Nissan Drivers Club: Used Nissan Qashqai- Small and simple, a good little crossover on a budget

Somewhere between subcompact and compact, this Nissan crossover is sized right and priced right for South Africans

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.

Anyhow, it was that success of the Nissan Qashqai for sale that prompted me to book a test drive at Group 1 Nissan.

Weighing in at over 1,500 kilograms, it’s not particularly light for a car this small and it has 141 horsepower and 147 lb.-ft. of torque.

It’s 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. It’s 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, Nissan’s 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 vehicle’s personal space — control freaks would likely hate this, but daydreamers will appreciate this early intervention so it’s not a sudden alarming, blaring beep and lockup braking, just to avoid stuffing into someone’s 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 Nissan’s own Kicks. Its closest competitors would be the Jeep Compass and Subaru Crosstrek, and while space is a bit tight in the back seat, it’s 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. It’s not earth-shattering, but it’s a little thing that becomes very useful in the life of a family car and much appreciated by busy people that like to keep their trunks tidy.

Upfront, there’s more of the same convenience, with the usual cupholders, door pockets with bottle holders and spacious armrest storage, but also a couple of extra trays in the centre console for cell phones or knick-knacks, and an easily accessed USB port ahead of the shifter and another in the cubby. The seats are similarly spacious but supportive, and the interior is well laid out. While visibility is compromised to the rear because of thick pillars, the 360-degree Around-View Monitor (available only on the SL trim) means it is as easy to park as anything, and a basic backup camera is standard equipment anyway.

South Africans can relish the fact that Apple CarPlay/Android Auto is standard on used Nissan Qashqai models for sale (2019). The native infotainment system offers a lot of good features, like standard 7-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth connectivity, navigation, and a home screen with some handy short cuts.

Nissan has been struggling across the board this year, with overall sales down 6.6 per cent, and virtually every model bleeding sales (or in some cases getting dismembered) compared to last year at the midway point, but the Qashqai and Kicks are bright spots in the corporate ledger. The Kicks proved its merit in a Comparison earlier this year, and now the Qashqai shows that Nissan’s broad portfolios of SUVs was the smart play in this market.

At the end of the day, the Nissan Qashqai offers a pleasant, low-stress driving experience, the latest tech, great practicality for a small package, and competitive value compared to cars its size. It’s easy to see why anyone who’s done their homework would at least look at the Qashqai and easy to understand why it’s actually a great little crossover.