NISSAN’S QASHQAI CROSSOVER has come in for some attention. Almost fifteen years of sales have enabled Nissan’s design and engineering teams to gather the feedback of millions of customers and ensure the latest generation Qashqai is the most user-focused and uncompromising to date.
Advanced Nissan Intelligent Mobility technologies are at the driver’s fingertips, with comfort and quality in every touch. New premium materials, smart features and considered detailing enhance a cabin that delivers cutting-edge design and practicality in every dimension.
Matthew Weaver, Vice President, Nissan Design Europe, said: “The new Nissan Qashqai is the perfect intersection of expressive design and customer expectation. Their needs inform our focus, and our bold statements meet their highest expectations. With this next generation model we have elevated the Qashqai to a new level in offering a premium yet practical, luxurious yet accessible, and advanced yet usable environment that will set the standard for others to follow.”
More tactile
New seat materials create an inviting and sumptuous cabin. A new Nappa leather design takes 25 days to produce and more than 60 minutes to embroider the new 3D diamond quilted design.
Adding a touch of luxury, a massage seat function with three program modes is introduced on range-topping versions for both front seats, with settings conveniently adjusted via the NissanConnect system. Creating a reassuring and calming environment, new white ambient lighting is used throughout the cabin, with its uniformity giving a premium and harmonious impression.
Extensive attention has been paid to the ergonomic and aesthetic quality of the switch gear and buttons with a high quality, tactile feel giving users a sense of confidence and the refinement.
The centre console layout has been optimised through a collaboration between Nissan’s designers and engineers for both ergonomics and usability. Central to it is a smart new smaller gear selector for automatic versions.
On 4WD versions, a drive mode selector switch has been styled with a matt chrome ring and piano black finish, giving drivers a tactile portal to the various driving modes.
“Between the design, engineering and product planning functions, we have worked harder than ever to elevate the ambience for our customers so their drive is comfortable, refined, convenient and engenders a feeling of well-being. It’s where our customers, their families and friends will be spending their time with the car and it should be an exceptional experience,” said Marco Fioravanti, Vice President, Product Planning, Nissan Automotive Europe.
Connected control
The new Qashqai offers an advanced infotainment system with a class-leading portfolio of connected services including effortless integration of smartphones, In-Car Wi-Fi for up to seven devices and NissanConnect Services, a dedicated app to control and monitor the vehicle.
The larger, higher resolution 9-inch NissanConnect display screen is a digital gateway to navigation, entertainment and vehicle settings, and is compatible with both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, with wireless Apple CarPlay also introduced. Multiple user profiles with memory settings allow navigation, music and system preferences to be tailored to each driver.
Whether DAB radio or streamed from smart phone, outstanding audio reproduction is assured thanks to the Bose Premium sound system. It features 10 speakers plus Bose’s Acoustimass bass box located in the boot for a crisp, powerful sound which has been tuned for optimal acoustic quality for all occupants, not just those in the front seats.
A new high-definition, fully electronic 12.3-inch TFT multi-information screen offers a choice of configurable layouts to display navigation, entertainment, traffic or vehicle information, all controlled from a new tactile dial switch on the steering wheel. A traditional “Kiriko” cut glass texture is also added to the TFT’s digital background – a nod to Nissan’s Japanese DNA.
An innovative new 10.8-inch Head-Up Display (HUD) provides the biggest-in-segment image size. Key navigation, driver assistance and road information are projected onto the windscreen within the driver’s line of vision, allowing drivers to maintain their focus on the road for more comfort and confidence at the wheel.
Home-to-Car skills are compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa devices, with Alexa functionality introduced for the third generation Qashqai. The system supports a wide range of commands, including the ability for drivers to send destinations to the car’s navigation by talking to their smart device, minimising the time required to input the destination.
Through the NissanConnect smartphone app, vehicle control functions are available such as remote horn and lights, as well as remote door lock and unlock. Smart alerts can also be set including speed, time and zone with app notifications should the vehicle exceed the set parameters.
Introduced for new Qashqai are Vehicle Health reports, viewable through the app, which inform users if their vehicle requires urgent maintenance and provides live performance evaluation and any malfunction alerts.
Driving history and analysis is also available through the app, so users can see past trips summarised in distance driven and time spent.
If not using their phone’s navigation, drivers can access TomTom 3D Maps & Live Traffic which includes advanced navigation features such as over-the-air map updates, real-time traffic conditions, Google Street View, speed camera locations and fuel prices. Door-to-door navigation is also available through the app including a My Car Finder function.
