NISSAN really found the right niche with the Qashqai soft-roader, appealing to many buyers who want 4x4 looks but never intend to get their car muddy.
My brother-in-law bought one - without asking my advice – and has been delighted with it ever since.
He and his wife love the high driving position and the good level of equipment but more than anything, they value its superb reliability after a BMW let them down badly.
Two- litre petrol and diesel models are available with four-wheel-drive but all the others have front wheel drive for better economy and are a good deal cheaper.
The 2.0-litre petrol has 140bhp and the 2.0-litre diesel 147bhp. Other engines are a petrol 1.6 with 113bhp and a diesel 1.5 with 105bhp.
The petrol 1.6 has to be worked hard for decent performance but all the others offer good to excellent acceleration.
The ride is comfortable over all surfaces and the handling and road-holding are excellent, with only a small amount of roll.
Interior
The clutch is light, the five-speed gearchange easy and there's plenty of legroom front and rear but oddly the electric window switches are too far back and difficult to get at.
Comfort is great but the seats are too deep, which means the front is too high behind the thighs and shorter drivers may need a cushion.
FAST FACTS
Nissan Qashqai
Price: Pay about £9,000 for an ’07 07-reg Visia, £14,300 for an ’09 09-reg Tekna
Mechanical: 105bhp, 1461cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving front wheels via 6-speed manual gearbox
Max speed: 108mph
0-62mph: 12 seconds
Combined mpg: 54
Insurance group: 16
CO2 emissions: 139 g/km
Marks: 9/10
Main rival: Ford Focus, Suzuki Vitara