The Nissan Qashqai Is Stupidly Popular, But I’m Not Sure It Should Be

The sheer volume of Qashqais shifted by Nissan over the years is simply staggering. 3.3 million have been built since the first generation was released in 2007, and to put that in perspective, that’s nearly 100 Qashqais for every GT-R flogged in the same period. Yikes.

It had a huge part to play in the worldwide explosion of crossover popularity, and Nissan reckons it now has 20 competitors each trying to imitate the car’s success. We’ve no doubt the Qashqai will continue to be a massive seller, but after a drive in the facelifted second-generation version we’d have to say it’s no longer something to recommend above all else.

Not because a hatchback will be cheaper, faster and more efficient - by now we know that your average crossover buyer is certain they need the ground clearance and driving position of a crosser and can’t be convinced otherwise. No: the problem is that the Qashqai is nowhere near the best car in the class any more.

Before we get to why, it’s important to point out there’s a lot to like. The facelift has given the front end Nissan’s fancy ‘V motion’ design motif thing plus some fancy new leather bits in the cabin, sprucing proceedings up nicely. Oh, and the naff, dated steering wheel has been ditched for something a little more modern and button-festooned. It’s just as roomy on the inside as it ever was, and boot space is decent.

The 1.6-litre, 129bhp diesel - yours from £26,805 - is reasonably refined and sounds weirdly un-diesel like, and Nissan has even had a play with the car’s handling. The dampers have had a subtle retune, as has the electric power steering.

We’re not going to pretend it’s a Porsche Macan all of a sudden, but the steering is genuinely quite nice and natural-feeling. The car still rolls quite easily of course, but not excessively so. Mr and Mrs Qashqai owner aren’t likely to be hankering after a country road blat particularly often, remember.

The trouble is, the changes aren’t enough to get the Qashqai back to the front of the pack. It’s starting to look old inside, particularly when you start to play with the infotainment system and its ancient-looking graphics and lack of proper smartphone syncing. It’s perfectly serviceable and the touch screen is reasonable, but that’s not good enough given the extreme levels of competition in this sector now.

There is a Bose sound system option available at least, which Nissan seems very excited about in its press material. But it’s disappointingly flat-sounding - the Dynaudio systems VW Group has started fitting in many of its cars are far better.

Right now, if I attempt to put myself in the shoes of a crossover buyer (a particularly hard thing to do, I admit), I can’t think of a good reason why I’d have one over the Seat Ateca. The Spanish combatant in this bitterly contested crossover war is better to drive, arguably better to look at, much nicer inside and has a considerably better infotainment system. Oh, and if you want an automatic, you can have a snappy dual-clutch arrangement. In the Nissan the only auto option is a CVT. Boo.

Slipping so far off the mark in a talent-laden part of the market really isn’t ideal. If we were to think of the crossover sector as The Avengers, the Qashqai would be Hawkeye. Sure, he’s pretty good at what he does, but you know you’d rather have Iron Man fighting your corner. Or maybe Thor.

The Qashqai’s aforementioned attributes combined with attractive pricing mean it’s sure to continue selling in big numbers, but we’d be surprised if it continues to spam the world like an Internet meme to the same degree it has done in years gone by.