NISSAN QASHQAI

bewhiched

Hi all,

Hope you can help.
I have a great Mini Cooper and I'm looking into changing it to the New Quashqai 1.5d just wanted to ask are they easy on the pocket my cooper is a 1.6 and the mileage is creeping up 75000km 2012.
Will the Quahqai be a cheaper on me with the likes of servicing parts needed etc
Are they reliable car? As I'm up and down to Dublin every day.
I have a service pack with my cooper which is up soon so the service was looked after with BMW when needed. But my friends are saying parts when needed for my cooper will be expensive to have done and should look into the nissan Qashqai as it would be a better option for me,
Would love some feedback on this car please which be great it looks like a fantastic car great reviews just want to be sure first before I proceeded
Thank you very much

fortMac

bewhiched wrote: »

Hi all,

Hope you can help.
I have a great Mini Cooper and I'm looking into changing it to the New Quashqai 1.5d just wanted to ask are they easy on the pocket my cooper is a 1.6 and the mileage is creeping up 75000km 2012.
Will the Quahqai be a cheaper on me with the likes of servicing parts needed etc
Are they reliable car? As I'm up and down to Dublin every day.
I have a service pack with my cooper which is up soon so the service was looked after with BMW when needed. But my friends are saying parts when needed for my cooper will be expensive to have done and should look into the nissan Qashqai as it would be a better option for me,
Would love some feedback on this car please which be great it looks like a fantastic car great reviews just want to be sure first before I proceeded
Thank you very much

Is your Cooper a diesel or petrol?
We did the same last summer; traded in the wife's Cooper D for a nearly new Qashqai. Her Mini had 186,000km on it and we needed something bigger so it made sense. The Qashqai is a great car but its no Mini! If you are a die-hard fan of the Mini brand then you will regret it. The Qashqai doesn't have the same character or isn't as fun to drive.

As far as parts are concerned you will find Nissan is just as expensive as Mini/BMW.
You can take out another service plan with BMW after the first one expires. I wouldn't be too worried, 75000 isn't high mileage on a modern car.

billy few mates

My wife is on her second Qashqai and wouldn't consider anything else, I wouldn't be a big fan of them but I can't fault them, I just don't fancy one myself. She likes the high driving position, the economy and the reliability (she never had a fault with her last one). They're one of Nissan's best sellers so it's hard to get a deal on one as (according to one salesman we met) "the things sell themselves", for some reason people just want them.
Having said that the new one is really nice but the basic model (XE) is too basic and is actually a backwards step in comparison to the old model as many of the standard features on that are not available on the XE (alloys, automatic lights, automatic wipers etc). The SV is nice but if you can find an SVE which has all the extras you'll be impressed.
Supplies are quite limited and it can be hard to find a '14 model in some areas where people hang onto their cars for longer than a year and it's quite common that people looking for a newish model end up having to buy a new one instead. We also spent many a weekend travelling between dealerships only to find the car we went to look at had been sold as soon as it was advertised, in one case we rang to confirm it was still on sale, drove sixty miles to the garage only to find another couple had walked in and bought it five minutes before we arrived.
They're expensive to buy but they hold their value.

bazz26

If you can stretch to the 1.6dci then you would be getting a nicer engine. Coming from a MINI Cooper you may find the 1.5dci a bit lackluster in the Qashqai.

fortMac

bazz26 wrote: »

If you can stretch to the 1.6dci then you would be getting a nicer engine. Coming from a MINI Cooper you may find the 1.5dci a bit lackluster in the Qashqai.

I agree, this is the main problem I have with the Qashqai. Ours is an "old" model so I can't comment on the engine in the new one, but the 1.6 diesel engine in the Mini had a lot more power at lower revs and was a lot quieter too.

Stallingrad

fortMac wrote: »

I agree, this is the main problem I have with the Qashqai. Ours is an "old" model so I can't comment on the engine in the new one, but the 1.6 diesel engine in the Mini had a lot more power at lower revs and was a lot quieter too.

Think I read somewhere that the newer 1.6 is actually not as refined or quiet as the 1.5.

bazz26

Diesel engines were carried over from the old model to the new one but the 1.6 dci was only introduced about 3 or 4 years ago. The 1.5 dci is alot older.

billy few mates

bazz26 wrote: »

Diesel engines were carried over from the old model to the new one but the 1.6 dci was only introduced about 3 or 4 years ago. The 1.5 dci is alot older.

Or tried and trusted as some might say....

bazz26

You have to move with the times eventually.

MayoSalmon

bazz26 wrote: »

You have to move with the times eventually.

