 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre petrol models with the Qashqai, plus the more popular 1.5-litre, 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre diesels. Both 2.0-litre engines are very good. The 148bhp turbodiesel is quiet and has good low-end response yet revs well to 5500rpm. Power is delivered in the slightly constricted manner sometimes characteristic of diesels, which demands that you keep on sinking the accelerator to keep the revs climbing.
The latest oil-burners are more free-revving than this. So you must be quite deliberate with the throttle when moving off if you’re to avoid a sluggish getaway that disguises the substantial pull actually available. The 138bhp 2.0 petrol engine delivers a nice linear zing and both this and the 2.0 diesel get automatic gearboxes, plus a manual option for the petrol car.
Of the other engines, we’re generally fans of the 108bhp 1.5-litre diesel engine in its other Renault-Nissan applications but can’t help thinking that pulling the wrong side of 1400kg is asking quite a lot of it here. The 1.6 petrol engine, although smooth and quiet around town, feels strained on the motorway and would benefit from a sixth gear to improve refinement and economy. But there are no such problems with the stop-start system it can be mated to, which operates in the background without intrusion and delivers noticeable benefits to the headline economy and CO2 figures.
Most of the time, you won’t notice the difference between the 2WD and 4WD offered on the Qashqai. The X-Trail-derived 4WD system makes pulling away easier when it’s wet or worse, but in normal driving, the Qashqai is a 2WD car and feels it.
