2023 Nissan Qashqai e-Power review

This brand new hybrid SUV is unlike any other petrol-electric car on sale right now and it’s packed with hi-tech features and striking looks.

Designed as a gateway drug to EV addiction, the Qashqai e-Power delivers a more potent hybrid high, with fewer side effects. Though this isn’t quite the way Nissan puts it.

“This is the last car you have to buy before an EV,” says Nicolas Tschann, Nissan’s crossover marketing chief for the region that includes Australia.

“It’s electrified driving without a plug on the car,” explains Lucile Laporte, regional product manager for Qashqai.

What are they on about?

Nissan is launching a hybrid version of its new Qashqai SUV.

While it’s true to say the Qashqai e-Power is a hybrid, it doesn’t work in quite the same way as other petrol-electric powered cars on the market.

With e-Power the wheels are driven 100 per cent of the time by an electric motor. Other hybrids send a combination of electric and internal-combustion engine power to the wheels. Not all the time, but frequently.

In e-Power, things are different. Its petrol engine is only connected to a generator.

Electricity from the generator goes to the electric drive motor or, sometimes, the system’s small-capacity battery pack.

The petrol engine is used solely as a generator to power the electric motors.

Picture the Qashqai e-Power as an EV with its own on-board power station.

Claimed benefits include snappier, EV-like acceleration, thanks to its powerful electric motor. Nissan people also point out that e-Power doesn’t have a continuously variable transmission, which is favoured by Toyota in their hybrids.

It avoids their typical exhaust drone, when the engine is revving hard while vehicle speed catches up. The way Nissan does it there’s a relationship between accelerator pedal pressure, engine revs and road speed that sounds and feels much more natural.

Finally, e-Power shuts down its petrol engine more often and for longer than other hybrids.

When Nissan Australia launches the all-new, slightly larger third-generation Qashqai in Australia later this year, all four equipment grades will come with turbo 1.3-litre four-cylinder power.

This makes for zippy acceleration around town.

The e-Power variants, with a turbo 1.5-litre three-cylinder powered generator, will arrive early next year. As with the current Qashqai, the new one will come from Nissan’s big British factory in Sunderland.

The Qashqai e-Power will probably come in only the two top grades, ST-L and Ti, though Nissan Australia is yet to confirm this.

Pricing starts at $33,890 (before on-road costs) for the entry-level ST, rising to $37,890 for the ST +, $42,190 for the ST-L and $47,390 for the Ti. That suggests a price of between $45,000 and $50,000 for the hybrid.

These prices represent a big increase over the current version of between $5300 and $8200 depending on the variant.

The interior has had a full makeover, too.

We tried the Qashqai e-Power on roads around the Swedish capital, Stockholm, driving on motorways, country roads and city streets.

While it doesn’t always deliver the same feeling as driving an EV, e-Power does bring advantages. It also adds to the appeal of the comfortable, attractive and well-equipped new Qashqai.

The way it moves off from standstill lacks the instant urge typical of an EV. It takes the petrol engine a little while to deliver maximum power to the generator that supplies most of the juice to the powerful 140kW electric motor.

It is likely to cost close to $50,000 in Australia.

But once rolling at above 30km/h, e-Power does perform more like an EV. There’s a smooth surge of acceleration, similar to a single-motor battery-powered vehicle.

The Qashqai e-Power is also very quiet, thanks to an effective noise cancelling system. Driving at moderate speeds it’s often impossible to tell if the petrol engine is running or not.

In stop-start traffic the Qashqai e-Power often runs only on power from the small 2kWh battery pack under the front seats. Driven carefully, it can cover about three to five kilometres on pure electricity.

As a result, this hybrid tech is at its best in urban and city driving. It’s remarkably refined and pleasant to drive in slower moving traffic.

With the pedal pressed to the floor, the petrol engine becomes audible.

And it’s as fuel efficient as you’d expect a modern hybrid to be. After one leg of the test drive the Qashqai e-Power’s trip computer showed consumption of 5.2L/100km, very close to the rating Nissan expects to earn under the WLTP test standard.

If you’re not already hooked on hybrid, the Qashqai e-Power could be the one to change your mind. It’s different from the others in a bunch of good ways. But whether it’s EV-like enough to make moving on to pure battery power inevitable is another question.

NISSAN QASHQAI E-POWER VITALS

PRICE $45,000 (est)

SAFETY Auto emergency braking, rear cross-traffic alert with braking, adaptive cruise, blind-spot and lane-keep assist, driver drowsiness alert

ENGINE 1.5-litre 3-cyl turbo petrol electric hybrid; 150kW/330Nm

THIRST 5.3L/100km (est)

0-100KM/H 7.9 secs

Originally published as 2023 Nissan Qashqai e-Power review