Paving A Path Less Taken

2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid review

I wouldn’t consider myself the most suitable person to live in the country. I’m not very outdoorsy nor am I particularly good with animals. There’s something about me that freaks animals out. For example, my friend’s cats took around a couple of months to warm to me but even then they approach me like they approach water. I also never properly learned how to use a wheelbarrow until very late in my teenage years which is somewhat embarrassing. Nonetheless I loved growing up in Canterbury, the heart of rural New Zealand. It was such a beautiful place and was a feast for your senses. The views were breathtaking, the smells were always interesting, and the noises were either sheep baaing or a knife-like silence cutting through the crisp air. It was fantastic in every sense other than the cars that were around. Or rather lack of it. Yes, I am grateful because it meant I was able to enjoy the outdoors without having to worry of getting run over by a crazed lunatic in an out of control Holden, but it didn’t quench my thirst for exotic supercars. On the odd occasion you’d see, hear a Lamborghini or Maserati out for a Sunday drive but that was about it.

Staring at all the car posters I had on my bedroom wall, I longed for a slice of the city life. But alas it never happened. Instead of being surrounded by Mercedes-Benzes and Porsches in suburban NZ I was surrounded by Toyota Hiluxes and Nissan Pathfinders. Nothing wrong with that, it just meant I came to appreciate the capabilities of these vehicles more. I remember one winter we foolishly decided to take the Alfa out and before we got to the end of the driveway it had become stuck. Our neighbour’s Hilux came to the rescue and towed it out. To me the Hilux and the Navara/Pathfinder is as much a part of the NZ landscape as Mt. Hutt and sheep. So you’d imagine my surprise when Nissan launched the all-new fourth generation Pathfinder which seems about as rural as, well as me.

To understand Nissan’s thinking you have to look at the market. People aren’t buying big 4x4s anymore to go off-roading. They’re buying them to take their children to school and to go shopping in. There’s no need for locking differentials and the ability to wade through 800mm of water. Sure there are still a small number of people who want a car that can do all that but that’s not where the money is. Which is why Nissan’s once rough and tough 4×4 range have grown up and become more refined. The new X-Trail has got rid of its boxy design in favour of a more contemporary sporty look while the Patrol is about as luxurious as bathing in honey. Don’t let that fool you though, the new Patrol is still one capable off-roader. It’s just added more creature comforts.

Which brings me on to the new Pathfinder. Launched in the New Zealand market in 2013, the Hybrid model joined the range in August 2014 and is the eco-friendly range topper (no diesel available for this Pathfinder). This is the fourth generation Pathfinder and is the second time the nameplate has adopted a car-like monocoque chassis. The first and third generations had a body-on-chassis set up and were similar to the Navaras of their time. This time though the Pathfinder is less Navara and more Infiniti as this actually shares the same platform as the Infiniti JX and Nissan Murano – two SUVs aimed at the premium end of the market. The Pathfinder’s new found premiumness can be seen straight away.

Looking at this new Pathfinder next to the old you’d be hard pressed to make a family connection. Where the old one was boxy and rugged, this has curves and chrome on it like there’s no tomorrow. Actually while I’ve mentioned chrome have you ever seen a grille quite as prominent as the one on the Pathfinder? There’s a very good reason for this; it’s because it’s not actually made in Japan. While it may have a Nissan badge, which is about as Japanese as a sumo wrestler eating ramen at a cosplay convention, the Pathfinder is actually made in the United States of America – Tennessee to be exact. Which means this is a bit like the motoring equivalent of a Japanese anime with English dubbing. It still has all the usual Japanese qualities one would expect from a Nissan, only it’s been garnished with American barbecue sauce. And that’s why the grille is about as bling as Las Vegas. That analogy could work with Tokyo too.

