All Cars, All the Time

Nissan Qashqai Official Shots

Here are some of the official shots of the Qashqai recently released by Nissan. Currently there are no plans for this model to make it to the USA, but with crossovers taking over the USA market it wouldn't be a stretch to see this model sold here and slotted beneath the Murano.

I'll be honest, my eyes glaze over as I see more and more of crossovers. I'm all for getting away from truck based vehicles (unless you need them) and back into lighter, more efficient rides, but I am waiting for some break out styling that really makes your head snap around. The reality is, this is where the market is headed and everyone has to jump into the space to survive. Look what happened to manufacturers who were late to the SUV party, they and their dealers suffered mercilessly, nobody wants a repeat of that performance.

My recommendations? Load up your crossover to be with tons of utility. The rear seat should slide to take advantage of the cargo space that sits there unused most of the time. Flexible rear hatches, cargo trays that slide out, reversible carpet/rubber flooring for the cargo area also come in handy. Want to be bold? Why not trim the cargo area in aluminum and a durable hardwood finish? Side curtain airbags should be standard on every model as should stability control and anti-whiplash headrests. Bluetooth should be an option for phone integration and I also like features such as rear view cameras and keyless ignition.

I'm going off on a tangent here, but it's just frustrating to me to see cars that are released with 90% of the features that I want. For example the Nissan Versa has Bluetooth and keyless ignition but stability control isn't available. The Suzuki SX4 does have stability and keyless ignition but does not have Bluetooth.