Nissan 074 The Volkswagen Golf has been around for 52 years, the Vauxhall Astra for 47 and the Renault Clio for 36. So what's the big deal about the Nissan Qashqai celebrating its 20th anniversary this year? Ask the production line workers at the factory in Sunderland who build it and they'll say it has brought prosperity to what might otherwise have been a very depressed region, while the engineers at Nissan's technical centre in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, who developed it are likely to cite immense job satisfaction. However, for the many millions of people who have bought one and even those who haven't, the Qashqai's 20th anniversary matters because at a stroke the model created a new style of vehicle that ticks more boxes than you can fit in a Big Yellow Self Storage warehouse. True, if you're a driver who appreciates a keen-handling motor with a low centre of gravity, you'll find little to like about a compact SUV but there's no doubting the popularity of such cars. The Qashqai may not have been the first (there'd already been the Toyota RAV4 Mk1 and Honda HR-V and, long before them, the Talbot Matra Rancho) but it was the first of the breed to embody all the attributes of a modern hatchback at an affordable price and be an enduring success. When the new model appeared in 2006, success was just what Nissan needed after being rescued from bankruptcy by Renault only a few years earlier. "It was early 2000 and we were developing the next Almera," says Pierre Loing, director, global special projects at Nissan. "However, our production line-up was a copy of everyone else's. We were making good cars but not exceptional ones and they were too expensive to produce. So Almera was cancelled and we agreed a new direction." David Moss, senior vice-president, research and development at Nissan remembers the moment well. "It was Friday 13 December 2002 when we got the call that Nissan had cancelled the Almera," he recalls. "We'd come so far with the new hatchback and were devastated." But business is business and the team promptly set about defining the Almera's replacement. Nissan's large Murano SUV had been on sale in the US since 2004 and provided the inspiration, at least from a visual point of view. What's more, the company was known for SUVs. In addition to the Murano, it produced the Patrol and smaller X-Trail. Launching another but with the aim of combining saloon, MPV and hatchback in one compact form, wouldn't be such a big thing for customers to get their heads around. The challenge for the designers and engineers was that the new car would have to accomplish all these roles on a platform shared with the Renault Mégane while selling for around the same price as one. Not only that but it must also have the efficiency and the driving dynamics of its conventional rivals. Matthew Weaver, corporate executive, global design at Nissan and then the new model's exterior designer working at the company's London design studio, remembers the early conversations. "We tried to figure out what it should be," says Weaver. "There was nothing like it but I took to heart a piece of advice that a Nissan executive shared with me: 'Think of it not as SUV down but car up.'" Hearing all three men reminisce, I'm struck by their fondness for the model, a vehicle the memory of which transports them 24 years back in time when they were young men challenging convention. They're confident about sharing the kinds of stories that, under normal circumstances, wouldn't get past the firm's guardians. Stories such as the time Weaver heard the word Qashqai. "It was 2003 and we working on the concept," he says. "I was told the model would be called Qashqai. I looked at the spelling and thought they missed out the letter 'u'. It was then explained to me that Qashqai is the name of a nomadic tribe in Iran. At least it wasn't Dualis, the name the new model was given in Japan." Loing recalls that the name wasn't universally well liked. "Personally, I had no hesitation about it," he says. "The sound of it and the spelling were different, just like the car. Not only that but, like the tribe, the car was something that gave you freedom but it was also urban. However, Japan pushed back and sent the agency who dreamed up the name back to the drawing board. I'm not sure if it subsequently went back to Japan, but if it did, it was eventually accepted." The concept car had its first reveal at the Geneva show in 2004. Weaver remembers arriving a few days before to test some tweaks. The vehicle had adjustable suspension and Weaver and the team began raising the car by degrees. "As we did so and stood back to view it, everyone began nodding their approval. Right there, we realised we'd got the height right." Autocar reported positively on the new model: "British car enthusiasts should take Nissan's latest concept, the Qashqai, very seriously. If this urban 'nomad' gets a positive reaction, it will be a radical step, switching one of the dullest-ever family hatchbacks for an exciting crossover design." Exhaustive testing continued while Weaver's department finessed the design and the manufacturing and engineering teams worked out how the Sunderland plant was going to build a Qashqai every minute. Moss recalls one memorable afternoon during this time when he drove a Japan-spec Qashqai from Sunderland to Cranfield and realised that in its new model, Nissan had something 'special'. "It drove like nothing I'd driven before," he says. And then, in September 2006, the production version was unveiled at the Paris show. Speaking at the launch, Carlos