Long-term report: The Nissan Qashqai goes day-tripping

A trip to a theme park wasn’t really on my to-do list as I approached a landmark birthday recently.

But after some gentle persuasion from one of my grown-up daughters, I agreed to the idea.

And so it was that she and I found ourselves trekking round the M25 in the Nissan Qashqai we have on loan at work at the moment – for a day out at Thorpe Park in Surrey.

Motorway driving – even at the busiest of times – is a breeze in a Qasqhai. Our youngest certainly seemed impressed by her comfortable surroundings, while the roomy boot was packed with her belongings (and several items ‘borrowed’ from her parents) after a weekend at home – and just before she was due to attend a music festival.

Just by way of a quick Qashqai refresher, the car’s reign as so-called ‘king of the crossovers’ began in 2007.

To be fair to all the other manufacturers out there, it was pretty much the only vehicle of its type on the roads at that time – its elevated profile representing an innovative and eye-catching departure from the more typical saloon-style body shapes of the era.

Since then, Qashqai has been much imitated with a plethora of similar vehcles arriving in showrooms. Fast forward to the summer of 2025, and it is still top of the new-car sales charts as it celebrates its 18th birthday.

Loaded with user-friendly Google technology and a reassuringly long list of security and safety features, its popularity shows no sign of waning. The version we currently have on the fleet is a range-topping Tekna+ e-Power 2WD example.

I really like its Two Tone Fuji Sunset Red paint job (a £745 option) and its Pearl Black Roof – most definitely an eye-catching combination.

Smart diamond-cut alloy wheels also help the car stand out, and the cabin is luxuriously appointed with premium quilted leather upholstery and Alcantara trims.

My daughter appreciates the Bose premium sound system with 10 speakers, and the head-up display is definitely a boon – not a feature unique to Nissan, but to my mind one of the standout advances in car design and technology in recent years.

If there’s a slight hitch, it’s that I can’t seem to get the ‘walk-away’ and ‘approach’ lock and unlock system to work – but no doubt a quick glance at the handbook would sort that.

Aside from its theme park adventures, the car has been put to good use recently with trips to Gloucestershire and South Wales to see family and friends; plus seasonal visits to DIY stores and garden centres when, again, its sizeable multi-layered boot has come into its own.

But it’s the Thorpe Park trip that will linger longest in the memory – and after a day experiencing some of the UK’s fastest and highest rollercoasters, the drive home in OW24KLO was pure bliss!