The Nissan Qashqai Tekna 1.3 DCT Review - Is It Really THAT Bad? 

5:12 I think that's part of the reason why people buy a Qashqai. They don't want a spaceship, they just want a car.

These are the car reviews I enjoy. Not a £2.6m Lamborghini.

I bought a 1.5 dci tekna new in 2017. 60 k miles later all trouble free, I still enjoy driving it. No it’s not a Ferrari but a bloody good every day car. Think you had a downer on it before you started your review.

I swear to god, back in the 1980s when I was 10, I had a pair of short-sleeved pajamas that were *exactly* the same as Jay's shirt in this clip. It's very confusing.

I like my Qashqai. We had Audi and VW prior to this. The German VAG superior build quality is just a myth; you get frequent eye-watering bills for stupid stuff that shouldn’t go wrong. The Nissan is comfortable, smooth (CVT xtronic doesn’t seem to get good reviews, but it is far superior to VAG jerky DSG in my opinion. I have had Audi and VW DSGs and they aren’t great.) It’s cheap (when you buy a few years old) and cheap to run, plenty of space for kids, lovely panoramic roof. It’s not the quickest, (I would still say adequate) but get a stripped out racer if you want that not a fake 4wd!

The main reason for having an crossover rather than a hatch is ride height especially getting kids in and out of the rear, Older people like them because of the ease of entry and driving position.

Had one as a loan car last autumn, was pleasantly surprised. Good car for what it is and ticks lots of boxes

I own a Nissan Qashqai, and to be honest, it has spoilt me. Had two children when we bought it, now three kids, so it's a little too small for taking on holidays, but nothing a roof box doesn't sort out. With the roof box, I average around 46mpg, so I just leave it on the whole time. Around 50/55mpg without it. The thing is, when you own a tekna with all the bells and whistles, it's very hard to downgrade or compromise. Trying to get an suv with a bigger boot that has hill hold, electric heated seats, electric handbrake stop start, keyless entry 360° camera, park assistant (more of a party peice) auto lights with main beam assist, lane keeping assist... you just can't get that much kit on a bigger suv for reasonable money. My next car will probably be the Nissan x trail just so I can get all the same kit with a bigger boot.

Why do some journalists think they know what we should and shouldn’t buy? If he doesn’t like crossovers, don’t review one? The numbers speak for themselves, people do like them and that’s why every manufacture makes them!

The crossover segment explained: A solution for people that would be content with a regular hatchback but want to be a bit higher up, and are too embarrassed to just sit on a cushion.

Always thorough and honest. I had an earlier model on loan a while back. It was comfortable, easy to use. But, like you I don't understand the crossover concept. Loved the camera angles on this by the way! 🤙

You need to live with a car 'really, really' long term, to understand it. I own a Qashqai diesel for 7 years & best car I've ever had, comfortable, good roadholding, genuinely economical, well equipped & very reliable. A short test drive can't do a fine car justice, but this is a common gripe I have with most car journalists.

This is one of those "I've made up my mind to down-play everything about this car" type reviews. It's unfair to compare this end-of-the-line model to a new (boring, bland, pay extra for everything) Golf. Nissan have started production of their new mild hybrid QQ recently. Apparently, Nissan have upped their game significantly with the latest model. Compare the Golf to that to make a fair comparison. German reliability is not what it used to be either. Plus, I wouldn't buy from 'caught blatantly cheating' manufacturers ie VAG group.

My Mrs has one, I use it when I need to move big stuff about. It’s alright, I quite like it... it does what it’s meant to. No drama, good or bad.

I’ve owned a Quashqai 1.5 diesel DCT (dual clutch transmission) automatic for 2 years. Great car and returns average 55 mpg which is fantastic for an automatic.