Ghosn, then president and CEO of Nissan, said: "European customers want it all – dynamic design, driving performance and an attractive premium interior. Qashqai delivers it." Loing admits he was anxious. "I'd been telling the media that Nissan had always been trying to emulate the big boys in automotive but that now we were going out on our own," he says. "Their reaction was lukewarm." In fact, Autocar's show report made no mention of the new model. When it did enter the magazine's pages the following January, our reviewer posed the simple but devastating question "what is it?" before concluding: "It's a good enough family hatch but not the convention-shifting car it's sold as." But the road test the following month was a lot more encouraging. Awarding it four stars, Autocar said: "The Qashqai is a capable, likeable and interesting hatchback with excellent levels of refinement that offers a refreshingly different approach to family transport." Hatchback, note, and not SUV. Whatever it was, the public liked it. "We'd committed to sell 100,000 in the first year but smashed that target within nine months," says Loing. "It was a game-changer for us." By 2008, three production shifts were required to satisfy demand. The facelift came in 2009. "Changing the headlights to narrower items was a massive thing for us," recalls Moss. "There was a lot of nervousness." In fact, the market loved the changes. One person, in particular, was very relieved. "We'd sent a new 18in diamond-cut alloy to Japan for review," says Weaver. "Head office didn't want it but we'd already signed it off for production. Fortunately, customers liked it. The plant nicknamed it the 'coffin wheel' for its coffin-like design and, for me, it was very nearly the coffin for my career." By 2012 the plant was turning out 310,000 Qashqais a year. When the model was finally withdrawn from sale in 2013, 1.7 million had been produced for Europe and the rest of the world, with 250,000 sold in the UK. Long before that, of course, attention within Nissan had turned to its successor. "They talk about how difficult the second album can be…" says Moss, ruefully. Fortunately, the Mk2 managed to grasp the relay baton. Autocar praised its quality, economy and refinement and awarded it 4.5 stars but also noted that the chasing pack was closing in. By the time production ended, the Mk2 had notched up more than 370,000 sales in the UK and 1.25 million sales in total, in a much more crowded market. Its replacement arrived in 2021 looking more assertive. Was it an improvement? More of the same was Autocar's opinion and that's not a criticism. It simply continued – and continues – to give what many buyers in the segment desire and what made its predecessors such a success. A Mk4 Qashqai is expected in 2028. Having pioneered a huge new vehicle category, could Nissan find history repeating itself? "I'm 20 years older than I was when we launched Qashqai," says Loing. "When you are a member of the market being served, it's much easier to conceive a solution. We were all in our 40s; we had kids; we liked to be a little premium. We all wanted Qashqai for ourselves and that drove our enthusiasm. "Today, we're still surrounded by the same friends and the same colleagues and we're all older. If we were still thinking of the Qashqai's market, we'd be in big trouble. That's for another generation." Driving the generations Viewed in the company of its successors, the Mk1 Qashqai is by far the smallest and plainest-looking but think back to the hatchback alternatives of the time, such as the Mk5 Vauxhall Astra and Mk5 VW Golf, and it's not difficult to see why buyers were attracted by its promise of 'more car for your money' even if, in truth, it was no roomier or more practical. If the concept was a bit smoke and mirrors, there is at least an honesty about the way the Mk1 rides and handles. It's comfortable and predictable within fairly narrow limits – exactly what its target market wanted. In line with its sharper styling and, at the time, the growing number of competitors, the Mk2 feels sportier but not to the extent that it would alienate less demanding drivers. It's this contradiction that means its steering and handling don't feel like they're quite on the same page. The highlight of the Mk3 is its excellent ePower hybrid system, which delivers the kind of economy hard-pressed families seek today. The car is more agile and certainly more refined than its predecessor. The Mk4 has much to live up to. Spirit of Qashqai – three models that could shake up the market Dacia Striker: Hatchback, estate or SUV – or all three? Like the Qashqai Mk1, the Striker defies convention. It has a jacked-up body and tough cladding so should be an SUV. However, it has a lower roof, which also slopes down at the rear, giving the Striker the appearance of a stretched coupé. All this and it's not much bigger than a hatchback. Jaguar Type 01: We'll have to wait until there are Type 01s in numbers on the road to see how the new design translates from shiny launch to daily reality but the fact is that there's nothing else like it, neither in Jag's archive nor on the road. Like the Qashqai in 2006, it has to succeed. BMW iX5 Hydrogen: We've seen hydrogen cars come and go but BMW's new effort, due in 2028, may be the stimulus energy suppliers need to expand the UK's existing and pitifully small refuelling network. Across the Channel, the hydrogen ecosystem is more advanced, so justifying BMW's investment. ]]>
Liked by Sarah Poirier, Owen MartinLiked by Sarah Poirier, Owen Martin
Liked by Sarah Poirier, Owen Martin
