What's the news?
Nissan has taken the top prize at the annual What Car? magazine awards. The prestigious event, presented by one of Britain's longest-running car magazines (in association with Warranty Direct), celebrates the best cars in each major category, but it's the all-new Qashqai that has scooped the overall award. The What Car? jury was swayed by the Qashqai's impressive new résumé, saying that "Whether you're a company car driver or a private buyer, the costs are low, while comfort, refinement, space and safety are first class. Every last detail has been thought of, down to how you stow the parcel shelf. This complete approach is why the Qashqai is the Car of the Year."
The Qashqai was also praised for its roominess and the fact that the core 1.5 dCi diesel version emits just 99g/km of CO2, making it exceptionally efficient for a car with ambitions to be an SUV.
The Qashqai also took home the Small SUV category prize, while the other winners on the night were the Ford Fiesta (small car); the Skoda Octavia (family car); the new Hyundai i10 (city car); the Citroen C4 Picasso (MPV), the Volkswagen Golf Estate (estate car); the Mercedes-Benz S-Class (luxury car); the Porsche Boxster (sports car); the Audi A3 Saloon (executive car); the BMW 4 Series (coupe); the Range Rover Sport (large SUV); the Ford Fiesta ST (hot hatch); the Audi A3 Cabriolet (open-top car) and the BMW i3 (green car). The reader award also went to Nissan, but not to the Qashqai. This award, voted for by more than 10,000 readers of What Car?, went to the new X-Trail, which narrowly beat the new Jaguar F-Type Coupé to the prize.
Anything else?
What Car? editor-in-chief Chas Hallett said: "The all-new Nissan Qashqai brings excellence and polish to a class of cars that is brimming with talent and tempting buys. The Qashqai delivers low costs and first-class levels of comfort, refinement, space and safety. Nissan has thought of every last detail, and this complete approach is why the Qashqai is What Car?'s Car of the Year. The Nissan team should be justifiably proud of their achievement."
Nissan Motor GB managing director Jim Wright said: "We're thrilled that What Car? has named the new Qashqai as its 2014 Car of the Year. A huge amount of effort has gone into the design and engineering of the new car, and we're all extremely excited about creating the template for the second-generation crossover. As the What Car? judges discovered for themselves, the new Qashqai is an unbeatable package with high equipment levels, great refinement and comfort and incredible attention to detail."
Neil Briscoe - 11 Jan 2014