I have a Qashqai 69 Tekna + 1.5dci manual this comes with 2x elec full leather seats and body colour bumpers, it’s a company car and for me works well as it’s comfortable getting in and out several times a day, ur right tho the Bose stereo is a disappointment as has no adjustments...still much nicer to drive over the Kuga ST which drove like a van and poor radio and quality, I also had a Vauxhall Grandland X which drove / looked nice but had the cheapest interior I’ve ever seen

I had a mk2, it was on pcp. Great car on fuel, radio was awful as was telephone reception. Drive really well and comfy on a long distance drive from Yorkshire to Scotland.

Had one of these as a loan car a couple of years ago and as a car to get the family around, I couldn't really fault it. As you've said lots of things as standard and the dealers have got lots of deals going on. I can see why they are so popular here.

Giving a 69 model for review in trim which isn't even available anymore, classic modern Nissan.

Had a manual as a hire car, lower gears were so short that it meant city driving was trying. However once in the higher gears it became easier to live with.

Interesting to compare this with my 21 year old Focus Mk1. 50 litres more boot space, similar passenger room and inferior MPG in a much bigger package. Not really huge progress over a traditional old school hatchback that cost £500! Thanks for the honest review !

I think it's a great idea to only have electrically operated drivers seat. Hardly any passenger adjusts their seat

I was hoping to click on the video to you standing there in front of the car arms open and just going yes and then the credits roll 🤣🤣🤣 that would have been perfect 🤪

I agree with you on crossovers, then again SUVs are not very roomy either. I once drove a modern RangeRover and felt quite claustrofobic, very closed in. Apart from a van the most practical cars are still MPVs. I have driven a few French ones and currentlly own a Grand Picasso for a daily driver. They do not drive to badly and have lots of space, I can easily carry 4 big tires with the middle seat row up. Great cars to haul parts! But then I love all cars, have owned cars as different as a Ford Ka and a Audi A8... And loved them both!

Dang!. Your T-shirt almost BLINDED me!.

Hi Jay. Would love to hear your thoughts on upcoming kia ev6 and hyunday ioniq 5 nissan Arya and the new Golf R please :))) thank you for all your great videos/content. Regards from Sydney 😉

I've never met someone with something like this, an X1, and gla, etc that has ever needed the extra nothing they have compared to and hatch, we only buy them because we wanna feel we bought more car for our crazy office lifestyle. The only situation is picking up grandma on sundays, but come on, the granny doesn't have to work that hard to get in a 1 series

Good balanced review, though not sure if it will endear you to the Nissan UK PR dept. Good luck getting that Micra now!

Would like to see you review a modern mazda product, ideally not an suv though, a 3 or a 6 would be great.

Karen Gone Rogue mobile, it is, if the steering wheel is on the left.

Love ur vids. Have to ask; you filmed that in the North East wearing that shirt, and there were no ‘incidents’? 😂

I drive a new-ish Qashqai for work on occasion (care worker, Motability car). I must admit, for what we need it for, it is very capable. It's easily accessible, comfortable, safe, quiet, and quite a nice place to be inside. It's just a very relaxed and drama-free car, which makes it absolutely perfect for transporting disabled passengers. As for driving it: it's not going to set your world alight, but it's certainly better than I'd expected. It rides more like a family hatch than a stereotypical SUV; very stable and smooth. The seating position is decent too; high, but with plenty of adjustment for comfort. However, there's one big thing that spoils the entire car in my eyes - the gearbox. The god forsaken Xtronic CVT gearbox. It's honestly horrendous. Think of the most dimwitted and useless excuse for a gearbox you can imagine and mate it to an engine with no discernible torque whatsoever, and you have this Qashqai. Don't get me wrong, it's far from the slowest car I've ever driven, but you can feel how much the gearbox is strangling the performance. Coming into a national speed limit and want some brisk acceleration? Better wait while the accelerator sends a telegram to the gearbox and await a decision in 6-8 weeks. Want to set off quickly from a roundabout? Well you may only crawl for the first few metres before all the power will suddenly come on at once and you'll go skidding into the central island. Want to keep a consistent speed on an undulating country road? You can't, because the gearbox will strangle all the power as soon as you go downhill, only to panic and kick right down when you start going uphill, so the car is revving its tits off whilst making no progress. I cannot understate how utterly hateful I find it. I think Qashqais certainly have their place in the market, and you could do a lot worse. But for the sake of your sanity, don't even consider the CVT

