The Nissan Qashqai, the car that invented the crossover segment, has regained the BusinessCar Crossover of the Year crown it lost to the Skoda Yeti, which then passed it on to the Hyundai ix35 in 2015.
The second generation of the pioneering model is now well established in the business market following its UK arrival in early 2014 when, by the end of that year, it was a top-six fleet seller.
Across the model’s two generations, Nissan has now built more than half a million Qashqais at its Sunderland plant. It claims the car has hit this milestone faster than any other UK-built model.
Although the corporate favourite is clearly the 99g/km 110hp 1.5 diesel, Nissan has been expanding the range, with a couple of petrol models added last year in the form of the 163hp 1.6 turbo and the 115hp 1.2, boasting emissions of 138g/km and 129g/km respectively. The carmaker has added a new Ntec+ trim level to the line-up, too.
However, it’s the Qashqai’s high driving position, good looks, excellent residual values, decent equipment and very tidy handling that have combined to make the model a winner, both in terms of sales and in
being BusinessCar’s Crossover of the Year.
