Finding the perfect family car can be a challenge and there different families have different needs.
We have moved on from needing three car seats in the rear, with now just Sebby needing one, but we also have to consider that Isaac (12) and Eliza (9) are growing fast and will soon need more leg room.
Over the half term break, we were invited to review one of the UK’s best selling family cars – the Nissan Qashqai Tekna, and I immediately fell for its looks.
The Interior
The Nissan Qashqai is a small SUV, a comparable size to the Peugeot 3008 and is packed full of a whole host of great features. The Tekna 1.7 DCI model we reviewed featured 19-inch alloys, a panoramic sunroof, part-leather trim and a premium eight-speaker Bose stereo with a subwoofer – perfect for my budding DJ’s in the car.
The car is equipped with the Nissan Connecta seven-inch touchscreen system which includes a built-in sat-nav, smartphone connectivity, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, DAB and analogue stereo and the parking sensor screen. You can also connect your phone via a USB port in the central storage box.
A basic Sat Nav screen also features on the dashboard and instructions are displayed on it, only when a turn is coming. I also liked that the Qashqai comes with traditional dial features, rather than being entirely electronic.
The kids loved the panoramic roof, which can be opened and closed for your comfort and there are several cubbies that are perfect for all the paraphernalia that kids want to transport when you are travelling.
Space wise, the rear seats have two full sized seats, including isofix points and a smaller half size seat between them, which means it would be a tight squeeze if you need more than one car seat. Sebby has a narrow booster, but on longer journey’s the kids did complain that there wasn’t enough room.
Boot wise, the storage capacilty is 430 litres, which is on the small side, by can fit in a large shop when empty. Lilah’s buggy did fit in it, however, you would struggle to fit anything else around it.
We folded all the seats down to make room for Kian’s stuff when we moved him back to Bristol and there was plenty of room to fit everything in.
Performance
We mostly did country drives during our week, travelling around Dorset and Somerset and it is lovely to drive, nice and quiet and a very comfortable ride.
We did managed a few miles of motorway driving to test out Nissan’s ProPilot system. This features adaptive cruise control and a smart active lane-keeping system, matching the speed of the car in front, and keeping you in your lane with subtle steering wheel adjustments. This is operated via an easy one touch system on the steering wheel.
Our Verdict
I loved the look of the Nissan Qashqai, with its angular front, LED lights and vivid blue colour. In fact Abbey declared it was the perfect car for her.
However, as a family with three children at home, aged 7, 9 and 12 it is not quite big enough for us as the rear seats are two small to add in a car seat comfortably.
I would say that the Nissan Qashqai is the ideal sized family car for two adults and one or two children.
The on-road price for the Nissan Qashqai Tekna 1.7 DCI is £34,015 with other options are available.
Disclaimer: We were sent the Nissan Qashqai Tekna for a week for the purpose of a review. All opinions are our own.
This looks like a great car although perhaps not for the larger family if you need to use car seats. I love the boot space!
my brother has the nissa qashqai but I don’t know which model definitely bigger than this one although i much rather like the storage space in this one.
Looks like a wonderful car, love the colour blue too! I dont think it would be big enough for us but seems great for a family of 3 or 4! I Iike it has plenty of boot space too
I love cars which have a large booth space and so the Nissan Qashqai ticks the box for me. The interior looks modern and glad that they do still use traditional dial features as I prefer that
I am certainly impressed with that car, it would be great as second run around car due to its size. The boot looks roomy.
I love how big the boot is! With everything we need to carry this looks like a great family car. Looks gorgeous too.
My dad has wanted a Qashqai for years now. I think he may upgrade very soon. I have to admit it does look like a nice car.
Oh wow this looks a lush car . In love with the royal blue colour and how much space there is in the boot!
The space in the boot looks great, my kids would like the roof too. Do you think it would fit 2 car seats and a booster seat?
This looks like a great car!! I only past my test 3 years ago and still have a banger of a car, but at least it gets me from A to B.
this looks like a great family car-especially the storage space. Ours is okay with one child but definitely going to look into this if we ever have another child!