As you mentioned re wanting to test a Micra. I read in Autocar. That stated Japanese engineers wanted soft suspension and didn’t understand UK engineers wanting stiffer suspension. The UK engineers took the Japanese engineers for a drive on UK roads. They were shocked how hard UK drivers drove! They agreed sportier suspicion was required! 😆

This model is at the end of its life. You can't compare it to the new golf, I've got the previous gen golf and tge screens are about the same size.The new model addresses everything you've mentioned.

I hired a Qashqai in Poland for a week.. Done the job quite well!

Mmmm rel acoustics cannot wait to hear that beast!

Just went on to golf configurator and built a mk8 estate style trim, chose 1.5 eTsi 150bhp engine with 7spd DSG, added Atlantic blue metallic, pan roof, Harmon kardon speakers, matrix headlights, winter pack, came to £33,470. I'd definitely prefer that. Or an equivalent Skoda Oktavia build if I wanted to save a little more monies. (Obviously would then visit various online car discount websites)

New Qashqai is round the corner so I don't know why they gave you one you can't even buy anymore. Good review as usual but that shirt! ;-)

Buy cars that are made in Britain. Buy this car and use it at least 10 years. Help Britain and help environment.

What a nice shirt! Is it already summer in the UK? Good review as always.

This has replaced the zafira as the go to family car

A very good review thankyou. As someone who buys their own cars and tends to keep them for several years, what I have against Nissan today is...reliability. Years ago before the Nissan/ Renault alliance and in true Japanese tradition Nissan built really reliable cars. Not today though. I will stick to purchasing Toyota, Honda or Suzuki.

Here in it’s hometown, they’re (lovingly?) called Wearside Wheeliebins 😂

Have the previous generation Qashqai, not a bad car does what it's intended to do, drives ok, work it hard and it can be a joy to drive.

Wondering how many who’ve commented have actually driven a qashqai ...

Crossovers, the only thing i like about them is that they go over speed bumps without catching anything. One of my friends has one of these, whenever he parks it using the reversing cameras he always hits the kerb even though it looks like it's genuinely missed. The 19" wheels have tyres (225/45-19) that no shop ever seems to have on the shelf. It takes about 5 button presses to change the language on the infotainment

Imagine a comparison review of the Skoda Kodiaq and Volkswagen Tiguan that would be cool

Good review as always, but still do not understand the point of the crossover/SUV sector.

Crossovers work because people like a commanding view and they handle our rapidly degrading roads better than most normal saloons and hatchbacks. Go away big rims, bring back 13s and massive tyres!

Must feel quick ,always up the rear end of my M140 on motorway commute to work , come to think of it every time i see one their always on full send , think people who get one think their buying int the same performance as a X3 or SQ3 bless them, you did say at beggining of the video it wasnt a petrol heads purchase.

We have had a couple , for what they are they are adequate at everything a daily needs to do, not special in any thing but, easy to get in and out off (which is a very overlooked " thing" for millions of people. People with the DVLA mobility allowance for a car snap them up.

I own 2018 1.5 diesel connecta model no complaints its just perfect and great on fuel 60 plus mpg

Nothing wrong with hankook tyres mate give them a try I highly rate them had a couple of different ones now v12 and v12 evo both were really good and I have no complaints

I rented one in the 2.0 CVT trim and it was good, apart from the CVT. I bought one in the 2.0 CVT 4x4 trim and it was ok, but living with a Qashqai hasn’t been great. The interior size and build quality could be better. The trade-in value on hatch backs is not good due to the crossover trend so I had to buy a crossover.

What’s happened to the 1.6 diesel? Used to own one was terrible at junctions 2 sec delay with the accelerator also cabin very noisy other than that was a great car!

You need a computer to change the rear brake pads ....what an amazing car

JayM. So the Qcar is just and old school Nissan Primera in Sunderland on stilts ? Think those stampings were used here Downunder in the eighties till the plant closed and tooling sent to the U.K. ! V.

