• Spacious and flexible interior
• Boot space easily expands
• Plenty of extra storage areas

How much space is there?

Family cars need to be roomy and practical, which is a positive for the Mk2 Nissan Qashqai as it’s both of those things. It will easily ferry three kids in the back – and three adults if they don’t mind sitting close – while the extra height of the bodywork allows for easier entry and exit of the car. That’s particularly useful when installing child seats or transporting less mobile passengers.

Interior storage space is mainly devoted to a large central storage box between the front seats, although there are plenty of cubbies and compartments to store keys, wallets and mobile phones. To make room for this, the Qashqai uses an electronic parking brake switch rather than a conventional handbrake lever.

One slight niggle is that over-the-shoulder visibility is still restricted by the large rear pillars, making checking the blindspot tricky at times. Most models get a single or 360-degree surround-vision parking camera, but they’re not the highest-resolution displays on that central multimedia screen.

Boot space and storage

The Mk2 Qashqai’s tailgate opens higher than the original Qashqai’s, and Nissan redesigned it so you don’t bash your head on it when you’re loading the boot up (which was a fundamental problem with the Mk1 car). Boot volume also measures 430 litres with the seats up, which is 20 litres more than you got in the first model. Plus, the rear seats fold in a 60:40 split on all models – but they don’t lie completely flat.

The boot floor is made up of a pair of panels which can be positioned at two heights, either lower to increase boot space or higher to make for a flatter floor when the rear seats are folded. In their highest position, there isn’t much of a lip between the boot space and tailgate, making it reasonably easy to slide heavy items out of the boot.

Both floor panels have a carpet surface on one side and a wipe-clean surface on the other, helpful when carrying wet or muddy items. The rearward panel can also be stood upright to divide the boot into two sections, to separate dry and wet items for example, or just to help stop your shopping rolling around.

Helpfully, the parcel shelf can be stored under the boot floor when required. A tyre repair kit in lieu of a spare wheel is standard – a proper spare wheel is available at extra cost. It’s worth noting that this option is not available if you spec the rich-sounding Bose stereo, as the woofer speakers are positioned in the spare wheel well.

Plastic hooks to hang shopping bags on are moulded into the boot sides, while inside the cabin there is more interior storage space than before, with a large central storage box between the front seats. This features an aux-in socket, USB port and 12v socket for charging electrics, with a space under the lid to run a cable through so devices can be still be plugged in when not stowed in the box itself.

Safety

• Rated five stars by Euro NCAP in 2014
• Raft of still modern safety kit
• Many items are optional

A used Nissan Qashqai Mk2 that has been maintained well and has no history of accident damage should be a very safe car for the cost. Check that all recalls have been corrected, as some examples needed correction to a wheel arch liner that could damage a brake hose, and cars with the official towing kit had an incorrect bolt specification.

In the Euro NCAP test applicable when launched the Nissan Qashqai scored the full five stars, with particularly high scores for adult and child protection, as well as a strong score for pedestrian safety. You can’t compare that with the latest ratings, but it’s valid when shopping for used cars of a similar age.

Various active safety technology systems are available under Nissan’s ‘Safety Shield’ banner. Depending on trim, some are standard and some are extras at extra cost – see the Equipment section for details.

When buying a used car it’s worth remembering that the Euro NCAP performance is based on original equipment tyres, correctly calibrated sensors and brakes and suspension in perfect order. If mixed brand or budget tyres have been fitted the active safety systems may be less effective.

Systems available include:

• Blind Spot Warning – upgraded in facelift models to use radar sensors to detect vehicles hidden in the Qashqai’s blindspot – it illuminates a light in the corresponding windscreen pillar to warn the driver.
• Intelligent Driver Alertness – displays a warning on the instrument panel should steering inputs become erratic in a way that suggests the driver is drowsy.
• Front Collision Avoidance and Forward Emergency Braking – scans the road ahead via radar and issues an audible warning if it detects an imminent collision, before applying the brakes automatically in an emergency. Can now spot pedestrians too
• High Beam Assist – automatically switches the headlamps from full beam to avoid dazzling other traffic.
• Lane Departure Warning – alerts the driver if they drift out of lane without indicating. This is actually very irritating in practice – it’s hair-trigger sensitive and emits a harsh beeping noise if you touch a white line.
• Moving Object Detection – should a moving object come within their range when manoeuvring, the Around View cameras trigger an audible warning and highlight the rough location of the object on the display screen.
• Traffic Sign Recognition – front-facing camera reads speed limit signs and displays them on the instrument panel; function works abroad in Europe, too.
• Rear Cross Traffic Alert – from 2017 facelift models onwards, this system alerts you if you’re about to reverse into a road with a car approaching from the side.

Watch the Mk2 Nissan Qashqai crash test video