Nissan Qashqai

5:34pm Monday 14th April 2008

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I HATE trends with a passion.

Not for me the latest this or the most up to date that. No, I don't do popular.

I prefer to be on the outside looking in, than on the inside looking out.

With that in mind you'd imagine that a Nissan Qashqai garnished in a cafe latte colour scheme - their description, not mine - would be the absolute antithesis of what floats my boat.

Yet no matter how many reasons I came up with not to like the car, it came back with another why I should.

I'd say it doesn't know what it is' - it said I am whatever you want me to be'.

I'd say 4x4? Don't make me laugh' it said You don't have to go off-road to appreciate a bit of extra grip'.

I'd say they all seem to be driven by women' - OK, it couldn't answer that one.

No, both my wife and I were pretty much sold on the Qashqai and 25,000 other Brits agree.

That is the number of people who have bought the car since it went on sale in the UK and there appears to be no let up in demand if the sounds coming out of the company's Sunderland factory are anything to go by.

Buyers like the high-riding position, they like the comfort, they like the level of safety, they like the build quality and, perhaps more importantly, they like the price. Our test car came in at around £22,000, but looked as if it was worth a good few grand more.

One owner commented on a website that it would not look out of place with a three-pointed star on its bonnet and I'd find it difficult to disagree.

There are some down sides.

The high stance means there is a little pitch if you push it too hard into a corner, but it's not so severe as to cause sickness.

The wing mirrors do look like they were modelled on Dumbo and as a result catch the wind a bit. Rear visibility is somewhat restricted, but the addition of a reversing camera compensates for that.

I cracked my head on the boot lid on more than a couple of occasions when expecting it to open a little bit higher than it did. But experience taught me to duck my head in future.

And finally, the engine, a twolitre unit allied to an automatic gearbox on our test car, was very vocal in low gears.

However, these are all minor grumbles which are far outweighed by the plusses the car has to offer.

It has bags of individuality, is spacious inside, easily seating four and five at a push, and comes with a high level of kit - our Tekna top of the range model had sat nav, full leather and a panoramic sun roof, among other things.

The interior appears very well made and certainly stands up to the child test. The dash is well laid out and the materials used on the mouldings are of a high standard.

All in all there appears little to dissuade even the most anti-populist person, such as myself, from parting with their hard-earned cash.

Actually, there is one. I'm not quite ready for cafe latte colour schemes yet, Nissan. Brown will suffice.

SPECIFICATION

Engine: 1994cc
Max power: 138bhp
Max torque: 142lb/ft
Max speed: 115mph
0-62mph: 12 secs
Avg fuel consumption: 28mpg (urban); 43.5 (extra urban); 36.2 (combined)
Equipment (includes): Chocolate leather upholstery; esp; satellite navigation; heated front seats; intelligent key; 17in alloys; panoramic roof; xenon headlamps; front fog lamps; ABS with EBD; driver, passenger, side and curtain airbags; 6-CD in dash auto-changer; 410 litre of bootspace; dual zone climate control; Isofix child seat anchorage points.