Nissan Qashqai 2021 UK first drive

You can feel the changes to the steering straight away. It’s still rather lifeless, but the Qashqai now dives into corners surprisingly keenly, pivoting nicely around your hip, clinging on gamely. There’s some roll, of course, but it’s controlled well, and it feels nicely tied down even over bumpy and bucking surfaces. There’s precious little feedback or reward for trying hard, but the Qashqai can be hustled when you’re in the mood.

When you’re not in a hurry, the Qashqai is relatively calm and relaxing, with low levels of wind rustle and excellent rolling refinement, with very little noise from the suspension. That said, there’s an underlying firmness to the ride, especially on those vast rims. At higher speeds, the car can fuss and fidget, particularly over higher frequency undulations (cars on smaller 19in wheels with torsion-beam rear suspension are only marginally more compliant), although it’s no worse than you get from most cars in this class.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment is reserved for the drivetrain. For starters, there’s no real nod to electrification until the hybrid model arrives later in the year, while fully electric and plug-in hybrid Qashqais appear to be off the menu completely (Nissan argues that people wanting that technology will look elsewhere in its range).

So for now, the only option is the familiar turbocharged 1.3-litre petrol engine, which for Qashqai has been given a mild-hybrid starter-generator (although whereas almost all rivals get 48V systems, this is powered by a smaller, lighter 12V cell).

Despite the added benefits of torque-fill from the small electric motor, the Qashqai feels sluggish at very low revs. Above 2000rpm, there’s a decent welt of muscle, so the car feels brisk, with decent sixth-gear roll-on acceleration on the motorway. You can extend the engine, but it feels a little breathless; and in truth, it does its best work in the mid-ranges.

We sampled both the improved X-tronic CVT and the six-speed manual gearbox. The former masks the engine’s off-boost torpor but suffers from an irritating surge in acceleration at more than quarter throttle that’s disproportionate with your inputs, plus it doesn’t feel well integrated with the start-stop system, sending a judder through the driveline as each time the engine cuts in and out. Overall, the manual is a better bet, even with its notchy action and spongy clutch feel.

Dynamically, the Qashqai has taken a big leap forward over its predecessor; but if you place driving pleasure at the top of your shopping list of priorities, there are others in this class that will give you greater satisfaction as you slice through a series of corners, not least the CX-30. Yet for the vast majority of buyers the Nissan’s mix of style and substance will likely trump handling elan when it comes to handing over their hard-earned. 

It not only looks good and is well equipped (there’s a list of standard active safety systems that’s longer than a crash-test dummy’s arm), it also features one of the most intelligently designed and neatly packaged interior layouts in the business. This is a car that’s been designed with family use at its heart.

Factor in the inevitably tempting PCP deals (as little as £299 per month, according to Nissan’s people in the know) and it's not hard to foresee Qashqais continuing to fly out of showrooms. The competition is crowding in, but with these updates, it's difficult to see any knocking the Qashqai off its top spot just yet.