Nissan Qashqai safety doesn’t present much of a cause for concern. The car gained a maximum five-star rating in the Euro NCAP crash tests.

All cars are fitted with twin front, side and curtain airbags plus electronic stability control is standard on 2.0-litre petrol and 2.0 dCi models (optional on other engines), which can help the car recover from a skid.

There are Isofix child seat mounting points in the rear and the front head restraints react to reduce the chance of whiplash injuries in a crash. An alarm is fitted on all Acenta, n-tec and Tekna models as well as the 2.0-litre Visia.

Since it’s bigger than a normal hatchback, you’d expect Nissan Qashqai practicality to be fairly good. It has a 410-litre boot but despite the car’s height the luggage area isn’t that easy to access as the tailgate doesn’t open high enough – that said the load space is wide and long.

Disappointingly the seats don’t do anything particularly clever – they only fold conventionally and have a standard 60/40 split – which isn’t as flexible as some other family cars. There’s a large glove compartment and a storage drawer under the front passenger seat on most models plus there are cup holders between the front seats as well as storage in the arm rest.

Rear parking sensors are standard on Acenta , Tekna and n-tec grades and are replaced with a rear-view camera if satellite navigation is fitted.