New Nissan Qashqai’s engine refresh sees the end of old petrol and diesel powertrains.
Nissan Australia has lodged fillings with the Australian government’s Road Vehicle Certification System (RVCS) website which confirm the local arm intends to drop the current 2.0L naturally-aspirated engine in favour of a new 1.3-litre turbo. It is not really news as Nissan already launched the new generation model overseas, dropping all diesels and only offering mild and hybrid petrol engines, as reported in our first drive review of the new Nissan Qashqai.
The initial line-up, then, is relatively simple. While the competition in this class – everything from the Mazda CX-5 to the Hyundai Tucson and VW Tiguan – is offered with a wide spectrum of diesel and petrol engines with up to 225kW, the Qashqai gets by with a single 1.3-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol motor, producing either 103kW or 116kW in overseas spec depending on variant.
There is mild-hybrid technology to help boost efficiency. It’s a relatively less advanced system, based on 12v electrics instead of the more potent 48v tech that’s becoming more widely available by the day. It’s possible the 12v system won’t be offered here, much like Mazda has been slow to adopt the similar M-Hybrid system due to saving costs.
However, it also seems that the first e-Power hybrid model Nissan Australia will introduce is the Qashqai e-Power. The e-Power version brings a 1.5-litre producing 115kW and electric motor at 140kW and 330Nm into the mix.
It’s probably worth remembering that this Qashqai has grown a little – to 4.43 metres in length, in fact. So for many, the extra power of the e-Power will be handy.
Nissan Australia will make a formal announcement on the local Qashqai lineup closer to its on-sale date with potential for minor alternations on overseas specification.
Alex Rae