The Qashqai has been designed to be practical. Starting with passenger space, it’s 32mm longer and 35mm wider on the outside than the old model, which means there’s more room for the driver and passengers. You get ample stowage areas in the passenger compartment as well as a generous complement of USB charging points.
Up front, there’s enough head and legroom for six-footers, as you’d expect for a car with a high roofline like this. There’s now 28mm more shoulder space between the front passengers, 20mm more kneeroom for rear seat passengers, bigger cupholders, and larger storage space for phones compared with the old model.
In the back, there’s an acceptable amount of room for a car in this class, but we’d feel happier with two, rather than three, people back there. It’s a great car for parents, especially those with child seats because the doors open to 85 degrees, making getting in and out really simple. We’ve tested it with six-footers in the rear, and we heard no complaints – but if you want the best room in this type of family car, we’d recommend the Skoda Karoq, SEAT Ateca and Volkswagen Tiguan.
The boot has 504 litres’ worth of space. It comes with the highly-configurable Flexible Luggage Board System, which offers a variety of depths as well as an in-built divider. It’s good for fitting in tall objects, while the parcel shelf can fit underneath the boot floor.
A powered tailgate is available, with the increasingly common option of being able to ‘kick’ it open, hands-free, with a wave of your foot under the rear bumper.
In the cabin, you get a generously-sized glovebox, a spacious cubbyhole under armrest in the centre console between the seats and the pair of obligatory cupholders.
The Qashqai isn’t much longer and wider than a typical hatchback such as a Volkswagen Golf, so that makes it easier to park than you might imagine. It’s easy to manoeuvre in and out of parking spaces thanks to a tight turning circle and ample visibility, as well as front and rear parking sensors and cameras available on all but the entry-level Visia model.
Once you’re out of town, the Qashqai is easy to place, and squeeze through gaps thanks to its responsive steering and upright driving position.
Safety
Five star rating from Euro NCAP
Scores particularly well in safety tech
State-of-the art adaptive cruise control system
The Nissan Qashqai scored a full five out of five from Euro NCAP. The test organisation said it performed particularly well in its safety assist tests.
This is because as standard, the Qashqai comes with automatic emergency braking (AEB), blindspot monitoring, traffic sign recognition, and a driver attention alert system that reminds you to take a break if the car detects your driver is dropping off, or you’ve been driving too long.
The brilliant ProPilot+ system with head-up display is reserved as part of the Tech packs available on the Tekna and N-Connects models, and it’s well worth the outlay. This system helps with motorway driving by assisting steering function at speed, as long as you keep your hands on the wheel. Don’t think that it’s an autonomous system – you need to keep watching the road. If you don’t want to go all the way, lane-keeping assistance is available too.
Basic equipment
The basic equipment list includes equipment that is standard across all versions of the Nissan Qashqai SUV.
3x3 point rear seat belts
ABS
Alarm
Audio remote
CD
Driver`s airbag
Electric mirrors
Front electric windows
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Isofix child seat anchor points
Parking sensors
PAS
Passenger`s airbag
Rear electric windows
Remote locking
Side airbags
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
Equipment by trim level
To view equipment options for a specific trim level, please select from the following list:
Equipment included on some trim levels
Air conditioning
Alloy wheels
Body coloured bumpers
Climate control
Cloth seat trim
Cruise control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric passenger`s seat
Electric sunroof
Folding rear seats
Front fog lights
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Lumbar support
Metallic Paint
Partial leather seat trim
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Service indicator
Sports seats
Steel wheels
Traction control
Acenta Premium equipment
Acenta Premium standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Cloth seat trim
Lumbar support
Acenta Premium optional equipment
Folding rear seats
Roof rails
N-Connecta equipment
N-Connecta standard equipment
Cloth seat trim
Lumbar support
Sat Nav
N-Connecta optional equipment
Folding rear seats
Roof rails
Premiere Edition equipment
Premiere Edition standard equipment
Cloth seat trim
Folding rear seats
Lumbar support
Metallic Paint
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Premiere Edition optional equipment
Alloy wheels
Body coloured bumpers
Climate control
Cruise control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric sunroof
Front fog lights
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Partial leather seat trim
Service indicator
Sports seats
Traction control
Tekna equipment
Tekna standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Electric driver`s seat
Heated seats
Lumbar support
Partial leather seat trim
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Tekna optional equipment
Folding rear seats
Tekna+ equipment
Tekna+ standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Electric driver`s seat
Electric passenger`s seat
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Lumbar support
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Tekna+ optional equipment
Folding rear seats
Visia equipment
Visia standard equipment
Air conditioning
Cloth seat trim
Folding rear seats
Steel wheels
Visia optional equipment
None available
Euro NCAP Rating – 5 stars
The Nissan Qashqai SUV was tested by Euro NCAP in 2021 and was awarded a 5 star overall rating.
This overall rating is calculated from the following individual ratings:
Euro NCAP provides motoring consumers with a realistic and independent assessment of the safety performance of some of the most popular cars sold in Europe.
The safety ratings are determined from a series of vehicle tests, designed and carried out by Euro NCAP.
These tests represent, in a simplified way, important real life accident scenarios that could result in injured or killed car occupants or other road users.