Nissan Qashqai

Nissan has given its European market compact crossover, the Qashqai, a mid-life makeover for 2010 to prolong its appeal to consumers. Most of the cosmetic changes concern the front end as hood, bumper, fenders, grille and headlights have all been revised giving the Qashai a much more aggressive look.

There are also two new exterior colors, revised tail lights with LED technology, and newly designed 17-inch alloy wheels. These styling changes together with a series of other improvements are said to have reduced the Qashqai’s drag coefficient from 0.34 to 0.33.

The Nissan’s interior is logically laid out – if a little plain – and the build quality is top-notch, with soft-touch plastics and well damped switchgear. There is plenty of storage, too, with a large glovebox and decent door pockets.

The car will be offered with three engines when launched in February. There are two petrol units – an 113bhp 1.6-litre and 138bhp 2.0-litre – and one diesel, the 105bhp 1.5 dCi. The 148bhp 2.0 oil-burner will arrive in June.

While the smaller petrol unit is expected to account for the majority of sales, it’s the larger diesel which is our pick of the line-up. The Renault-sourced unit is punchy, responsive and superbly refined. Its 320Nm of torque peaks at only 2,000rpm, but it doesn’t run out of breath further up the rev range.