I'm thinking of getting a Nissan Qashqai. Interested in opinions from owners, especially on practicality for bike away days and weekends.
A car that's as high, as big and as slow as an off roader, without any of the real benefits of an off roader? Why on earth would you want one?
Get an estate car instead.
How about the practicalities for the majority of its life - or do you really need a softroader?
Damnit - beaten to the 'sanctimonious first post' by a true master!
Paint the fence, Grasshopper.
I regularly have one as a rental car at work, looks nice enough but a bit high to put bikes on the roof easily and doesn't have a particularly roomy boot without the seats down.
I tried putting a hardtail bike into the North American version (they call it a Rogue, I think) while in Canada, and it's very low inside; normally I've no problem just taking the front wheel + seatpost/saddle out and standing it upright in various other cars.
There seems to be a lot of internal padding/panelling that fills the volume rather than giving you space in what looks like a large car from the outside.
"Interested in opinions from [b]owners[/b]"
And so the silly comments begin. Firstly, its not as big or as slow as an 'off roader' (which in itself is a sweeping statement since an 'off roader' could be anything from a SWB Defender to a Land Cruiser). Its Nissans take on the family car market from what I've seen. Nissan make 'off roaders' - the Qashqai isn't one of them.
I quite like them and they seem plenty big enough. Think theres a few owners on here so hopefully one of them might be able to give some feedback rather than just a non educated opinion.
High floor.
If you are 'into' a small 4*4 have a look at a Freelander - they are quite tall inside so will take a bike 'stood' up and also will take my large framed HT with the seat/wheels on when the seats are dropped.
Plus of course you can actually take it off-road.
Its Nissans take on the family car market from what I've seen
Nope, it's a soft roader, one of the more pointless car genres to exist.
An estate car will have a bigger, easier boot to load. It will be easier to load cars on to the roof. It will handle better, drive more efficiently and may even be cheaper to insure.
Still, if image is important, and you want to look like you might just drive up a muddy slope once a year, get a Qashcow.
CF sums it up perfectly I think...... 😉
One of gf's friends has one. (2WD - most appear not to be even a 4WD).
It has about the same interior space as a Focus or Astra hatch, let alone the estate.
If you're after something big with lots of space look elsewhere - miniMPV (Scenic/Piccasso/Zafira) or pukka estate. Apart from the higher driving position it's hard to see what the advantages of the Qasqai might be.
Sisters got one, and brought her other half, his orange 5, baby and all the associated gear down for a weekend in derbyshire with ease. Vile colour but the bike rack (optional extra) was quality, kept the bike nice and safe whole way down the m1 and it looks a quality piece of kit! Don't have to remove it to get in the rear of the car either, if i remember right it just slides outa the way!! Also goes off and on very easy. Beats putting a shit up bike in the back of ya new motor! As for the car itself who cares, youre just after something to do the job. She did say the petrol engine was tail tho, so go for the diesel! And as it's jap it won't let you down!
CFH "It will be easier to load cars on to the roof"???!
I know it does " tricks" on the advert but didn't see the car stacking one! 🙂
A great car. Get a turbo diesel **2WD** version! Great high driving position, can really see where you are going. In traffic and on country lanes. Has some oomph. It is not a softroader in its 2WD guise 😉
IF you want a 4WD car get a proper one...
Fits 2 bikes in the back with seat down and front wheels off.
YMMV
Cheers
Paul
I quite like them. Drove one when I was shopping for my current car - they're not any bigger in footprint that most Golf-sized hatchbacks (and that's the place it fills in Nissan's range), just a bit taller. Handles tidily, no wallowing about, yet the big tyres and softer suspension eat up the potholes that are everywhere now. Lots are 2WD and fuel consumption isn't far off most family hatches.
I know a few divers with them as the fairly shallow but deep and wide boot suits that nicely. The seats don't fold flat though, which I didn't like for bike-lugging duties (my Civic seats go perfectly flat in one movement). If the roads keep on getting worse, I'd certainly consider one again though.
Not really a soft roader though, more a tall hatchback type thing.
Never been in one but it certainly ticks a lot of boxes for a family car, certainly be more comfy on british roads than all the cars "that really handle well"
I like mine 2.0D and find it quick enough for my job which takes me all over the UK so disagree entirely with the bit about them being slow.
I do however agree about the boot not being the biggest and its a struggle to get a bike, I just brought a Saris bike rack and its a 2 minute job to put it on for my full susser and my hardtail goes in boot no problem
Gets 3 kids in the back no problem and they enjoy being higher up on longer journeys.
One word of warning I have had the rear shocks replaced under warranty and this is a well known problem but Nissan picked it up and did the work then returned it to me.
59k miles in 2 years and never missed a beat, I am not big into cars but it came with comfort cooling & bluetooth as standard so compared to a comparative passat/mondeo was good value oh and I liked the look of it as well.
Take one for a test drive and then judge yourself or if your near Sheffield give me a shout you can have a go in mine
forgot to mention take it to fort bill with 3 lads, all our camping stuff, supplies & beer + our bikes on the back with no issues
We've got an old 02 x-trail 2.2di. 130k now and it still feels pretty new, no rattles, squeals, loose bits. Leather Interior still still in excellent condition, everything works as is should. Only thing we've done to it is service it, pads and discs, and suspension bushes. Did all that myself, still on the original clutch.