One of the countries most stolen cars too. Coupled with Renault, I personally wouldn't touch one with a barge pole. Lots of reviews regarding the reliability being poor. Nissan used to be a manufacturing would go to for a Japanese reliable car. Those days have long gone

RESPECT! I too will now drive with a rabbit's foot on my chest. I need all the luck I can get on the roads where I live! lol

Thanks J.

SUVs are handy if you have small children to lift in and out of. I've got an XC-40 for daily duties - it's light years ahead of the Qashqai in terms of design, build quality and well, pretty much everything. My Porsche 928 S4 is for fun weekend drives and long distance touring.

Keep in mind that, in many countries in Europe, cars get taxed based on their displacement. In Greece, for example, the difference between a 1.3 and a 1.4 engine is 120€

It's dull as dishwater but people seem to like it.

Had a brand new one on hire last year, thought good chance to see if its worth trading the wife's 12 plate Q3, not a chance, so small inside and felt so flimsy. Didn't have high hopes for it but really disappointed, wife hated it too

I dont wish to buy a car that I can't spell.

I had one as a rental car . It was comfy but I don't like auto start and stop . I also had a manual gearbox which I like . I don't like automatics . Not a bad car but also not memorable .

Looks nice, drives nice, worst rear seat/space I have ever come across in ANY car larger than Fiesta/Polo size. My old Fabia held 3 adults/kids in similar discomfort

We actually just leased a Qashqai Tekna MY2021. But to be honest i'm a bit disappointed when i realised how many of the features I've read and saw about before, was removed on this MY. So we are now looking into cancelling the lease on it. Nissan choosed to remove many features from the last version/MY of the old Qashqai. There is no Pro-Pilot anymore (the blue botton on the steering wheel is gone), no Blind-Spot Warning, No adaptive cruise control, no lane keeping assist/steering, no Bose-speakers, no assisted parking etc. Not even in the Tekna- version. Instead they upgraded the seats a little and the wheels. Very strange that you reduce the number of safety features in favor of looks. And to be honest, the lease was for 36 months and in 3 years that car will be very outdated.

Come on Jay. Quality rather than quantity.

Clearly the guy didn’t like the car before doing the review… so what do you expect?

The intro tune's changed!

Since Nissan got into bed with Renault, they're just not the same. I used to own a P10 Nissan Primera, still one of the most fun cars to drive I've owned. Later I got a P12 and it was just ditchwater in comparison. Went backwards and got a P11-144 and it was a revelation to drive. Brought back much better memories.

I think you had a down on the car from the start. I have had one for more than a year, the Tekna 160 auto. I find it difficult to fault, its quite, smooth and comfortble. It never spins the wheels in the dry and only in the wet when starting off agressivly on a corner at a junction. You said it was OK up to 70? it flies up to 90 no problem and no fuss. All in all a great car

My in-laws have a first gen and it’s very.... useful... what is surprising is that apparently they keep selling 500k of these each year for a total of 5mill in total! Makes the game “Oh look another qashqai” quite entertaining

I think in fairness an all new model is around the corner, which you didn't mention.

For £31k you can get an i30 fastback N! I realise anybody who's looking at an auto Qashqai doesn't understand fun cars, but that a lot more car in almost every way.

Did u do a Dacia yet?

A pet peeve with Crossovers is that, despite being jacked up, they don't have mudflaps. The spray from the backend of them is awful.

James I’m hoping you will review another of my cars you have done my Corsa vxr and Lexus gs300 I now have a rare black on black gs430 that I have just straight piped if your interested let me know and I’ll see if I can dig out your email address again all the best dude

I own a 2018 1.5 dci n connecta easily gets 55 to 60 mpg. really comfortable plenty of space quiet on the road it'll sit all day 80 plus mph on the motorway returning 60mpg. I don't feel fatigue after driving for a few hours. I think your review is a bit biased for some strange reason. I can't really fault it.