Anyway, I know looks are subjective so don’t take my word for it. Make your mind up on your own but I personally don’t think the Pathfinder is as attractive as Nissan’s other crossovers and SUVs. Go to a Nissan showroom today and you’ll notice the Qashqai and X-Trail have sleeker, and to my eyes, prettier designs. The Patrol takes presence to a whole new level simply with its sheer size. The Pathfinder sit awkwardly between the two. Which I think was a mistake. Nissan should’ve picked one side, sleek and sporty or big and chunky, and stuck with it. From the front and side the Pathfinder is perfectly acceptable. As I’ve said the big chrome grille and chunky front gives it good presence while from the side those curves on the waistline elegantly disguise the car’s bulk. The 18-inch wheels do look small though, giving it the proportions of a supermarket trolley. Perhaps bigger, flasher 20-inch rims would make it look more “gangsta” and “bling”. If that’s your sort of thing. But the rear, oh dear. If I were to use one word to describe it it’d be ‘American’. It’s not bad or ugly by any means. It just appears as if the designers had given up by the time they got round to the back. Probably to go get a burger or something. It is a a lot of car to design after all.

At a smidgen over 5m long and very nearly 2m wide, the Pathfinder is right up there with the Range Rover in terms of size. Some cars are good at hiding their size like Porsche Macan which somehow shrinks around you and feels like a smaller hot hatch. Other cars feel their size like the Fiat 500. That thing feels very small and nippy, one of the many reasons why I love it. The Pathfinder definitely feels its size too. As you sit in the driver’s seat you get a great view out the front, side and, rear. But as you look forwards, and especially if you look back, there’s no escaping how much car there is between you and everything else outside. It’s a wonderful feeling. You feel like you’re on your own planet separate from everyone else. If you wanted to, you could barge straight through traffic and not feel a bump. Best fit bull bars if you want to do that though. Not that you should because that’s very likely to be illegal and anti-social. But its big for the same reason it has a very shiny nose – it is American after all. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

For a start because of its sheer bulk you get 7 proper seats. We ran a first-generation Ford Territory a few years ago and I dreaded every time we had to carry more than 5 people in it because I knew I had to sit in the third row. Which was about as commodious as pickle jar. Kind of counter productive for a 7 seater car if you ask me. In the Philippines my relatives have a Toyota Fortuner which is to the Hilux what the Pathfinder used to be to the Navara. It’s a sort of Hilux SUV and even the rear seats in those weren’t much good for adults. Recently I had the unenviable experience of sitting in the third row of a new Hyundai Santa Fe and rumours of South Korean intelligence using that as a form of torture to North Korean spies seems very reasonable. But you don’t get that problem in the Pathfinder. I had adequate legroom but as the second row can slide forwards and back I could have even more room. It’s headroom that’s usually the killer for cars like these but thanks to the tall shape you don’t have to be Anne Boleyn to sit in the back. Even with a panoramic roof!

The rest of the interior is just as surprising. Let’s spice it up a bit for this review and work our way forwards rather than back. The boot is huge with the third row folded into the floor. The seats do fold flat so it essentially extends the boot space from 453L to 1200L. Fold the second row down too and you get a mammoth 2259L of cargo space. Think of all the possibilities with space like that! You could literally solve NZ’s housing crisis with this car. Ah, the second row of seats are very clever indeed. They slide backwards and forwards like seats you get in vans. That means you could have them pushed back to make the legroom ridiculously big or slide them forwards to give third row passengers more space or to make the boot even bigger. Passengers in the second row not only get brilliant legroom, but as there’s no intrusive transmission tunnel, you get a completely flat floor too. That helps in long trips. Headroom in the second row is great too. Up front the driver and front passenger have endless choice as the seats were electrically operated. The steering column which adjusts for reach and rake was also electrically operated, a very fun and useful feature.

