Nissan Replaces 150HP 2.0L Diesel with New 130HP 1.6L Diesel in Qashqai

A new and more fuel-efficient but also less powerful 1.6-liter turbo diesel engine is taking the place of the 2.0-liter diesel in the European lineup of the Qashqai and its longer, seven-seat sibling, the Qashqai+2.

The new 1.6-liter diesel delivers 130-horsepower and 320Nm (236 lb-ft) of torque from 2,000rpm to only 1,750rpm, compared to 150HP and 320Nm at 2,000 rpm of the outgoing 2.0 dCi engine.

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New 1.6 dCi Pure Drive engine for Nissan Qashqai

In line with a pledge to continually lower the emissions from its cars, Nissan has developed a new Pure Drive version of the top selling Qashqai producing just 129g/km of CO2 with a fuel consumption of 4,9 l/100 km.



It is powered by a brand new, state-of-the-art 1.6-litre diesel engine that not only delivers strong fuel economy and low emissions but which has the same levels of torque and top speed as the 2.0-litre dCi engine it replaces.



Peak power from the new engine is 130PS which is backed by an exceptional 320Nm of torque, available from as low as 1,750rpm. And this is just the start. Early next year a version of the model will be launched with Nissan's Stop / Start System which will help to reduce CO2 emissions still further to a remarkable 119 g/km and 4.5 l/100 km of fuel consumption.







"Nissan dominates the crossover market with its ground-breaking design and consumer-friendly technologies. With the introduction of this new diesel engine, we give our customers the best of both worlds - low emissions plus an even better driving performance.



"This is a remarkable engine, best in class in so many respects. It provides the dynamic driving performance which matches that of the outgoing 2.0-litre dCi yet produces fuel consumption and emission figures equal to or better than our existing 1.5-litre dCi unit," said Paul Willcox, Senior Vice President, Nissan Europe.



To add to the dynamic excitement come a number of innovative new items of equipment including, for the first time on a C-segment car, Around View Monitor. More usually found on luxury cars, AVM uses a series of small cameras located on the exterior of the vehicle to make parking and manoeuvring as safe as possible by giving the driver a real-time bird's eye view of the environment around the car. A sophisticated new CVT gearbox will also be available on 1.6-litre petrol models to bring further drivetrain options to the range.



These latest developments underline Nissan's leadership of the booming Crossover market and keep Qashqai well ahead of its opposition.



"When Qashqai was launched in 2007 it quickly re-wrote the C-segment rule book, offering innovation and character in a previously conservative market. Its combination of SUV looks and toughness with dynamic handling, strong performance and plenty of interior space captured the imagination of the car-buying public.



"After a little more than four and a half years, we've built more than one million Qashqai and seven-seat Qashqai+2 models at our Sunderland factory where we have three shifts working 24 hours a day to keep up with demand. On average we build 1,200 examples every day," said Guillaume Cartier, Vice President Sales, Nissan Europe.



"The new Pure Drive 1.6dCi Qashqai, especially with innovative options like Stop / Start System and the Around View Monitor, will cement our leadership of the Crossover segment," he added.



Note: The Pure Drive designation is given to every Nissan product that emits 130g/km of CO2 or less. On its introduction the ‘cut off' point was 140g, but as part of the Nissan Green Programme membership of this exclusive club gets tougher all the time. The programme calls for a further drop to 120g in 2013.



| Nissan

2007 Nissan Qashqai - US may see it in the near future

Yesterday, Nissan presented its all new compact crossover the Qashqai which will attempt to capture the imagination of 100.000 European buyers annually. According to Nissan, the Qashqai's clientele will spring from a variety of segments, including premium C-Segment cars like the VW Golf & Audi, lower D-Segment models such as the Toyota Avensis & the Ford Mondeo and of course, compact SUV's like the Hyundai Tuscon and the Suzuki SX4.

Although Nissan's attempt to lure buyers from a variety of standardized categories is somewhat new in Europe, this is a common practice for car makers in the US. See an example: the B-Segment supermini Honda Fit (Jazz in Europe) is considered to be an alternative to the C-Segment Nissan Versa (Tiida).

Having thus in mind, it makes absolute sense for Nissan to bring the Qashqai in the USA. Nissan know's this but there is a one very big obstacle: the Qashqai is manufactured solely in Britain, where 1 pound equals to $1.88 (September 7 exchange rate).

So does that mean that the Qashqai won't see the US shores? Well according to a top Nissan official I spoke to, if you're asking whether the Qashqai will be imported to the US from Britain, the answer is no. But, if the question is, will Nissan's USA line-up see a Qashqai based model, then the answer is "watch the space, you might see something very interesting in the near future".

Given the fact that the Qashqai is based on the Renault Megane II derived, Versa platform, then the Dodge Caliber may very well find a worthy emulator sooner than it thinks.

Nissan Qashqai Picture Leak

The first totally uncovered image of Nissan's upcoming Qashqai submerged into to the net, a month before its official unveiling at the Paris Motor Show.

Based on the homonymous concept which was revealed in the 2004 Geneva Motor Show, the Qashqai will try to grab the attention of European buyers who find C-segment models like the VW Golf and Opel Astra a tad compromising and boring. According to Nissan, the Qashqai will combine characteristics from C-segment hatchback, SUV and MPV models (sounds very familiar to the Dodge Caliber concept, doesn't it ?).

Although the production version seems to stay very close to the concept iin terms of design, it is not sure yet if 4wheel drive will be standard on all versions of the Qashqai.

Practically, the Qashqai, which is named after a southern Iranian nomadic tribe, will take on the role of the Almera & Primera in Nissan's European line-up. This is the second model in Nissan range that tries to lure buyers from different categories. The first one was the mini-MPV, Note which aims at buyers who want a B-segment sized car (Fiat Punto, Renault Clio etc) with C-segment interior space (Peugeot 307, Opel Astra etc).

In other words, Nissan has accepted its defeat in mainstream segments in Europe, focusing now on more niche -and less competitive, categories. After seeing what happened to companies like Fiat, who can blame them ?

Exclusive Paris Sneak Peak: 2007 Nissan Qashqai Production model Teaser Video

Get a first sneak peak at Nissan's 2007 Qashqai production model that will be officially unveiled at the 2006 Paris Motor Show. According to the teaser video, Nissan will release the preliminary photos and specs on September 6th.

Based on the homonymous concept which was revealed at the 2004 Geneva Motor Show, the Qashqai is a compact crossover that combines characteristics from various categories (C-segment hatchback models like the VW Golf /Rabbit, SUV's and MPV's). If that doesn't sound like a perfect match for the Dodge Caliber I wonder what does.