2019 Nissan Qashqai SL AWD PlatinumJonathan Yarkony OVERVIEW Small and simple, a good little crossover on a budget PROSEasy to drive, all the latest driving safety tech CONSFuel consumption was strangely high despite being underpowered and slow VALUE FOR MONEYPretty good unless you load it up WHAT TO CHANGE?Make ProPilot Assist available on SV trim HOW TO SPEC IT?SL AWD I hope you can forgive me for thinking that with a weird name like Qashqai and the established Rogue across the showroom, Nissans mid-compact crossover wouldnt set the Canadian sales charts on fire, but hey, nobody bats 100 per cent. Instead, Nissan sold almost 10,000 Qashqais in its first half year, and then almost 20,000 in its first full year on the market last year and is poised to do so again this year. And it hasnt come at the expense of the Rogue, which might be down a couple thousand, but its getting old anyway, so that was bound to happen. Not only that, but the smaller Kicks has chipped in nicely, replacing the Jukes ugly face in showrooms and greatly surpassing its volume in the sales charts.Anyhow, it was that success of the Qashqai that prompted me to pick up the phone and book one. Ive been impressed by the Rogue since this generation gifted it with passable driving manners and superb practicality and efficiency, so I wanted to see for myself if the Qashqai was a bona fide Rogue Junior, ably fulfilling family duties while providing economical and easy commuting. Well, Im happy to report that it succeeds in the practicality department, but is something of a disappointment on the efficiency side. As its efficiency is my biggest complaint, Ill start with that. Weighing in at over 1,500 kilograms, its not particularly light for a car this small and it has a meagre 141 horsepower and 147 lb.-ft. of torque. On top of that, the CVT and throttle do it no favours when getting going, feeling slow and lazy, which in yours truly prompted heavier and heavier applications of throttle, whipping that poor little 2.0L four cylinder into a frenzy of whining and groaning, without much in the way of improved acceleration. While it may not have yielded superior acceleration, the aggressive throttle certainly kicked back plenty of fuel, ending my week at a whopping 12.5 litres per 100 km. Now, in its defense, it was during colder weather, and I do tend to drive aggressively, but in comparable vehicles like the Subaru Crosstrek or Hyundai Tucson, Ive easily had my efficiency under 10 L/100 km, which is what I would expect from the Qashqai considering it is rated at 9.1 L/100 km city, 7.6 hwy, and 8.4 combined by Natural Resources Canada. 12.5 is what I typically see from midsize SUVs like the Mazda CX-9 or Kia Sorento. As ever, though, driving habits are king, and you may find your fuel consumption more reasonable if you learn to to live with its lack of pace in your daily commute.If you can accept that one large hurdle, the rest should be much to your liking. Its a perfectly acceptable daily driver, the CVT making the driving experience smooth, all-wheel drive standard on our SV trim to get you through the winter, and a well-sorted suspension that offers impressive comfort despite 19-inch rims and decent handling for a small crossover. Its the kind of quiet, forgettable drive that allows you to enjoy your tunes or podcasts on the way into the office. The SV trim also brings peace of mind to the commute with a whole array of driver safety aids, Nissans ProPilot assist providing a more proactive approach to the virtual safety bubble around your car. Even without the intelligent cruise control set to match speeds, with the ProPilot suite on the Qashqai will prompt just a hint of braking or throttle cutoff when encroaching on another vehicles personal space control freaks would likely hate this, but day dreamers will appreciate this early intervention so its not a sudden alarming, blaring beep and lockup braking, just to avoid stuffing into someones rear bumper. Its size is at the very smallest end of the proper compact crossover pool, smaller even than the Mazda CX-5 and Hyundai Tucson, but larger than most subcompact crossovers like the Honda HR-V, Chevy Trax and Nissans own Kicks. Its closest competitors would be the Jeep Compass and Subaru Crosstrek, and while space is a bit tight in the back seat, its plenty spacious enough for kids and easy to get in and out of. Although cargo space is not massive, the standard Divide-n-Hide cargo organizer makes the most of the space allowing a lower floor in standard five-seat configuration with 648 litres or a flat load floor with the 60/40 split rear seats folded yielding 1,730 L. On top of that, the two panels double as cargo walls to keep various items separate or as a cover for hidden storage if you find the standard cargo cover insufficient to keep belongings safe from prying eyes. Its not earth-shattering, but its a little thing that becomes very useful in
Origin: SUV Review: 2019 Nissan Qashqai