Styling-wise the interior mirrors the exterior quite well. There are enough swoops and curves here and there to make it interesting to look at but ultimately it looks and feels very American. The central armrest was huge. It was like something lifted straight from a Texan’s man cave or something. It was trimmed in leather but it looked like it was carved straight from the actual cow’s hide. I can assure Greenpeace that it wasn’t. That would be cruel and not very practical in the summer. Leather is a prominent feature in the cabin. The steering wheel, seats, arm rest, and gearstick are trimmed in the stuff which makes it feel properly premium. There’s the usual black piano trim on the centre console which seems to appear in every Nissan car I’ve driven. Except for the 370Z of course. Oh and I must mention the cupholders. Usually not something I’d write about unless it had a cool design or if it spoke like C-3P0. But the ones in the Pathfinder were huge. Jumbo size cupholder but bear in mind this is from America so it’s probably medium size for them. The rest of the materials used were either nice quality soft touch or just plain old decent plastics. In short, nothing in the interior felt cheap or nasty. It’s a very well sorted, good looking, and practical cabin. Except for one thing.

You see I’ve driven a few new Nissans lately and one of my favourite things is the brilliant infotainment system they have. The 7-inch screen is clear and crisp, the Around-View Camera is one of the most useful things man has ever invented, and everything is intuitive and easy to use. I’d go as far to say it’s the best infotainment system of any mainstream car. It’s a feature that was on the Leaf, Altima, Qashqai, and X-Trail. So why then does Nissan’s premium SUV have an old, clunky, and unfathomable system? Where do I start. Okay the ludicrous number of buttons. Why is was it necessary to have so many buttons on the dash?! I love technology and gadgets as much as the next person and I love pressing buttons. But I was baffled and intimated by the amount of buttons on the dash. Oh sure they were lovely to press and well damped adding more to the premium feel. but my god was it confusing. There are two levels of buttons which control the top screen. You have a rotary dial with buttons around which control the screen brightness and quick menu jumps to settings and info. Then further down the centre console are the audio controls which are tiny. And are placed directly above the climate control dials. They look identical so when I wanted to turn the volume down, the A/C would be sub-zero. I just wanted to listen to the Frozen soundtrack, not be frozen myself. Then theres’s the screen itself. It’s 7-inches but it’s not exactly high def. Everything is pixelated and slow to respond. The reversing camera has guidance lines which is nice but it’s far from being the clearest on the market. It was easier to do it the old fashioned way and look out the back window. And where’s the sat-nav?!? Or the Bluetooth audio streaming? You can get that in a $20k Chinese-made MG3 but not in a $70k SUV from the USA? Land of the free my arse! Perhaps that’s something they could address in the facelift.

Luckily driving it was less frustrating. In fact its all very straight forward. The Pathfinder Hybrid uses a 2.5-litre four cylinder supercharged petrol engine and teams it with a 15kW electric motor. The powertrain produces a combined 255bhp and 330NM of torque while returning 8.6L/100km. In comparison the V6 petrol Pathfinder develops 260bhp and 325NM of torque and returns 10.2L/100km. So that’s pretty much the same sort of performance but with a 2L/100km advantage. And in terms of where these cars spend most of their time (urban areas), the Pathfinder Hybrid makes a lot sense. The electric motor is there to help take some of the stress away from the petrol engine so for example starting the car, rather using a conventional starter motor it’s the electric motor that kicks in first. On the move the combination of the electric motor and supercharged petrol engine is seamless. You never notice them at work, it’s all behind the scenes. You get a nice surge of power too from the combination of instant torque from the electric motor and the supercharged engine. This is a car that is quite literally super-CHARGED (sorry, I’ve been wanting to use that pun for a while). You put your foot down on the accelerator and the energy information display on the instrument panel lights up giving you assurance the hybrid system is working fine. It’s surprisingly swift. No, it really is. I assumed it’d be a bit geriatric and with delayed responses but nooo, that supercharged/hybrid system really shifts well, especially as this thing weighs around 2 tonnes.

