Nissan Qashqai now comes with 7 seat in the guise of the Qashqai +2. It looks the same but only longer. The length has been extended by 211 mm with the wheelbase being extended by 135 mm. To make sure it doesn’t look out of proportion, the new Qashqai+2 is also taller by 38mm.
Although called a 7 seater, the 3rd row seat is only for small children or anyone less than 5 feet 2 inches. At first I thought why not just call it the Qashqai 7? You get the answer when you climb into the rear seats. At least it is better than some cars which is considered a 2+2, where putting children back there you could be charged with child abuse.
The saving point however is the seats can be folded out in transformer like. The middle bench seat has a three way folding operation on a 40/20/40 split.
The new Qashqai +2 will be powered by a 2.0 liter gasoline engine that pushes put 140 PS or a 2.0 liter dCI diesel with 150 PS. You get a 6 speed gearbox as standard. The 2.0 dCi is developed by partner Renault and is equipped with Bosch’s piezoelectric controlled injection system for a fast precise control. It allows a ‘five squirt’ injection cycle.
There is a choice of 2WD or 4WD manual, auto and CVT. The CVT is available for the gasoline engine only.
Great stuff about the Qashqai
- Overall ride, handling and nicely weighted steering
- Gearbox CVT
- No bad blind spots, and big wing mirrors
- Mood lighting (work’s well with CVT)
- Range of Xenon headlight’s
Less than great
- Small rear window
- No small net’s in the boot area to trap thing’s behind
- Seats, not comfy enough
Final verdict Nissan Qashqai +2 – almost good enough.
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