Qashqai - good choice or?

Tombstone

Tombstone

Tombstone

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Joined
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Afternoon all,

I dont often, well at all really, wander into the motors forum. Whilst I can talk for hours about gaming I really know very little indeed about vehicles. Anyway, to cut to the question at hand..my company car is due to be refreshed and I've a selection of choices to pick from. Now, traditionally I've always opted for something "car" orientated rather than "SUV" orientated, however this time round on the refresh a 2019 Qashqai 1.5 (or is it 1.6, one of those two) diesel Acenta Premium trim has appeared on the list, the other choices are the usual fare of Astras, Focuses, Octavias etc.

Now, I've not owned an suv type of thing before, nor have I had any prior dealings with Nissans, I've been reading around some review sites etc and they seem to review the Qashqai favourably although I have also read some bad stories regarding reliability. Has anyone got an experience of the recent Qashqais? As I say, its an Acenta Premium, I'm only really interested in how the drive feels, the design/layout and the reliability etc because of course, in effect, there are no costs to me as a company car so price and so on isnt a factor.

Just wondering about taking the Qashqai option as something a bit different from my norm but as its something different I'm also wary of making a mistake.
 
Dis86 said:
What are your requirements? What are the other options?
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Only requirement really is that its a comfy drive and isnt likely to break down in the middle of nowhere when I'm on a 300 mile drive somewhere, I generally average maybe 10k miles a year. Does need to have compatibility with Android Auto on a screen, so that I can have easy access to audible/spotify etc whilst on the road. Not too fussed about fuel economy or price because thats all paid for anyway.

The other options are a hatchback Octavia (owned an estate octavia in the past which was ok) but not sure that works with Android Auto? An Astra , which is what I currently drive, its fairly decent but I fancy something different this time round rather than the same vehicle again. Ford Focus, which is an outright no, owned many Fords in my youth and I have a strong dislike of Fords now.
 
I have to say - and I can't say whether this is a general thing with Nissan SUVs or specific to these vehicles - but the ones I've ridden in had horrific body roll - even a mildly bumpy road and it was like riding in a boat! other than that they seemed pretty good in terms of design and layout.

I'm a bit jaded with Nissan though - while there is a lot I like about my Navara in common with a number of past experiences with Nissans the little things where they've skimped to save pennies really give a bad impression despite a lot of positives - less than 4 years old rubber trim for instance is as bad or worse than 10, 15 even 20 year old VWs we have, etc.

I don't dislike them but I certainly wouldn't jump in without doing research.

Reliability wise I've not really found them any different to any other mainstream brand like Vauxhall, etc.
 
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Rroff said:
I have to say - and I can't say whether this is a general thing with Nissan SUVs or specific to these vehicles - but the ones I've ridden in had horrific body role - even a mildly bumpy road and it was like riding in a boat! other than that they seemed pretty good in terms of design and layout.
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Oh, reading that reminds me of something I've missed in my previous post, its pretty much 80/20 in terms of motorway/urban driving.
 
Depends who you ask, petrolheads will say they are terrible cars. School run mums love them though, they seem quite efficient at blocking roads up. They arent as roomy on the inside as expected.

As for the roll, its not something you can really avoid if you want comfort with large wheels in a tall car. Being firm it would ride like an Audi.
 
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Skoda Octavia would be my shout but for your requirements the Quashqai wouldn't be a terrible option!
 
Tombstone said:
Oh, reading that reminds me of something I've missed in my previous post, its pretty much 80/20 in terms of motorway/urban driving.
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It is something I'd really like to follow up on as I'm half minded towards Nissan in the future (I currently own a Navara) but I've several times had lifts with relatives or a colleague who own Qashqais and the roll is something else but I can't be certain it is a general thing with them but that is definitely from more than one vehicle.

Dis86 said:
Skoda Octavia would be my shout but for your requirements the Quashqai wouldn't be a terrible option!
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Not vehicles I've much experience of but the shared VW platform equivalents I do have experience with I've been pretty happy with personally.
 
Rroff said:
It is something I'd really like to follow up on as I'm half minded towards Nissan in the future (I currently own a Navara) but I've several times had lifts with relatives or a colleague who own Qashqais and the roll is something else but I can't be certain it is a general thing with them but that is definitely from more than one vehicle.
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I'm assuming as its 80% motorway, that roll wouldnt be too large a factor? Or is it a bit like a weeble everywhere?
 
Tombstone said:
I'm assuming as its 80% motorway, that roll wouldnt be too large a factor? Or is it a bit like a weeble everywhere?
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I'd like to see some more input on it from people with more experience - I've not been in one on the motorway - mostly residential roads and B roads with a little A road. If it wasn't for the fact it has been my experience in more than one of them I'd have wondered if it was something seriously wrong with that car.
 
Dis86 said:
Skoda Octavia would be my shout but for your requirements the Quashqai wouldn't be a terrible option!
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Do you know if the Octavia works on the incar screen with android auto? I cant seem to find any conclusive answer to that on the web, one page says it does, another says it doesnt. I need my audible/spotify to stop me getting bored on those long motorway commutes :D
 
Nasher said:
As for the roll, its not something you can really avoid if you want comfort with large wheels in a tall car. Being firm it would ride like an Audi.
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I drive a Navara albeit partly thanks to a weighty tonneau cover but roll is pretty well controlled - I only really notice it creeping in when the fuel tank is getting down towards empty if it is just me in the vehicle without a load otherwise it is very reasonable. The Qashqais I've been in have been way way worse for roll.
 
peterwalkley said:
Can you not just ask a local dealer for a test drive ?

Default motors position is to hate all SUV's :) But an awful lot are sold in this country ....
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I can, its just finding the time and location (I work a lot and away from home most of the time) , I might hunt around and see if I can rustle up a test drive to see what its like.

I do sort of know what you mean regarding SUVs, I holiday almost exclusively in Canada and always have an SUV for that of course (really like the Hyundai Tucson that I have over there) but I can see the necessity for one there, not so much here in the UK though. Its really more of a question of having something different after decades of estates and saloons which is the appeal.
 
peterwalkley said:
Can you not just ask a local dealer for a test drive ?

Default motors position is to hate all SUV's :) But an awful lot are sold in this country ....
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People seem to buy them as fashion accessories. Especially Range Rovers. Most people won't look at things like reliability stats etc :/
 
jigger said:
Shame, it’s a really good car. Mazda?
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None on the list.

The other options are a hatchback Octavia (owned an estate octavia in the past which was ok) An Astra , which is what I currently drive, its fairly decent but I fancy something different this time round rather than the same vehicle again. Ford Focus, which is an outright no, owned many Fords in my youth and I have a strong dislike of Fords now
 
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