Long-term report: Putting the Nissan Qashqai through its paces

An all-electric Nissan Ariya we had on the fleet for a while has been replaced by another model from the Japanese manufacturer – a Qashqai mild hybrid.

And our new arrival – an N-Connecta trim level version of the top-selling crossover – has certainly been put through its paces in recent weeks in terms of the distances it has covered.

One recent assignment, involving a visit to Nissan’s factory in the North-East, meant a round trip of 660 miles – I live in a town which could never be described as ‘handy for Sunderland’.

Twelve hours behind the wheel over two days provided plenty of time for me to assess the comfort levels of the cabin and the convenience of the various controls.

I really would give the Nissan Qashqai full marks in both areas.

First off, the all-important driver’s seat is supportive without being too unyielding and its slide, recline and lift functions – plus the two-way electric lumbar functionality – make it easy to get comfy for a long trip.

Natty design touches, such as the anodised black and satin chrome inserts, top-grain leather steering wheel and customisable ambient lighting, help make the interior of the Qashqai a nice place to be. (Most of the controls and tech can be operated and adjusted via the steering wheel, by the way.)

What sealed the deal on my long drive recently was the fact that I managed to get to grips with the technology for once. Despite me tending not to do this, I found the process very straightforward.

I’m talking mainly about pairing my mobile phone with the vehicle, using Siri to make calls with voice activation, and generally being fully connected to the outside world while on the road.

Nissan’s Google Built-in technology is a boon in this respect. The real-time, over-the-air information delivered by Google Maps is incredibly useful and Google Assistant and Play Store are there if you need them.

As an N-Connecta model, our Qashqai sits pretty much in the middle of the range and would probably be our pick of the line-up.

It comes in at a very reasonable £33,770 including its only optional extra – a Fuji sunset red paint job at £745, which brings us neatly to the car’s exterior, which had a bit of a glow-up last year.

The front grille is certainly striking. Inspired by the patterns of ancient Japanese armour scales, it consists of dozens of high gloss, three dimensional comma-shaped elements painted in high-gloss black paint which seem to float in the space between the lip of the bonnet and the numberplate holder.

OY74NMA also features chrome under window lining, a shark fin antenna, black grained bumpers and body-coloured handles. All very eye-catching. And the 18-inch diamond cut alloy wheels really do look the part.

Any drawbacks to life on the road with our Qashqai? The only thing I can think of is that elderly relatives sometimes find it a bit tricky to ‘plug the seatbelt in’ in the rear seats. With apologies to my mother-in-law, I thought it was an age thing, but pals of mine who are roughly the same vintage as me find it slightly awkward too.

Other than that minor quibble, life with the car has been thoroughly enjoyable and with Christmas approaching, I recently took it for spin to a destination much closer to home than the North-East of England – the farm where we buy our Christmas tree each year!

There was plenty of space for it in the Qashqai’s clever, multi-layered boot and we were ho-ho-home in no time.