For me, 2013 is the year of doing things and with a few spare monies in the bank around mid-January a plan was hatched with a friend of mine to head to Bonnie Scotland and scale Ben Nevis. This ticked more than one box for me as I always fancied a look at the Highlands and it would complete the set of having climbed the highest mountains not only in each Irish province but also in the four countries in 'These Islands'.
I may have mentioned this before but I have a fondness for using Hertz as a purveyor of rentals so in January, and in spite of a complete aversion to Clubcards and Loyalty Points and all that shite I joined their "#1 Gold Club" figuring that as I was going to be using them 5-10 times this year it would 1. make collecting a car faster, 2. maybe get a bit of leverage at the desk occasionally when trying to get my greasy mitts on something taschty and 3. accrue some kudos towards a freebie later on.
They happened to surpass expectations by dropping a 'free upgrade' voucher through the letterbox and so, having booked a Class C - "Vauxhall Astra or Similar" car I found myself being offered a Nissan Qashqai, and although I had sweet, sweet lustings after something like a 1-Series when this did happen I instantly thought that this might be a good opportunity to figure out why these things sold by the cartload in Ireland, and I can see why.
After almost 600 miles of hurtin' (at 50mpg!) you could say that d'oul Qashqai drove pretty well, all things considered.
I would say a few things in its favour, best of all the King of the Road driving position (a novelty for me, and fairly great on a holiday that took in a bit of gawking at the countryside). The cabin is well finished, but not luxurious. It feels reasonably refined, with a clunky appeal that echoes the quasi-macho design of this particular soft-roader/cross-over. There's quite a bit of boot space. Inputs are good, weighty steering, a reasonable progression when braking which makes a change from the usual over-servoed stuff, and the gearchange is not bad at all. The rear seats are big enough for teenagers.
Viewed with an open mind, it's probably all things to all fathers of two children who feel a Golf is a bit too understated and an estate isn't quite their thing.
What
goes against it? Some small things (rear visibility, can't read the
satnav/radio screen in any kind of
daylight, some buttons strangely placed), some bigger things (the
design looks fine from the front and front 3/4 but seems to taper off
unresolved towards the rear, the 1400kg bulk can raise its head under
braking and occasionally on acceleration).
The
handling is good 80-90% of the time. Struts in the front and multilink
at the back. Turns in well, grips pleasantly but can get out of sorts
off mid-corner bumps, gully lids and really doesn't take to abrupt
tarmac changes well at all. There is roll however, but it is well
disguised due to superb damping. So the car is softly sprung and soaks
up bad surfaces well but the body movement is well contained. All in all
quite the achievement, if I may say so meself.
So in summary, it drove 'good' - I would even approach
saying 'rewarding' but that's all because it's brand new and on OEM
tyres. I'd reckon a baggy 80,000 miler on half shot dampers,
wear in the bushes and on budget rubber could well be a handful.
In
summary, being one of those chaps who figures that a handheld GPS and a brick phone is a better solution than a smartphone with a map app I would always prefer to own a more functional car estate or something like a Touran/C-Max
if I had a couple of kids rather than plump for a one-size-fits-all
solution like this one which keeps the wife happy and the neighbours in
check.
There is an infurating aspect to all of this. One - a sage-like gentleman in the trade recently said to me that there is no such thing as a bad modern car and having had the relative privilege of sampling quite a few recently, it's hard to not agree.
Leaving aside the relative complexity of fixing some of the more expensive issues modern diesels can bring, there is no arguing that the ability to now jump into a hatchback of any sort which drives well, comes well equipped, can cover ground quickly (and usually quite well), is always loaded with ABS and usually with a stability system of some kind, does not rust overnight, stands up very well indeed in a crash and still returns 50mpg+ is an incredibly positive thing for the common man. In fact, compared to relative incomes it also appears that it has never been cheaper to purchase a new car.
By rights we should be hopping up and down with joy.
And yet, the notion of a car as an appliance leaves me stone cold.
... to be continued.
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