The Next Generation Nissan Qashqai Revealed

30% of the Nissans sold in Europe are Qashqai, and Nissan is putting all its eggs in this basket to ensure it remains a best seller for the next six years.

The new hallmark feature of the design is a chevron in the headlights and also seen bumper. Character lines on the bonnet continue from the new Nissan characteristic V-shaped chrome grille. It looks like an SUV, like the Ford Kuga, but it's not an SUV it's a crossover, a car that you won't mind using every day. It's quite a dynamic looking machine for what it is, and many people will appreciate the Qashqai isn't a vanilla design.

Nissan says NASA technology was used to design the seats. They measure the blood flow, the points where the bones hit the seats, making a better place for your buns. A new Nissan Connect navigation system, chrome trim and softer materials all make a better interior.

New technologies include a SYNC with speed detection and one touch easy parking, which makes both bay and parallel parking, by using the parking sensors.

The striking new Qashqai is 49mm longer than the current model, and ever so slightly lower and wider, but it's also lighter, which means it will handle better.

Nissan has officially announced four engines available for the 2014 Qushqai. The basic engine is a 1.2 DIG-T turbo four-cylinder unit with 115 PS and 190 Nm of torque, available only with a six-speed manual transmission. This is designed to replace the old 1.6-liter, which it bests in terms of toque, lower emissions 129g/km of CO2 (15g/km less) and better fuel economy thanks to Start/Stop ignition as standard, regenerative alternator, optimized gear ratios and special low-viscosity oils.

Next up is the more powerful 1.6 DIG-T, a 150 PS turbo petrol with 240 Nm of torque, which will only be available a year from now. It will get exactly the same combined mileage figures and almost the same emissions: 132 g/km.

There are also two turbodiesel engines, just like on the old Qashqai. A 1.5 dCi with 110 PS and a 1.5 dCi with 130 PS. The 1.5 dCi is the most efficient model ever, with 99 grams of CO2 emitted per kilometer and 74.3 mpg on the combined on the UK cycle. The 1.6 dCi benefits from innovations like a cold-loop, low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation system and is the only one available with a new Xtronic transmission, which unlike conventional variable transmissions, mimics the behavior of traditional, multi-ratio automatic gearboxes during hard acceleration, with stepped changes.