Facebook Pixel Nissan Qashqai | Auto Express – automotive – Lesen Sie diese Geschichte auf Magzter.com

Versuchen GOLD - Frei

Nissan Qashqai

Auto Express

|

April 12, 2023

The car that kickstarted the crossover craze

- Matt Robinson

Nissan Qashqai

AUTO Express' first drive of the Mk1 Nissan Qashqai back in January 2007 was on the whole - very positive. The car was said to have achieved its aim of slotting between the hatchback and SUV classes, while offering "the best of both worlds". But in hindsight, its arrival seems to lack fanfare. The Qashqai wasn't even the main cover car that week, and it was a similar story in other publications at the time.

Of course, we didn't know then how big a success the Qashqai might be, or the influence it'd have on the car industry. And neither did Nissan. Replacing the Almera hatchback with something very different was deemed a gamble, especially with the firm's 1999 near-bankruptcy fresh in the mind amidst the Qashqai's early development.

But the Qashqai wasn't a completely new idea. Nissan already had the Murano in its line-up, a vehicle which had proven particularly popular in the US. The Qashqai was to be a slightly shrunken take on the Murano.

Toyota, meanwhile, had laid some of the groundwork years earlier with its Mk1 RAV4, while some inspiration for Nissan's new crossover was taken from the Honda HR-V. In the end, Qashqai nailed the brief better than either car by staying much closer to the hatchback end of the spectrum in its design, but its body shape and ground clearance did enough to capture the appeal of bigger, heavier and more expensive traditional SUVs.

In the meantime, it offered more interior space than contemporary C-segment hatchbacks, despite not being a great deal larger on the outside. And although the compact MPVs that were all the rage back then went further still in terms of practicality, it didn't matter - such cars were much too dull for their own good.

WEITERE GESCHICHTEN VON Auto Express

Auto Express

Auto Express

BUYING CARS

EV RANGE IS AN EMPTY PROMISE

time to read

2 mins

March 04, 2026

Auto Express

Auto Express

MIKE RUTHERFORD

GOODBYE and good riddance to the brutal, bleak, politically shambolic winter just gone. Hello and welcome to the warmer, lighter, generally safer spring and summer ahead of us.

time to read

2 mins

March 04, 2026

Auto Express

Auto Express

GOOLOO GP4000

THE Gooloo feels neither as well made nor as rugged as the CTEK offering, and it lacks the weatherproofing too.

time to read

1 min

March 04, 2026

Auto Express

Auto Express

CTEK RB 3000 Booster

UNZIP the CTEK's smart case and it reveals the RB 3000 and cables.

time to read

1 min

March 04, 2026

Auto Express

Auto Express

3 CAR GARAGE: £60k for a swish coupé, an estate car and a family EV

You could have a cool coupé, a bargain-priced electric vehicle and a fast estate for around a third of the price of their modern-day equivalents

time to read

2 mins

March 04, 2026

Auto Express

Auto Express

MSC Overland 10Ah

ALTHOUGH the MSC doesn't have the ultimate battery capacity of the rivals here, it is still capable of starting multiple cars and is small enough to live in a glovebox.

time to read

1 min

March 04, 2026

Auto Express

Auto Express

Porsche Macan GTS

FIRST DRIVE Revisions to electric SUV's line-up have allowed Porsche to introduce a focused GTS version for the first time

time to read

3 mins

March 04, 2026

Auto Express

Auto Express

Mous Mercedes Backpack

IN THE BAG - Mous's official Mercedes-AMG Formula One team backpack is a versatile solution that is cabin-friendly for plane travel

time to read

1 min

March 04, 2026

Auto Express

Auto Express

Omoda 7

FIRST DRIVE Chinese influx shows no signs of slowing, as Chery-owned Omoda launches its third model in the UK

time to read

3 mins

March 04, 2026

Auto Express

Auto Express

Autoglym Restorer and Reviver

AUTOGLYM is aiming to take a slice of T-Cut's market with two new paint-correction products that fix fine scratches and swirls to bring back your car's shine.

time to read

1 min

March 04, 2026

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size