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BARCELONA, Spain
If the top man in your car manufacturing organisation has a name with too few vowels and an unpronounceable jumble of consonants, maybe it shouldn’t be a big surprise if the company comes up with a name for its latest car which makes most people crease up their foreheads and say “Cash what?”
Introducing the Nissan Qashqai (pronounced Cash Ki), produced by the Japanese company run by the world’s favourite car chief executive, Carlos Ghosn (pronounced Go-an). Imagine going along to Mr Ghosn’s office and saying that the new name for its trend setting car in Europe is unpronounceable, doesn’t mean anything to prospective buyers, and may cost the company sales.
Nissan says the Qashqai name comes from a desert-dwelling nomadic tribe living near the Zagros Mountains in South Western Iran. That’s right, it celebrates the culture of a group of people that are about to introduce nuclear weapons and have threatened Israel with devastation and extinction. Curiouser and curiouser.
But it did allow Nissan’s European design director Stephane Schwarz to say this about the vehicle: “(It’s an) Urban Nomad. It’s tough and compact for the city but sleek and agile for journeys away from the town.”
Qashqai was the name used when the project was still in concept form, and many of us believed that when it got the nod for production, Nissan would choose something more user-friendly. It must be one of the first rules of marketing that if the pronunciation of the name needs help, the name is simply wrong.
Look past the name
But the dodgy name shouldn’t detract from the fact that Nissan has a winner on its hands here.
Perhaps the only other reservation about this super new combination of Sport Utility Vehicle and hatchback, is that its looks have lost some of the excitement generated by the concept vehicle. The styling has been toned down a bit. The front looks a bit dull. The bulging wheel arches are reminiscent of the (much cheaper) Dodge Caliber, and that’s no bad thing. The overall impression is that this vehicle is workmanlike and value for money, at least compared with its European competitors. It won’t be generating gasps of admiration like its elder sibling, the Morano.
On the road the Qashqai is impressive. The Renault two-litre diesel option on the test drive here in Spain produced good acceleration and a quiet, adequate performance. Steering is impressive and the six-speed gearbox worked well. The raised seating gives excellent road vision. Even though the car is high, it doesn’t roll significantly in corners. The interior is neat and logical with top rate build quality and decent plastics. The vision to the back is restricted by the rear pillars, and although the seats fold flat, they don’t slide.
Sales start in March
Sales start in March, 2007 in the U.K, then rollout across Europe. Prices begin at £13,499/€19,980 for the 1.6 litre petrol version, peaking at £19,199-€28,400 for the 2.0 litre diesel, which won’t be available until April. There will be a 1.5 litre diesel as well and a 2.0 litre petrol motor at launch. Four-wheel drive is not standard. Two types of automatic gearboxes are available - a six-speed torque converter on the 2.0 litre diesel, and a CVT on the 2.0 litre petrol version.
Nissan says the Qashqai is a compact crossover which combines “the best attributes of a traditional hatchback, with the slightly elevated seating position, robustness and on-road sure-footedness of a compact SUV.”
Nissan spent £139 million (€206 million) readying the vehicle for production. About 100,000 sales a year will be in Europe, with the rest going to Japan, Russia and other emerging markets. The Qashqai won’t be sold in the U.S, although I spied a remarkably similar concept car at the Detroit Car Show called the Nissan Rogue. The Rogue is a bit bigger than the Qashqai.
Look out Golf, Focus
Nissan says the Qashqai will steal sales away from cars like the VW Golf. It is taller than a typical hatch, but takes up about the same road space as a Ford Focus. The Dodge Caliber is a direct competitor, and although the Nissan wins on quality, it can’t compete on price. The 2.0 litre Caliber diesel is about £4,000 cheaper than a similarly equipped QashQai. And it doesn’t have a dumb name.
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