Test drive Nissan Qashqai 2007 - 2010 SUV

Do not believe advertising

We are convinced that Nissan Qashqai is not suitable for impassability, but the Nissan X-Trail is almost an all-terrain vehicle. But we know that they are made on the same platform. So are they twins or not? Have you ever bought m & ms sweets? Despite the visible motley, they are all the same.
 

A different shade, a little different taste, but otherwise they are similar. We took two such M&MS red and silver in color. To figure out in detail how two Nissan are different, collected on one platform. And why is the X-Trail cost 1 003 984 rubles (in the configuration that arrived for our test), and Qashqai 852 810 rubles, that is, is $ 6,000 less?
 







$ 6000 per 57 kg or 300 mm?
Qashqai is represented by the public as a purely city car. Its description and photo are even absent on the site created by Nissan specifically for advertising its SUVs. X-Trail is a completely different matter. It is promoted almost like SUV, although its place is in a series of crossovers. Thus, we have almost a car and almost a jeep on the test. But the trick is that they are really native brothers. This is easy to see if you look from below.
 

Absolutely the same front and back suspensions. The only difference is the excess round of the spring on the X-Trail. The power structure of the bottom, from the spaces to the engine mounting points, completely coincides. By the way, both of both engines have similar gasoline, 2.0 liters, and the transmission is also a variator.
 

The price differs by $ 6000. Exactly at so much, the extra 300 mm of the body added to the X-Trail in the trunk area. Or maybe this is the price for an additional 57 kg of weight?
 









You do not know why he would need a button?
The main difference between the couple in the upper part of the body, since the bottom is completely coincided. Sitting in Qashqai, you feel it sharply. It’s not crowded here, but after the X-Trail apartment you feel like in a cave. If you look closely, you can notice that the cave is not only less than the apartment, but also finished less carefully. Plastic overlays on the thresholds have already dispersed at the seams, and the edging of the catwalk of the variator lever is somehow sloppy. Thus, the budget of the model is unobtrusively emphasized (after all, in his homeland Nissan is a traditionally cheap manufacturer).
 

Nevertheless, the general picture from the interior Qashqai does not spoil this. The tone for the entire interior is set by the dashboard made clearly, cheerfully, fresh and with good taste. But the X-Trail cannot boast of its tidy. She is pretty faceless, sulfur and nondescript. It was as if it was squeezed out in the plastic of the front panel and finished for decency. Yes, and now it is not in the center of the front panel, like the first generation, but above the steering column like everyone else.
 







The X-Trail combat off-road spirit gives out the variator lever that strives first to get into the L. oh, love for the drive in the lower gear of the blood line of the off-road warriors. But after all, the flimsy -looking Qashqai is actually equipped with two removable towing eyes, regularly! And what is he from the left of the steering wheel in the panel? ESP shutdown button. So, a city car? Or does the manufacturer doubt it?


Matter: Nissan Qashqai








Matter: Nissan X-Trail


 





Playing on equal terms with a margin of traction
First of all, we found out how the contameners behave in the mud: how are the technical twins or really like two completely different cars?
 

The first race, committed in rough terrain, showed how a red nut ... easily tears a silver opponent in the exercise to take a slippery hill. Simply put, Qashqai drove, but the X-Trail is not. Extra pounds prevented him. Qashqai touched from anywhere in the rise and with a cheerful axle climbed over an excess. He dug in the wheels of the pit, slipped a little, but felt at ease. X-Trail, as a more heavy comrade, demanded good acceleration, but even with a margin of traction at the very end, when it was necessary to cross through the parapet with the rear wheels, he gave up and did not finish the maneuver.
 







Having left the hill linked by road tires, we went in search of new adventures. Each new puddle or dirty mess with a rut confirmed everything, if not an advantage, then a game on equalized cars with almost a jeep. The convenience of X-Trail on the roads provided an electronic assistance system for descent from the mountain and a softer and energy-intensive suspension setting, which helped swallow the irregularities of the soil. Qashqai due to lower weight and a more clamped suspension, on the contrary, soared above the bumps, which provided minimal comfort to the driver and passengers. However, at the same time, the suspension was slightly thundered and the energy intensity was not always enough for her.


The arrow fluctuates and lays down
The X-Trail with its 200 mm clearance has a very good indicator of the entry angle of 29 degrees, but the average angle of the congress 23 degrees is enough due to the long trunk. Road clearance Qashqai is also 200 mm. The manufacturer does not indicate the angles of the entrance/congress for him, but visually the rear bumper, unlike a colleague, does not bother him at all. The dimension of the wheels of both is the same, but Qashqai looks more harmonious than the X-Trail, which is asked for more massive rollers.
 

The two-liter engine is much easier to cope with the light Qashqai than with a heavier X-Trail. The same could be said about the variator, but for the X trail he was seriously reconfigured. If in Qashqai the tachometer arrow immediately falls on the second half of the dial and does not leave it until you release the gas pedal, then in the X-Trail it imitates the automatic transmission and moves stepped, although it is clear that these steps are virtual.
 







I think we found the answer to the main question of the test. These two cars have much more in common than the advertising. Both of them are suitable for rational off-road, and Qashqai is no less than X-Trail, and in some cases even more. In terms of controllability and maneuverability of Qashqai ahead. What a big brother is better is in the smoothness of the course, decoration and sound insulation. Well, in capacity, of course. The rest, honestly, from the evil one.
 
Author: Dmitry Leontyev, photo of Alexander Ortnova-Baranov
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

A source: Magazine 4x4 [January/2008]