Nissan Qashqai e-Power

This ubiquitous family SUV gets a new iteration of its unconventional hybrid power option On sale September Price from £34,860

- CHRIS HAINING [e-mail]

WHEN IT COMES to attracting viewers, TV's I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! has been a runaway success for ITV. Where else do you get to see Very Important People reduced to such a state of indignity, deprived of the comforts of their palatial homes and tucking into camels' testicles to win the public's favour?

It’s a surefire crowd pleaser, and the same is true of the Nissan Qashqai. In fact, it was the UK's bestselling car in July, and it's no stranger to the top spot, despite having so many talented rivals to fend off, including the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage and Skoda Karoq. And as if being a family SUV wasn't enough for it to capture the public’s attention, the Qashqai can flaunt fashionable buzzwords such as ‘hybrid’, thanks to its unusual e-Power engine option.

Actually, the e-Power setup has been around for a few years, enabling the Qashqai to compete with hybrid versions of the Ford Kuga, Tucson and Sportage. We first tried it in 2022, since when the Qashqai has been substantially updated. And now the e-Power system itself has been revamped; in fact, it’s all new, despite being conceptually the same as before.

You get a 1.5-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine that acts as a generator to feed an electric motor - but it never drives the Qashqai’s wheels directly. Compared with the previous version, power is up by 14bhp, taking the total from 188bhp to 202bhp.