2023 Nissan Qashqai is Finally Here. What’s It Like to Drive?

Early in 2022 Nissan announced its aging fleet would be renewed within 12 months, and Qashqai is the last to have its covers lifted. X-Trail, Pathfinder and Nissan Z are already in showrooms, making the Nissan lineup the freshest one in the Australian market.

X-Trail gets an electrified version within months, meanwhile we get to tell you about the release of the venerable Qashqai. 5,000,000 have been sold world-wide in the 20 years since it first appeared, so it must be doing something right.

The new top model is almost 50k, and that is many, many shekels, so does the drive justify it?

First of all, like all gays, I prefer the range-topper. It has all the good stuff and you don’t have to worry about apologising for it at dinner parties (do people still have those?).

Pricing was released earlier, along with the goodies in each trim level. Read about it HERE

The ten best things are HERE

The Oily Bits:

The teeny 1.3L turbo petrol 4-pot has a modest 110kw/250Nm, using 6.1L/100k. Although Nissan has a fabulous 9-speed automatic in Pathfinder and Nissan Z, Qashqai has a the much-maligned (by me) CVT automatic. Although most punters won’t notice that it isn’t a traditional self-shifter, gluing the loafer to the Axminster makes the engine sound like it is trying to escape its mountings.

Don’t embarrass yourself by trying to drag off a hottie in his BRZ, please.

Video Review: 2023 All New Nissan Qashqai Review – Here at last…. REVIEW IN FULL

Help Support Gay Car Boys Subscribe to our Youtube Channel

Top GayCarBoys Stories:

ABOVE: 2023 Nissan Qashqai

The cabin is deliciously quiet at any speed.

Nissan has excelled in the noise and vibration damping department. Couple the quiet interior with a sophisticated suspension setup, and your journey is like being conveyed on a carpet. Qashqai has stiff competition and no brand can afford to rest on its laurels. This is one of the best improved models we’ve driven this year.

Seating in the top model was comfortable, and the driver gets a duo of 12.2” screens with a 10.8” HUD. If you haven’t used a Head Up Display before, you’d be in for a treat. All the relevant driving data is permanently in front of your eyes. Speed, speed limit and navigation are where you need them. Never again should a man in blue come, so be warned.

“That would really annoy me,” one reader said. Quick as a flash I said, “Then turn it if until a competent driver takes over.”

I like the electric gear selector. Unlike some brands, Nissan hasn’t gone in for anything weird like buttons or dials, this is more of a sliding-lever-style affair.

Switches are all within easy reach, but don’t try to fettle settings while on the move. Apple Carplay is wireless but Android Auto users have to tether their devices to a USB. It isn’t Nissan being difficult or lazy, but the result of licensing issues instead. One assumes this is fixable by updates should the lawyers sort out whatever is preventing a wireless experience. Better still, just buy a proper phone instead.

The cabin quality has been improved out of sight.

The Drive:

From the off, everything feels tickety-boo. There is a nifty set-up in the boot to create a smaller space for a couple of grocery bags. It prevents your oranges from rolling about the cargo hold like a bunch of randy pin-balls. Theoretically, no matter how much you throw the old girl into a corner, your Gucci duffel is safe.

Like most, around town is where you’ll spend most of your time. You rarely hear the puny engine spinning. Like most car makers, Nissan is making engines smaller ahead of rolling an electrified strategy so there isa single engine choice.

The Ti comes fully loaded so colour, including a two-tone paint job, is the only selectable item. That means driver and safety aids are all standard.

Pro Pilot gathers, among other things, smart cruise control and lane centering to provide a certain level of autonomy. There are many bongs and bings as it senses things, but there didn’t seem to be a way to silence it. The level of autonomous driving is limited, as it is in all cars (including Tesla), and is only meant to make a long drive easier and doesn’t replace a careful driver.

Its traffic-assist function is handy, but doesn’t cope well with cars cutting in. The slow take-off, intended to provide a comfortable experience, allows so much space for even a large car to nip in front causing brakes to apply suddenly. Temporarily disabling allows a smooth transition instead. These systems are not as smart as we are led to believe, and the car is often still accelerating as the vehicle in front indicates (or not) and moves over, causing a code brown moment. I have yet to meet a queue-assist feature that is smart enough to see indicators.

Steering is delightfully easy. In fact, Qashqai is delightfully easy.

Best moments:

Qashqai is fun in corners, and although it is neither a sports car or a hot hatch, it rather likes being taken by the scruff of the neck. It is far more entertaining than it has any right to.

Highway travel is incredibly comfortable and I could see myself doing a decent road trip with massage seats easing the way.

The Bose sound is fabulous for a car of this price.

It is well equipped especially in the upper models, but it is the quiet travel experience that is most notable.

Worst moments:

Parking cars is often a problem for the spatially challenged. For that reason, many different kinds of parking assistants are available. Some are as simple as pressing a button and letting the car do the rest. Genesis doesn’t even require the driver to be in the car at the time.

The Nissan Park Assist is semi-automated, and should be as easy as press/select/shift gear/brake, but it isn’t. There is a knack to activating at the right time which completely escaped me.

In addition, the driver is able to fine-tune the finished position prior to initiating the procedure but that only seemed to make things worse. Other systems have a simple “drive forward,” Stop”, Select Reverse,” and these commands show up in the driver’s instruments. Nissan has boxes shown on the central screen that the driver must enter before the next command is given. Failure at any point might mean the procedure is cancelled. Now, imagine trying to do all that while cars are lined up behind you, honking their Colonel Bogie hooters. Nightmare.

Sure, it can get you into space with a metre half metre each end, and it does perpendicular parks as well, but it is way quicker to do it yourself.

Verdict:

I found the experience an enjoyable one. It is smooth, with comfortable handling and ride. I haven’t the patience to deal with the auto parking, but familiarity might treat owners more kindly.

It is a little on the expensive side but I guess that depends on what you’re going to compare it to.