Stolen Vehicle Tracking is introduced for new Qashqai. This service provides a 24/7 contact with police and third-party customer services, with automatic theft notification through the NissanConnect smartphone app, allowing vehicles to be tracked and recovered.
An in-car button, accessed via the NissanConnect display screen, allows customers to contact a 24/7 assistance provider to put them in contact with the nearest breakdown and towing services. Unlike eCall, the system is not automatically triggered by an accident.
In a first for the Qashqai, a front storage console provides convenient 15W wireless charging for smartphones – among the most powerful in the segment – and accommodating even the largest dimensions of devices, including the recently-launched Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Connectivity extends to all occupants with the console box now offering front and rear USB charging connections with both USB-A and USB-C ports.
Further reflecting the model’s Japanese DNA, the information sounds of the new Qashqai, for example the seatbelt reminder and turn signals, were developed in collaboration with Japanese video game developer and publisher Bandai Namco. The sounds have been developed to be more harmonious, with a melodic dual tone signature.
“We’ve introduced a high level of connectivity to the new Qashqai which will allow our customers to monitor their car, communicate with it and be reassured by it via their home assistant devices or smartphones. But, at the heart of these new features is convenience and ease of use for our customers,” said Gareth Dunsmore, Vice President, Brand and Customer Experience, Nissan Automotive Europe.
Improved comfort
The new Qashqai continues to give drivers a commanding sense of their environment with improved forward, side and rear visibility. Enhancements include a wider windscreen opening angle, thinner front pillar design and side mirrors mounted on the door, instead of the a-pillar, reducing zones of obscured visibility.
The longer wheelbase of the new Qashqai combines with efficient packaging to create even more room for users. Knee room for rear occupants has grown by 28mm to 608mm, with more distance created between driver and front passenger. Front and rear headroom has increased by 15mm thanks to the small increase in exterior dimensions.
Improved seat height and lateral adjustment can now comfortably accommodate a wider range of physiques than ever before, from adults of 145cm to 192cm in height. A front seat cushion tilt on the highest-grade Qashqai also creates even more customisable comfort.
Aiding confidence whilst dynamic driving, the seat back and cushion shape have been improved for better lateral support, with the bolster angle also improved.
Ensuring multiple users can quickly find their most comfortable seat setting, a memory seat function is now available on the top grade to store two different seat positions for both front seats.
Delivering comfort on any journey, Nissan’s NASA-inspired ‘zero-gravity’ seats, which debuted on the previous generation Qashqai, are the result of extensive testing on both track and road to ensure optimal posture and reduced fatigue for all passengers on long or short journeys.
A new steering wheel heater option also provides added well-being during the winter months.
Enhanced practicality
More elevated in terms of ambience yet just as practical, the new Qashqai welcomes the daily demands of customers needing to transport everything from pushchairs to groceries.
A powered hands-free tailgate makes accessing the boot effortless when hands are anything but free. Overall luggage capacity has increased by 74-litres from the previous generation model thanks in part to the cargo floor being lowered by 20mm as a consequence of the improved packaging of the rear suspension.
Popular features of its predecessor, for example the side storage compartments over the wheel arches and the Flexible Luggage Board System remain, are carried over and enhanced for the new model, with reshaped boards, as well as durable carpet on one side and wipe-clean plastic on the other.
For easier loading in low light conditions, there’s now dual lighting in the luggage area providing better illumination. A 12v socket has also been installed in the rear for powering devices such as electric cool boxes for camping trips.
Even storage in the main cabin has been refined to enhance usability. The two front cup holders are spaced further apart, improving storage and making smaller cups easier to remove, and the door pockets can now hold up to 1.5-litre bottles, compared to just 500ml on the previous generation Qashqai.
Refinements to the ergonomic design of the doorways mean new Qashqai is also easier for ingress and egress than previous generations, particularly evident in restricted spaces such as multi-storey car parks.
Taken all together, from the array of easy-to-use smartphone-based app features, the comfort and convenience of massage seats and a heated steering wheel, the elevated fit, finish and materials, to the extra occupant and storage space, the new Qashqai will, again, extend what customers can expect from a medium-sized crossover. The third generation of Nissan’s pioneering, trend-setting vehicle will offer a life on board experience which will be as comforting, cosseting and convenient for the occupants, at the start of their journey just as it will be at the end.
Australian specifications are yet to be announced