3rd generation Qashqai brings more to the family.
‘Qashqai’ is a name familiar to most Singaporeans when talking about crossover SUVs. Now in its third generation from Nissan, official importer Tan Chong Motor Sales launched this Qashqai in Singapore on 14 April 2022. It comes with street cred right out of the box too.
The Qashqai has already received two awards at The Motor Awards 2021 by News UK, picking up “The Sun Car of the Year” and “Small SUV/Crossover of the Year” accolades.
First off, you can choose from 8 body colours, with five of them being two-tone combinations with black roofs.
The two-tone exterior makes a lot of sense, especially when considering that it helps the panoramic sunroof blend in with the rest of the roofline in the Prestige variant. Wrapping the seats, one finds black Nappa leather, so the sunroof allows more natural light to flood into the cabin to help make the interior feel more spacious.
Again on the Prestige variant, the Qashqai features a 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
In front of the steering wheel sits a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster that can be configured in various ways.
This is further complimented by a 10.8-inch head-up display or HUD, which means having access to vital information like speed and navigation without having to take one’s eyes off the road.
The Prestige variant of the Qashqai also features premium driving aids such as Intelligent Emergency Braking with Forward Collision Warning, Blind Spot Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, a 360-degree reversing camera system and Intelligent Cruise Control. Together, these technologies offer a premium driving experience that’s usually reserved for larger, more expensive SUVs.
Built on the Alliance CMF-C platform, the 3rd-generation Qashqai is 41% stiffer than its predecessor and 60kg lighter too. On the inside, this platform liberates 20mm additional legroom at the back and 28mm additional shoulder room in the front seats over the previous generation. The rear doors open to 85-degrees, which makes ingress and egress much easier, and not to mention getting a child seat in and out of the Qashqai. Boot space is pretty generous too, with 504-litres of luggage capacity with the rear seat-back up, and 1,593-litres with it folded down.
Powering this latest Qashqai is a 1.3-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder engine mated to a mild hybrid system, putting out 157hp and 270Nm of torque to the road through all four wheels via a continuously-variable transmission or CVT. The Prestige variant also features a multilink rear-suspension setup for a more pliant ride while gaining more agility.
We’ll bring you more when we drive and review this crossover SUV. In the meantime, the Nissan Qashqai is available in two variants — Premium and Prestige — and prices start from $170,800 inclusive COE and launch discount of $5,000 at the time of this article.
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