Nissan Releases UK Pricing for 2010 Qashqai and Qashqai+2 Facelift

The updated 2010 Qashqai and its seven-seater sibling, the Qashqai+2, will go on sale in Britain next March with prices starting from £15,395 and £16,695 respectively. Both the standard and long-wheel base models benefit from a new nose job, revised LED tail lamps, improved aerodynamics, a new instrument cluster and a retuned suspension to further improve ride comfort and responsiveness.

What's more, ESP (electronic stability program) is now fitted as standard across the compact crossover's range. From the Acenta grade and above, Nissan has added a standard Speed Limiter while the Tekna trim-level gains a Bose speaker system. All equipment upgrades apply to both the Qashqai and Qashqai+2.

The 2010 model year also sees the addition of a new Pure Drive variant that is motivated by a 1.5-litre dCi diesel engine.

A weight reduction program and the adoption of aerodynamic wheel covers, combined with the blanking of the fog lamp sockets, the fitment of low rolling resistance tyres and the lengthening of the final drive ratio all work to reduce CO2 emissions from 137 to 129g/km. The Qashqai Visia Pure Drive is priced at £16,795.

2010 Nissan Qashqai : First Official Photos of Facelift Model

Nissan has given its European market compact crossover, the Qashqai, a mid-life makeover for 2010 to prolong its appeal to consumers. So what's new about the Qashqai? Well, first of all, most of the cosmetic changes concern the front end as hood, bumper, fenders, grille and headlights have all been revised giving the Qashai a much more aggressive look.

There are also two new exterior colors, revised tail lights with LED technology, and newly designed 17-inch alloy wheels.

These styling changes together with a series of other improvements are said to have reduced the Qashqai's drag coefficient from 0.34 to 0.33.

Inside, Nissan is promising new trims, better quality materials, reduced noise, vibration, and harshness levels, plus a revised instrument panel cluster with a new LCD screen.

Completing the upgrades is a retuned suspension that's said to further improve handling. The engine lineup remains unchanged.

Also new for the 2010 model year, is the introduction of an eco-friendly version called 'ECO Qashqai' that is powered by Nissan's (okay, Renault's) 1.5-liter turbo diesel engine.

Nissan said that this model benefits from a series of weight saving measures, aero tweaks, low rolling-resistance tires and longer gear ratios, to achieve 129 g/km CO2.

The new Qashqai will go on sale in Europe in Spring of 2010.

Love it or Loathe it: Nissan Qazana Small Crossover Study

Supposedly previewing Nissan's new small crossover model that's expected in 2010, the Qazana made its first ever appearance at the Geneva Motor Show. It goes without saying the production model that will be built at the firm's Sunderland plant in the UK, will feature a much less dramatic design that the concept study. That said, don't expect to see the Qazana's suicide rear-doors or 20-inch alloys making it into production.

"The Qazana concept is an intelligent, all-wheel drive crossover which is masculine, agile, lean, and designed for the tough city streets," said Atsushi Maeda, Studio Chief Designer, Nissan Design Europe. "Our team at Nissan Design Europe (NDE) in London realized this image with the motif of a modern day beach buggy and four-seat motor-bike," Atsushi added.

Mixing SUV and a few sports car styling cues like the low roofline, the design proposal for a "baby" Qashqai is quite compact measuring 4,060mm in length (110mm longer than a Ford Fiesta but 277mm shorter than a Focus), 1,570mm in height, 1,780 in width and has a wheelbase of 2530mm.

Inside, Nissan claims that the shape of the centre console and armrest have been inspired by the fuel tank and seat of a sports motocycle. "I enjoy the sensation of being at one with my bike and wanted to capture that feeling in Qazana," said Paul Ray, senior interior designer at NDE. ""The way the structure appears through the fabric of the interior also reflects motorcycle design and construction."

The Japanese automaker did not reveal any information on the concept's mechanics other than it is equipped with the firm's next generation fully electronic ALL MODE four-wheel drive with torque vectoring system.

Nissan Releases Teaser Shot of Qazana Small Crossover Concept

The undisputed star of the Nissan stand at next month's Geneva Show will be the Qazan Concept which promises to provide a good indication of the, as yet unnamed, small crossover that the Japanese automaker is readying for production at its UK Sunderland plant from 2010. While the first official teaser shot of the car leaves a lot to the imagination, Nissan did reveal that the Qazan is a five-door model with the rear doors opening forwards once the front doors have been opened, in the style of 'suicide doors'.

Nissan said that the trial builds of the production version will begin in early 2010 before its introduction on the Micra/Note line. There it will take up manufacturing capacity created when production of the current Micra ends later that same year.

Trevor Mann, Nissan Senior Vice President for Manufacturing in Europe, commented: "The difficulties currently facing the car industry have been widely documented, and Nissan has not been immune. As a result we have had to make some difficult decisions, but the reason we have done so is to secure a long and positive future for the plant. Qazana points the way to that future and gives an indication of the unique and exciting car we will be producing in Sunderland next year."