Around town, where these sorts of cars spend a large chunk of their life, the Pathfinder copes well, apart from its size obviously. The hybrid powertrain is smooth and quiet and is very well suited to the challenges of the urban jungle. Wellington is blessed/cursed with a lot of hills but the Pathfinder conquers them without much fuss. The Pathfinder Hybrid, and other Pathfinders, have Nissan’s smooth Xtronic CVT transmission and in the Pathfinder it’s one of the best matches. The CVT is always on its feet and gives the best “gear” for extracting optimum efficiency and power from the hybrid system. As the electric motor fills in the gaps of the petrol engine when the CVT changes ratios, the feeling of gliding on a magic carpet is the only thing I can think of to compare it to. It’s spooky though not as spooky it must be said as the Leaf. Couple the eerily quiet and smooth hybrid system to the Pathfinder’s ability to make you feel like you’re in a world of your own and it’s refined ride and you truly have a car that is ideal to the trials and tribulations of family life. Nissan’s switch from the utilitarian ladder chassis set up has paid off, the monocoque bodied Pathfinder ride and drives like car, albeit a big one. It just copes so well with urban surfaces, it deals with city roads as well as a headmistress deals with a troublesome pupil. But don’t think this new Pathfinder won’t be much cop off road. It still has decent 163mm ground clearance and a clever All Mode 4x4i system which allows you to switch between 2WD, Auto, and Lock modes.

So that’s the ride sorted, now handling. Hmm, well you have to take into consideration that this is a big, bulky, hybrid, family wagon and not a point and shoot sports car. The handling is a bit, American to put it nicely. The steering is light and isn’t as direct as I’d hope. Nor is there an awful lot of feedback as to what the front wheels are doing. But for shopping centre car parks and zipping through suburbia it’s fine. The brakes are responsive and have nice feel to them. The Pathfinder has regenerative braking which takes energy which would’ve been wasted and stores the energy in the battery for the next time you accelerate. It’s clever stuff. Less clever is the bodyrool, oooh this thing leans. That could be a problem if you have children prone to motion sickness but that’s why airplanes have those paper bags for you to take home. So you can use it for your Pathfinder. Actually, to be fair it’s not that bad. It’s just because there’s so much space inside the Pathfinder’s cabin unless you’ve got packed full of Americans, you’re going to have acres of room to move around in. In all truth and honesty though the Pathfinder is shaping up to be a clever choice for families looking for a usable 7-seater SUV around the $70k mark.

You always see reviews of car that say they’re a lot of car for the money. Well the Pathfinder is probably king of “a lot of car for the money”. The Pathfinder range starts from $54,990 for the 7-seater ST trim with 2WD. The ST 4WD starts at $59,990 while the Ti is $65,990. All three trims are powered by Nissan’s award-winning 3.5-litre V6 engine. A fine engine but not quite as frugal as the Hybrid which starts at $69,990 and has a 2L/100km advantage over the V6. Yes, you read the price right. If I were to say you could have a brand new efficient, 7-seater American SUV for under $70,000 you’d probably think I was mad. But that’s exactly what the Pathfinder Hybrid offers. Most of its rivals, and even in its own range, are powered by big thirst petrol V6 engines. They’re lovely engines no doubt about that and are great for towing but if you’re going to be primarily be using it to car pool to school or taking your 4/5 children to their sports events, the Pathfinder has space for 7 with a little bit extra in the boot for a dog or other dog shaped objects. The fact of the matter this all its rivals are thirsty and emit more CO2. With the Pathfinder Hybrid you can carry 7 people knowing you’re doing your bit for the environment. Not just by taking one less car off the road but also by giving up a big V6 engine. It’s well equipped though I was left wanting more. It comes with auto HID headlights (no LEDs here or daytime running lights), rear sensors (but no front sensors), leather around the interior, power and heated front seats (but not cooled), sunroof and panoramic glass roof (rear panoramic roof doesn’t open), and keyless entry and go (but no power tailgate). Luckily it does come with a high 5-star ANCAP safety rating, multiple airbags, Vehicle Dynamic Control, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, and Tyre Pressure Monitoring. Unfortunately it doesn’t have blind spot assist or lane departure warning like you get in the Qashqai.

