If I had to sum up my experience of owning this car in one word it would be ‘awful’. I have owned 9 cars from new and this is, by a wide margin, the worst of the lot. True, it has some positives. On a good smooth motorway it is comfortable and composed. It also has a good, clear, bright (though necessary) reversing camera. There are many bells and whistles. But there it just about ends.

Problems - In my case these included:

Front parking sensors firing randomly when wet This is a known problem which was eventually more or less resolved, though not entirely..

Seat catch fell apart on first use

Loud Vibration from engine compartment. This turned out to be poorly designed air inlet fitting. not really fully resolved - I had to learn to live with it.

Key not recognised by car. Turned out to be a flat key battery. Not a problem I’ve experienced in 25 years of buying new cars with remote central locking.

Handbrake warning light showing, though no apparent problem. Numerous attempts to resolve this over several months. Finally resolved with the replacement of an electronic control unit. However, on one occasion the handbrake was actually failing which made the warning light problem all the more worrying as it was impossible to judge whether it was a valid warning or not. More investigation and replacement parts.

Climate Control failure at less than 20k miles and less than 2 years old. This needed re-gassing, a procedure not covered by warranty or service agreement and initially priced at £199 ! After a three page letter of complaint to Nissan HQ I received a full refund as a “good will gesture”. Again although a gas check might be recommended at 20k miles, I have run cars with climate control for up to 60k without problem. Additionally I noticed that brackets and pipework had been replaced. I subsequently read that there was a known issue with the climate control. which some updating was designed to address. If this is true, why the attempt to charge me for the poor design and build in the first place?

Other Niggles. Mostly these are about things like poorly seated door trim and seals the fuse box cover popping out (fuse wiring not properly seated) and the boot light repeatedly falling out.

Quality. Apart from the above issues, some components are of very poor quality. Of particular note was the really cheap and nasty perspex instrument panel cover. Using a cloth to clean it, however soft, results in a multitude of tiny scratches that are near impossible to remove, leaving a scruffy appearance and clouding the perspex.

Drive. Having been heavily influenced by the fantastic reviews in the motoring press I guess I made allowances in the test drive. As I got to know the car it became increasingly apparent that it is seriously underpowered. This means that in town you are constantly changing up and down and having to drop right down to first on any serious hill. There is also a terrible acceleration lag at low speed, particularly in second gear. This makes for a pretty unsatisfactory urban drive particularly when combined with the slightly flabby gear change. The noise levels within the cabin are much greater that the reviews suggested and particularly bad on rougher tarmac.

Design. Some of the design features are pretty poor. For example, no independent heating / ventilation to the rear passengers - welcome to the 1960s! Worst of all there are no sensors in the rear seats. This means that unless all three seat belts are buckled, you have to cancel the seat belt warning every time you start the car, otherwise it obscures other important displays such as the parking sensors. Simply daft. There is only a drainage point on one side of the windscreen meaning that when you wash the car, if it is parked slightly downhill leaning to the wrong side, you have to clear away a great puddle of accumulated water below one side of the windscreen.
The ‘smart’ battery charging is a joke. On one visit to the dealer it was discovered that the battery was 50% discharged. I was advised to run the car with headlights on (whether required or not) on a regular basis to signal a higher demand and trigger the otherwise dormant charging process. This is called ‘smart’?

Trying to resolve some of the above failures involved multiple investigations and work. As a consequence, in the first two years of ownership I was at the dealership almost every month. Fortunately, unlike some I’ve read about, they were generally sympathetic and helpful. However, when I handed over a large wedge of cash for the car, I just wanted something that lived up to its reputation. This really didn’t meet even some basic expectations proving to be unreliable, of poor quality, design, build and driving satisfaction.

I couldn’t recommend a Qashqai. I wouldn’t buy another Qashqai or even another Nissan. The climate control issue was the final straw so the Qashqai, Nissan and I have parted company for good. I must say, I feel nothing but relief.