And get a Leaf:pac:

Xennon

Have a 08 1.5dci, is ok, nothing spectacular, bit plasticy inside.
The heater is awful, demist takes forever.
Steering is heavy for long journeys, and it doesnt follow the road well if you know what I mean.
The engine is grand, quiet impressive once it gets up to temp, for a 1.5 d.
We get about 900 -1000Km from a tank which is damn good.
Its in the cheap tax bracket aswell.
Had lots of rattles and such from interior bits that drive you mad on long journeys, just badly fitting plastics.
Had to replace the wiper motor and linkage, seemingly common enough issue.
Rear shocks had to be replaced aswell, bushings went, again a common issue seemingly.
Can be slow to start, I think it may need new heater plugs, the relay seems fine.
Also starts rough (sounds like ye olde diesel) , as in the first few seconds you can hear that the oil needs to get around the engine. But quietens down after that initial second or two.
Niggling thing for me is the elbow height of the door window...not comfy for resting yer elbow on the window....on a long drive ye miss that.

billy few mates

Rear shocks had to be replaced aswell, bushings went, again a common issue seemingly.

We had that too, I was driving it one day and I thought it rattled a bit at the back (compared to mine) when going over pot holes, I mentioned it to the garage and they were great, they said bring it in and we'll have a look at it, they put it up on jacks and confirmed the rear shocks needed replacing and asked us to bring it back in a few days and they would do it under Nissan warranty. As this wasn't our closest Nissan dealer they told us we could have it done in our local one if we preferred, and they sorted it for us free gratis a few days later.

Also starts rough (sounds like ye olde diesel) , as in the first few seconds you can hear that the oil needs to get around the engine. But quietens down after that initial second or two

We also had that from day one, a rattley start followed by a plume of smoke first thing every morning but in all the years we had it I never had to put a drop of oil in between services.

Xennon

I wonder if the cloud of smoke, which I get aswell I might add, is caused by an EGR valve that needs cleaning?

bazz26

I'm presuming that the OP is looking at the current Qashqai.

lmimmfn

We got a 142 1.5d SVE with most of the extras, must say I'm well happy with it.
As has been said the engine is lacklustre so don't expect much in that department. Economy wise its fantastic if you don't go pedal to the metal. I average about 4 litres per 100km doing about 80km/hour to/from work. Can do 3.6 if im in sunday driver mode.
The 19" wheels on the SVE can be a bit hard on rough roads.

I did a test drive in a basic SV and eww far too much plastic, got leather interior in the SVE. Gadgets wise its impressive but most new cars probably have most of the stuff. I'm surprised it doesn't have a heated windscreen, but having said that it takes about 10 to demist so no real biggie.

Can't really fault it tbh, but I will reiterate that driving wise its fairly bland, but I'm more interested in fuel economy myself.

billy few mates

Did you get the SVE with the full leather interior or just the part leather as comes standard in the SVE....?

Xennon

I'm surprised it doesn't have a heated windscreen, but having said that it takes about 10 to demist so no real biggie.

The heated windscreen is a Ford thing, brilliant imho...but...once you see the element in the glass you cant stop looking at it

The AC system in the qashqai is pants though, yes it will start out grand but after a few years it goes to pot. It cools brilliantly but heating goes to blowing slightly warm air that never seems to get hot. My old LWB landcruiser heats up the complete cab in about 7 mins from cold, the QQ takes about 20min. Ive read somewhere that the little servo motors that control the vents get a bit sluggish...dont know tho.

lmimmfn

billy few mates wrote: »

Did you get the SVE with the full leather interior or just the part leather as comes standard in the SVE....?

yeah, i got full leather, i hate too much plastic. Armrests on the doors and centre console are leather and the sides of the centre console. It looks pretty good actually. We maxed out the SVE on features, the only optional extra we didnt get was some puncture kit type thing.

Xennon wrote: »

The heated windscreen is a Ford thing, brilliant imho...but...once you see the element in the glass you cant stop looking at it

The AC system in the qashqai is pants though, yes it will start out grand but after a few years it goes to pot. It cools brilliantly but heating goes to blowing slightly warm air that never seems to get hot. My old LWB landcruiser heats up the complete cab in about 7 mins from cold, the QQ takes about 20min. Ive read somewhere that the little servo motors that control the vents get a bit sluggish...dont know tho.

Yeah, i think the heated windscreen element could be annoying but still handy.

I dunno about the AC, pretty much every car ive had once its older than 5+ years the AC gets crap and needs coolant etc. Takes me about 3 minutes to clear a frozen windscreen and about 7 mins on a frosty night from entering the car until its warm, but the electric seats are quicker as theyre warm in about 2 mins