Rivals such as the Toyota Highlander, Ford Territory, Mazda CX-9, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento, Holden Captiva. All these cars are decent, except for the Captiva. I drove one of those briefly and couldn’t find a single redeeming feature at all. So bar the Captiva, the Pathfinder is up against some hefty competition. I really liked the Santa Fe and in terms of driving dynamics the Territory is the benchmark. I haven’t tested a Highlander but I’m a bit adamant on those as the top-spec model is edging on $80,000 which is a lot of money for any car let alone a Toyota! As for the CX-9, well that’s been around a while now and to be brutally honest it looks a bit like a sad whale. While the Pathfinder is no beauty queen, it is the only one with decent green credentials. Okay some might point out the Territory, Santa Fe, and Sorento have diesel engines which are more efficient but the point of a diesel is range. A diesel makes sense if you cover a lot of mileage each year but around town it’s just wasteful. A hybrid makes more sense. And at least with a hybrid there’s not annoying road user charges to deal with either.

Nissan has always had a history at making good SUVs and their current line up consisting of the Juke, Qashqai, X-Trail, Pathfinder, Murano, and Patrol show that they still are today. So for a convenient, efficient, family-friendly 7 seater SUV the Pathfinder is the way to go. Blast, I just remembered the Outlander PHEV. Okay, well that’s around $65,000 anyway and isn’t as big. So if you want a convenient, efficient, family-friendly 7 seater SUV that’s bigger than an Outlander, the Pathfinder Hybrid is the way to go. It has all the advantages of the Pathfinder; so that clever and practical seating arrangement, tons of space, decent levels of equipment, and class-leading levels of refinement but with the fuel economy equivalent to a hatchback. My only issues are with the outdated infotainment system and its size isn’t really suited for the city. Which is ironic because Nissan shifted the Pathfinder from a rugged, utility vehicle for the country to a premium urban city wagon. However, because of its size it longs for the open road. Or you could get a Nissan Leaf to use for city driving if you really wanted to be eco. But at least wherever the Pathfinder goes, city or country, it’ll find cleanest path. A hybrid in every sense of the word.

Verdict: 8/10
Pros: Fuel efficiency, smooth comfortable ride, refinement, premium feel, space, 7 proper seats with clever seating arrangements, well equipped, smug feeling of saving the world in a big SUV.
Cons: Size makes a challenge in the city, outdated infotainment system, panoramic roof doesn’t open.
The Pathfinder makes a fine case for itself and for hybrids in general. A very capable way for transporting your family in comfort and relative efficiency. Finally, a 2-tonne SUV even Greenpeace can buy!

Go With The Qash Flow

2014 Nissan Qashqai 2.0 Ti review

Last week I reviewed a Citroen C4 Aircross. I said in my review that it was a pretty good car, but not a great Citroen. That’s because it starts out in life as a Mitsubishi. So it’s a bit like fusion cuisine. It’s a bit like sushi with escargo. Doesn’t sound very appetising does it? It certainly wasn’t the best East meets West mash up that’s for sure. It’s not that it was bad, it just wasn’t as a good a blend as you’d hope for with something that’s French and Japanese. It did the Japanese things well; it was well made; efficient; and verging on clinical. As for the French things, yes it was stylish on the outside but inside it had as much personality as a French politician.

Citroen and Mitsubishi weren’t the first to do this. History is full of attempts at cracking the Euro-Asian fusion and most have resulted in cars far worse than the Aircross. There was the Ssangyong Rexton which used a Mercedes diesel engine. The engines were the only thing sophisticated about it. For some odd reason Vauxhall thought it’d be a great idea to use an agricultural Isuzu Wizard as a rival to the likes of the Honda CR-V by rebadging it as the Fronterra. Which was woeful. But out of all these West meets East collaborations the most successful to date is the Nissan Qashqai.