It's the much older nissan diesel engine and it's still pretty good, the newer dci ones are vastly more powerful and quieter.
We get around 34 mpg from it just knocking about town etc, 40ish on motorway.
It has a really big boot and with the seats down its huge!
The new model is even better, but dearer.
It's very easy to park being the same size as a focus but taller.
I've put Grabber tyres on it and it can do pretty much everything my mates defender can do except very deep ruts and the doors don't leak like his do for wading!
The only bar we would consider replacing it with is the newer model! We love it, and would probably go for a petrol next time. They're cheaper to buy and we don't do huge mileage now so wouldn't be too expensive to run.
try a Nissan Note, 47mpg on a 1.4 with a towbar mounted bike rack, lots of room inside (bikes will go inside but i don't do it, but it's still full of mud somehow!) and it has fold down picnic tables in the back!
We got rid of our Freelander (I didn't want to but it was going to cost a small fortune to fix. As its replacement we considered a Qasquai (too small), Jeep Compass (deemed too ugly by my other half), Mondeo (I didn't want a Ford), Alfa Romeo something (was on the shortlist). Anyhow, we ended up with a Skoda Octavia - we don't use a bike rack, both bikes fit in the car with wheels removed, can also fit in a tent, camping and biking stuff etc all packed around the bikes. Plenty of room, a lovely car to drive.
CFH did 'review' the Qasquai rather well 🙂
btw, if you're considering new, then Hyundai have just put out the ix35 which is a direct rival. Much bigger boot though, and better fuel consumption - even the 4WD 2l diesel claims over 49mpg combined. £18k for 2WD diesel, £19k for 4WD. Even the basic model gets aircon, parking sensors, bluetooth, heated front and rear seats, etc.
Bit ugly, but aren't they all?
A mate's got one. Quite good to drive apparently but the boot is a wierd shape and you'll constantly hit your head on the boot lid unless you're under 5'10".
How about a berlingo? Six bikes with two seats 2 with 5 3-4 with 3 seats.
Much cheaper to tax, insure and run. But obvs not quite as nice as a quashqai. Citroen c5 estate? Laguna estate?
I'm sure I saw a 911 on here the other week with a coupla bikes lashed to it. Pull up in the car park at edale in that and take your Raleigh mustang off the roof!! 😉
There was a TT at the Tyn y Groes over the weekend with two bikes strapped on the back....!
Fits 2 bikes in the back with seat down and front wheels off.
so does my f***ing Renault Clio - hardly a plus point for a car the size of a Qashqai
Had one of these for a hire car.
Big, sort of spacious, heavy, but not 4WD. Meaning it was absolutely useless in the snow. I was getting shown up by dudes in Minis and Corsas as this off-road disaster slid about like bambi on ice.
Fail.
Look at the Pug 3008 for something similar but better. But why not go for a Skoda Yeti if you like that sort of thing? Or a Ford Kuga.
I test drove a Yeti (not owned or even driven a Qashqai) and I actually quite liked it. Handled nicely. Gives you a bit of the higher-up-better-visbililty thing and most importantly the Mrs was happy to drive it as her main car (the theory being that I can stop driving the family bus and get something smaller/more fun!)
wrightyson - Member
And as it's jap it won't let you down!
Can you say....To Yo Ta ?
😈
When I replace my 3 series estate the Yeti will be top of the shopping list: not too high, capable off-road, great build quality, the flexible rear seating - great little car.
[i]Can you say....To Yo Ta ?[/i]
That reminds me, I really should get the Yaris back for the recall. Sometime.
My brother brought a Qashqai (took me 3 edits to get that right. stupiid name) home once. The only thing I noticed was that the badge on the front is MASSIVE!
I've had a cashcow for 3 years now. Not too practical to get bikes in the back, but with a rack it's fine. Mine's a friday teatime car so I've had some issues with it, but it's never broken down as such, more quality issues.
All that aside, it's a good size, comfy, economical (55mpg average over the last 15k miles), drives ok and has a few toys. Anyone who thinks they're "big" is mistaken though, they're the same length as a Focus, just a bit taller. Mine was great in the recent bad weather, but that's probably down to it being a diesel.
The great thing with Toyota is they'll go forever...and they won't stop!
Sorry IGMC
Jay
The car in front is a Toyota. Thank goodness it's not behind you!
To tie two themes of this thread together, I get my xl bikes in the back of my prius (yes I own SPD sandals) easier than I did in the back of the quashqui had for a few weeks. That's not to say the Nissan wasn't a nice car to drive - it was fine. It's less economical than the equivalent Golf though (less aero and heavier), and not as nice to drive either.
High floor.If you are 'into' a small 4*4 have a look at a Freelander - they are quite tall inside so will take a bike 'stood' up and also will take my large framed HT with the seat/wheels on when the seats are dropped.
Plus of course you can actually take it off-road.
The few times a year it's not at the dealer being fixed. My mrs had one of these and it was truly awful. We had a Discovery and a Range Rover Sport until recently, both were unreliable and the dealers next to useless. Swapped for a BMW and a Landcruiser and couldn't be happier.
There's one thing about a Toyota it's gonna get you to the trails faster than most other folk!