Nissan Qashqai (2006): first official pictures

By Phil McNamara

First Official Pictures

06 September 2006 12:15

The lowdown

Meet the Qashqai, the SUV for people who want a car that's funkier than a C-segment hatch but fear a dinner party backlash from getting a traditional boxy SUV. The Qashqai is slightly different, as the weird name – taken from a nomadic Iranian tribe – suggests. It's part-SUV, part-family hatch. The off-road styling cues, elevated driving position, high(ish) roof, optional four-wheel drive and higher price tag are all trad SUV. But the actual underpinnings, compact size and mostly front-wheel drive range are all characteristic of a traditional hatchback like the Golf. Unveiled today (Wednesday 6), the Qashqai goes on UK sale in March 2007. Expect prices from around £14,500. It's closest rival is a spacious hatch like a Golf Plus 4Motion, but the Qashqai looks a lot cooler. Not a hard task, though.

Think of the Qashqai as Murano-lite. Nissan uses car marketeers favourite c-word (crossover) to describe the design. So the upper body – including that sloping roofline, spoiler and sleek glasshouse, finishing with an upwards rear flourish lifted from the Murano – is meant to resemble a sporty passenger car's. The lower section – with a black plastic underbelly, pumped up wheelarches accommodating big wheels and the raised ride height – convey the strength and ability of a tough 4x4. The Qashqai is the first production car to emerge from Nissan's London design studio, which opened in 2003. It doesn't have the striking looks of its Murano big brother, and its face looks like a bloated Kia Picanto's. The rear end is neat, but overall the Qashqai doesn't meet the high standards set by the Micra, Murano, Cube, Pathfinder and even the Note. A conservative-looking Nissan? Just like the old days. Nissan argues that the styling team couldn't risk a polarising design, if the Qashqai is to meet its 100,000 sales target and rake in disillusioned Golf buyers.

By Phil McNamara