Okay, at first glance the “Nissan Qashqai” might seem as Japanese as kabuki theatre but in reality its possibly the most fusion car out there. For a start it’s spawned a whole new market we now call the crossover segment. Yes, to be fair cars such as the aforementioned CR-V and Toyota RAV4 did pave the way for the Qashqai but it wasn’t until the launch of the first Qash in 2006 when the market reacted in a huge way. Literally. People wanted taller cars without the cost that usually comes with having a big off roader. Enter the crossover. The Qashqai was essentially a hatchback on stilts and this gave your Average Joe the impression of driving a big car without the big bills. Clever idea. I remember when the Qashqai first came out, explaining the concept of the crossover to my mum – a woman who so fiercely wants a proper SUV such as a Range Rover. Since the launch of the Qashqai, nearly every manufacturer, mainstream and beyond, have had a crack at the crossover genre. Cars such as the Hyundai ix35, Ford EcoSport, Mercedes Benz GLA, Audi Q5, and Porsche Macan have followed the Qashqai’s basic template of starting off with a humble hatchback and jacking up the ride height. So it’s a ‘fusion car’ in the sense that it fuses the hatchback body style with that of an off roader. But that’s not the only thing it fuses.

It also fuses cultures. First and foremost it’s a Nissan. Which is a Japanese company. Nissan literally mean “Made In Japan”. Though, strictly speaking, New Zealand Qashqais aren’t made in the Land of the Rising Sun. This is a Japanese car that’s developed, engineered, and made in the United Kingdom. So you’ve got Japanese efficiency and reliability with European design and quality. The Qashqai is made in Nissan’s state-of-the-art Sunderland factory which is the largest manufacturer of cars in the UK. There’s more Euroness too as the Qashqai comes with either a 2.0-litre petrol engine or a 1.6-litre diesel, both of which were co-developed with Nissan’s partner Renault. However, looking at it and you’d be hard pressed to see its European connections. Yes, this is an example of the Japanese and French working successfully together on a car. Styling wise, the Qashqai looks very Japanese… If that makes sense. It’s certainly more anime than Jane Austen. Actually, to be perfectly honest it looks suspiciously like a Nissan X-Trail. That’s because both cars share the same platform, only the X-Trail is a bit longer, a bit taller, and has an extra row of seats. The X-Trail also has the advantage of having the option of 4WD and a larger 2.5-litre engine.

That said, for most people I think the Qashqai’s size would be enough. I prefer the Qashqai’s design as well. It’s a striking looking thing in an anime/manga sort of way. It looks like it was styled not with rulers and pencils but with ninja stars and samurai swords. It has lovely lines and creases here and there, which remind me of the battle scars on a Japanese fighting fish. It takes the X-Trail’s design and sort of squashes it. It’s wider, tauter, and sportier and this colour is just amazing. It’s called Ink Blue and would definitely be my pick. The front looks similar to the X-Trail except it sports a more aggressive face. It features thinner swept-back headlights with shorter daytime running lights compared to the the X-Trail. The headlights on the top of the line Ti spec are LED. In ST, ST-L, and TS trim the headlights are HID projectors but the daytime running lights are still LED.

From the side the lower, more squashed roofline gives it the look of a hatchback but the raised ride height makes it stand tall above normal hatchbacks. More on that later. The large 19-inch alloys on this Ti spec car look fantastic. They set the Qashqai out from the rest and are a real head turner. The alloys and paintwork were two most popular things people pointed out when they saw it. I like the lines and creases on the body work too. It’s not too over the top like some of its rivals but it’s enough to give it a great mix of sporty and classy styling. Few cars in this class manage to do combine both as effortlessly as the Qashqai. It’s not trying too hard.

