2014 Nissan Qashqai

73,800km Automatic

Easy, simple, annoying

It’s a simple 2litre four wheel drive that starts and drives

It has more than enough power (more power than its predecessor the Dualis pretty much the same car)

It zips through town and has more than enough room to fit extra stuff

The car drives smooth and everything works as should

The car boot was the only thing that wasn’t easy as it took me a while to figure out you press the button twice to open the rear hatch (should only take one)

Then after that I figured out to hold the button until you hear the boot open (after a while you know what to do)

The annoying stock alpine deck which came out standard with DVD, Bluetooth and navigation

The navigation beeps at stupid things like a school zone at 7pm at night or if you are going over the speed limit or even if you are approaching a railway crossing (that no longer exists)

it is just as annoying as having a back seat driver but worse as you always have to update it which can be annoying

It’s good at reminding you when you are approaching a fixed speed camera so it can help you save money

As I drive it my mind goes that this has all the needs meet I don’t need a big v6 wagon as this has enough power to tow a 6x4 trailer, has enough room inside that I could carry a child’s bmx bike if They want to go riding

These small suvs have taken over Australia as a replacement to our v6 wagons such as Magnas, commodores and falcons with fuel efficiency instead of the city average 11 - 13 litres per 100km these v6 wagons where doing to the 7-8.5 litres per 100km these 2litre suv can do in the city and with the modern technology the engine also has similar power to the old wagons

Sure they are not as long as the wagons but they are close enough to be able to complete the job for most families

There is not much to fault on this car

It’s economical, it drives fine and has a good turning circle for a mini four wheel drive the only thing is it can talk too much when using the navigation system (even just to see the map while driving) the absence of an emergency brake system (which even my 2007 fiesta xr4 has) and it felt very boring (ignore me if you don’t want to know my feelings about a car as you believe cars don’t have a personality)

The car works, it runs and does what most people want it to do but if you are wanting a car with a personality or one that has a feature that makes it stand out then don’t buy this car as you’ll be bored and frustrated as I was driving this car or when I drive any car I ask what makes this car stand out from every other car and I couldn’t find anything not to say this is a good car, it’s a good decent car and it get high marks as Nissan makes great four wheel drives but it just misses a vibe, a personality, a special thing that makes the car unique to you

If you get a Nissan Murano your buying a couch on wheels it’s so luxurious why buys merc or a bmw

You get a Ford Falcon xr8 you get a arrgsive v8 that makes you want to take up track racing to test the whole package as you legally can’t on the road

Even a Mitsubishi Lancer wagon (which I once owned) has a vibe of a ecomical beast that you can take anywhere and feel you are driving in the air on long drives while not wasting money on a 70s car to get that feeling

This car just lacks that special something

And that wraps up my review

Next time I review a Mitsubishi asx to find out if it’s just this car that lacks personality or is it all small suvs that lacks that special something