We had a Tekna 4WD and replaced it with a 4motion Tiguan mk2 and the Qashqai was a better car to drive. Lower centre of gravity and didn’t feel like it was going to topple over in the corners.

Getting the Nconnecta on2 year lease for under £300

JayEmm, Mazda3 best hatchback right now?

I too hate the crossover segment. Nothing on earth could make me want one. Plus I hate seeing these all over the bloody place. Saw a lot of them on the roads in South Africa, but there's a lot more on the roads here in the UK.

This splendid vehicle is known as the Rogue Sport in the United States. I do not know about the UK but in the United States it is primarily sold to people with very bad credit and similar ability to make decisions. It's also only sold with their terrible CVT

OK, it doesn't have to be exciting, but over 30k is a lot for a small/medium hatchback even with gadgets. You can get a serious carrier like a VW Sharan!

Weight wise, most of the fat in any car comes from chassis strengthening and engine cooling. Tiny engines weigh much less and require a lot less cooling

i want to make a passing comment here, the 2021 qashqai has a full digital dashboard even on the base model, so i suspect you were given an older model given the analogue dash

Ahhh the Nissan Cashcow, one of the best selling cars in the UK. Oh dear..didn't Jeremy Clarkson call it the Nissan Kumquat? I would agree with that description. Also what kind of 31k pile of poo comes with one electric seat? Why didnt they go the whole hog and give it one electric window if they want be cheapskates?

This is not a car for a short review. This is a car to live with, for everyday use. I really like my 2020 1.3.

Had one for a while. Good for families, poor for someone that likes cars. Wallowy, slow and completely unsporty but cheap, efficient and spacious.

I've own a 1.6 diesel tekna plus 2 Qashqai its done us proud at 105000 miles it's held up to the kids abuse and they make sense the plus two because you've got the biggest 7-seater. I kind of feel the later models are not progressing I actually prefer the look of mine from 2013, the problem by this model is it stuck in between the duke and the extra but not really making much impact has something different. To be fair some people slag off Nissan held up better than my Ford did. I to worry about their sports cars disappearing and for the 400 z not to come here is a crime. Also call these forgettable is the same as saying the focus is forgettable Qashqai is the people's car that's why it's so common and popular

Couple of points; You're driving a 3rd generation Qashqai, not a 2nd generation. 2nd gen is 14-18, your car is 2019 and even sports the unique 3rd gen paint which was only available for that gen. Gen 3 is very similar to gen 2, but anyone that has had a gen 2 like myself can spot the difference immediately. Since it's a gen 3, and from 2019, it's not a 7 year-old car, so the paint flaking off the rear sensor would be more alarming, but it looks more likely that it's been swapped with a miss-matching colour piece? As for the buttons, many of them stem from the gen 1 so not surprising they look a little outdated, though the steering wheel is completely new and very different to my gen 2. My gen 2 Qashqai will be 7 years old in September and I've had no reliability issues with it at all, it still runs smoothly. As for the points about the boot and cabin size, I think you're kind of missing the point of what a crossover really is. It is meant to be a car with the higher ride height of an SUV but the feel of a slightly enlarged hatchback, and that's precisely what it achieves. Put it this way, it should be compared to something like a Ford Fiesta for internal space, which it comfortably beats, it had a much better interior quality feel to a fiesta as well, but have a more commanding driving position.

I love the Qashqai. The chassie control prevent you rolling around when doing aggresive cornering. Always drive a manual. All auto gearboxes are really rubbish. The new one 2021 dont like the outside but i love the upgraded tech.

it's a lot easier to be honest if the cars not someone's pride and joy lol

Im guessing the quinoa is the same as the pathfinder

Err...does Mr. Emm realise that there is a two tiered floor in the boot of a J11 Qashqai for....large boxy type articles?

After owning an E11 with the 1.5 diesel id have to say that you're better off buying one of those than the Qashqaui.

Drove a 1.5 diesel model. Pretty nice interior and a decent drive but ruined by a gutless engine.

Nice colour.