The rear is a mishmash of styling cues. From some angles I can see the Nissan family styling continuing here, but from certain angles it reminds me (and we’ll whisper this) of a Ford Kuga. No? Just me then. But either way, it looks good. Oh yes, the silver roof rails. I love those. I mean I’d probably be too worried about scratching them to use them but phwoar, they way they contrast with the Ink Blue paintwork does wonders for me.

Inside it’s… it’s a lot like every other Nissan to be perfectly honest. Not that that’s a bad thing as it means everything is logically placed and easy to use. I’ve driven a fair few cars from the same brand and sometimes you get a car that has a different infotainment system as another car. Or a new version. The good thing with Nissan is they’re consistent with their switchgear and infotainment system. Which means if you jump from say an Altima or even a Leaf and into the new Qashqai you’ll immediately be able to find where everything is. For example, pairing my iPhone via Bluetooth was quick and painless as it was just the same as it was in the Altima, X-Trail, and Leaf.

The 7-inch touchscreen display on this Ti spec is great and clear. It’s easy to read and is not at all distracting when you’re on the go. It’s quick to respond and there aren’t too many sub menus to go through – unlike in some European rivals. The things the screen shows though, are another story. For a start you get sat-nav as standard on Ti models. The sat-nav system is one of the best I’ve seen in a mainstream car. It even gives you points of interest such as restaurants and car parks. There’s a feature which can warn you of traffic delays too. The audio display is pretty good too, it mirrors the information of your iPod onto the screen. You can skip tracks via buttons on the steering wheel or on the touchscreen. Of course audio and sat-nav info can also be shown on the smaller driver information screen in the instrument cluster. Back to screen and I came across an interesting feature hidden away. Deep in the crevices of the infotainment’s sub menus you’ll find a Facebook feature. Obviously as a social media addict and out of sheer curiosity I pressed it. Unfortunately I need an app to link my Facebook account on my smartphone to the Nissan but it’ an interesting feature that I must try out next time.

Along with all these fancy infotainment trickery, the Qashqai also boasts one of the best parking aids I’ve ever used – the Around View Monitor system. It has a run of the mill reversing camera – a feature a few cars in this segment need to have – but in conjunction with the rear camera it also has a front and side cameras. The AVM not only make parking easy but it almost turns it into a game. I found myself going for the most awkward parking spots just so I could utilise those cameras. However, for parallel parking the Qashqai has something called Intelligent Park Assist which takes the effort out of manoeuvring into a spot. The system does the steering while all you need to do is control the gears and the pedals. That is intelligent. As well as showing parking aids, the screen also has a Moving Objects Dectection system which does what it says on the tin – it detects moving objects such as humans, animals, and cyclists.

The Qashqai is so packed full of these clever driving assistance systems it’s easy to be overwhelmed by it all. But in truth they work so brilliantly in the background you don’t really have to think about them that much. For example in normal driving conditions the Blind Spot Warning and Lane Departure Warning systems only come on when they’re required. Then there’s the Hill Start Assist. I didn’t even know the Qashqai had it until I parked it on an incline to take photos. As I put it into Drive, I was expecting the car to roll back a bit. But like magic, the HSA system held the car and prevented it from rolling back. That’s a great feature and one that’d be extra useful in Wellington.

I liked spending time inside the Qashqai. I felt like it cocooned you more than the X-Trail. The dash is lower and gives off the impression of wrapping around you. You sit in the Qashqai as opposed to sitting on an X-Trail. It’s a nice looking interior with decent lashings of piano black trim, chrome, and silver plastics. The leather bound steering wheel and leather gear stick give it a touch of class but in this Ti model the leather extends to the seats and door inserts. It’s nice leather too, not the nasty fake stuff you sometimes get. It smells nice inside too, it smells more European than Japanese. The quality of the materials used inside are great. There’s nice soft touch plastics at the top of the dash and even in the lower parts of the interior the plastics aren’t too bad. The buttons have good damping which means they feel quality to touch and press.

