Qashqai to come Down Under

It might look like a replacement for the X-Trail, but Nissan says its all-new Qashqai (pronounced 'kash ky') is a new class of vehicle. And that it’s almost certain to come Down Under.

Unveiled by Nissan and Renault chief Carlos Ghosn in Paris last week and set for its first public showing at the Paris Motor Show later this month (for more click

The first fruit of Nissan Design Europe, the Qashqai was inspired by the concept car of the same name unveiled at the 2004 Geneva Motor Show. Its development was led by the Cranfield (UK) based Nissan Technical Centre Europe. The vehicle will be produced in England.

Nissan terms the vehicle a crossover. “In terms of design, the top half of Qashqai is reminiscent of a dynamic passenger car… The lower portion of the car suggests SUV attributes,” the company says.

Described by Nissan’s Australia spokesperson, Lenore Fletcher, as combining the “space and zippiness of C-segment hatch and the versatility of an SUV,” the Qashqai is smaller than the X-Trail. Rather than replace the softroader, locally the Qashqai would likely sell alongside it.

According to Fletcher, Nissan Australia is “very keen” to secure the vehicle for the local market.

“We currently compete in around 45 per cent of the Australian market and we have stated that we need to increase our model range to include offerings across 70 per cent,” Fletcher told CarPoint. “The Qashqai is very definitely one of the vehicles we’re targeting to help achieve this.”

Nissan will offer four engine options in European-model Qashqais: 1.6 and 2.0-litre petrols and 1.5 and 2.0-litre turbodiesels. Only the 105kW/200Nm 2.0-litre is certain for Australia, however, the growth in popularity of oilers could see the muscular 110kWs/320Nm 2.0-litre turbodiesel in the mix.

Although manual transmission options are offered in Europe, expect local models to run eitherNissan’s new conventional six-speed automatic or a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) with manual mode.

Tariffs make it unlikely Nissan will import front-wheel drive variants of the Qashqai. The all-wheel drive variant features Nissan’s ALL-MODE 4x4 set-up.

The term C-segment (see above) refers to Corolla/Astra-sized vehicles. 

In terms of actual dimensions, at 4310mm long the Qashqai is 200mm shorter than the X-Trail (4570mm) and 105mm longer than the Tiida hatch. It rides on a wheelbase near-identical to the softroader’s at 2630mm, but is 35mm wider and 65mm shorter.