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Damien O’Carroll finds that the Nissan Qashqai TI easily makes the case for more specification being better than less. In its basic ST specification the Nissan Qashqai is a pleasant enough car. It has a nice ride, competent handling, decent looking, great seats and seating position. But it’s not exceptional. It looks a little funny on its weedy 16” steel wheels and you don't get much interior fruit, but throw its price into the equation ($35,900) and it starts looking very attractive indeed to the fleet market. Here's the thing though; throw another $4,000 at the Qashqai to get the up-spec Ti model and you get a car that has gone from being quite pleasant to being quite desirable. So what exactly does the extra 4K get you that transform this car? On the outside it gets 18” alloys, xenon headlights and front fog lamps. Now this may not sound like much, but the alloys have a startling effect on the car. Looking far sexier than factory-offered alloys have a right to, the 18s make the Qashqai a far more cohesive looking package, improving the already handsome car immensely. Most especially if it is painted in red or white. But it is inside where the real improvement of your overall impression of the Qashqai takes place. The “luxury cloth seat trim” may sound like some kind of odd marketing oxymoron, but is actually a fine and accurate description of the Qashqai's interior lining, which takes it from “pleasant, but basic” to “actually quite nice indeed” while the addition of a panoramic glass roof lightens things up and adds a open and airy feeling. A 6-disc CD player (with auxiliary input), leather steering wheel (with cruise, audio, phone and trip computer controls), keyless entry, rain sensing wipers and automatic headlights round out the package and all add to the impression that the Qashqai Ti is more than a couple of notches above it's lesser sibling. Out on the road it is business as usual, with the more-than-merely-decent handling and the larger wheels not having a noticeably detrimental effect on the ride. The 2-litre petrol four-cylinder engine gets the job done easily enough and is rarely intrusive. The Qashqai's downside appears in the form of its CVT transmission. While better than most, it still causes the engine to become thrash-y and slightly intrusive when you nail the throttle and the revs soar. CVT boxes have improved massively from when they were first introduced, but I personally still don't think the improvement in economy they offer makes up for the reduction in performance and their sheer annoyance. If Nissan NZ would give us a Qashqai with a manual transmission and the excellent diesel engine that is available in Europe, then I personally would be very happy indeed. But then nobody in this country would buy it. So they probably won't bother. Still, that said, the Qashqai Ti represents excellent value for money as far as being a comfortable, stylish, refined, capable and flexible all-rounder. And it is by far and away the best looking of the new breed of crossover SUV-like front-wheel-drivers that are sprouting up all over the place. Specifications: |
Lap/diagonal belts 5 Through Life Cost Report The Through Life Cost Model is used for illustrative and indicative purposes only. StratCon Partnership Limited and Adrenalin Publishing Limited accept no responsibility or liability should any costs indicated in the Through Life Cost Model change from those published. All residual values are based on an average of values achieved through Turners Auctions Limited sales for the previous 3 months from issue date. |