Space is good too. The driving position was spot on (but of course, it’s a proper right hand drive car). Seats are electrically adjustable and the steering wheel has reach and rake adjustments. The raised driving height is great. It’s not too high that it gives you vertigo but neither is it too low that it puts in with lesser cars. It gives you good visibility over the front of the car and can help with seeing what’s ahead. Visibility out the side is good too, the large wing mirrors with BSW are are blessing for weaving through weekend traffic. Rearwards visibility was a lot better than I expected. Despite the tapered rear quarter light, the C-pillars weren’t too intrusive. Usually cars like these have shocking C-pillars. In the back, space is pretty good too. The front seats are raised so there’s space for you to put your feet. Legroom is good too, almost as good as it was in the X-Trail. The middle seat also useable making this a proper 5-seater family car.

As with its rivals the rear seats fold down flat with a 60/40 split. This expands the boot from 430L to 1585L which right up there with the best in class. The boot is actually pretty good. Not just in terms of size but usability too. The opening is a good shape and allows for easy access into the boot. The height of the boot is perfect too, it makes loading things easy. You don’t need to break your back bending over. There’s even a false floor for hiding cheeky things, copies of 50 Shades of Grey or something of the sort. Underneath the false floor you’ll find a spare wheel. It’s only a space saver but at least it has one.

Inside, the cabin is well insulated from outside noise. You get very little in wind and road noise which is impressive for a car with big wheels. There’s an air of solidity about it too, another European trait. It feels like it could last a lifetime, or at least survive the challenges of carrying children and pets. Only the engine noise can be heard but that’s only if you work the throttle quite aggressively. In most situations its quite muted, which is good because that gives you the chance of appreciating the decent speakers. Though, it has to be said the best thing about the cabin isn’t the “air of solidity” but more the airiness inside. Despite the dark colour scheme the Qashqai’s interior manages to feel light. That’s thanks to the huge panoramic sunroof fitted as standard on the top-spec Ti models. It’s superb. It has an electronically retractable blind which takes a while to retract because the sunroof is huge but its worth the wait. It brings a lot of light into the cabin and makes it feel very special inside. It’s one feature I think children will especially like. It certainly brought out the child in me.

Unlike the X-Trail which comes with 4WD, all Qashqais in NZ, for the moment, only drive the front wheels. Nissan is aware most Qashqai buyers use their car for the urban jungle rather than the Bolivian jungle. Which is good because it makes deciding between a Qashqai and a X-Trail easier. Get a Qashqai if you live in town, get a X-Trail if you live in the country. As a car for doing shopping trips in and doing the school run the Qashqai is hard to fault. The raised driving position, as mentioned before, gives good visibility out. Another plus for having a raised car is its ability to absorb bumps and bruises on the road a lot better than something low slung. I was very impressed by the ride quality of the Qashqai. I was expecting, with large 19-inch alloys and a sporty design, that it would crash and shake over every imperfection on the road. But it didn’t. Okay, it wasn’t as smooth as Citroen C5 but for a car like this it did pretty well. In fact, I’d say its ride is the best in class. It made effortless work of going over speed bumps and even on roads which I know to be quite rough, it simply glided over them. That may be thanks partly to the Active Ride Control which uses clever systems to monitor and see changes on the road and adjust the engine’s torques and the brakes.

So it does all the sensible stuff well but how does it fare if you want to have a bit of fun with it? Well, it’s not too bad actually. The steering is light and precise. There’s decent feedback through the wheel and it grips beautifully on the road. It may only be front-wheel drive but it holds the road like it was driving all fours. Mind you, Nissan’s clever Active Trace Control which applies individual brakes to make cornering easier and tighter might have a hand in the way it corners. It works in a similar way as the VDC system but for everyday driving conditions. There’s also very little lean into the corners which is good, it gives the impression of a smaller car. In fact, couple the wraparound-effect interior and the little lean through the corners and the Qashqai almost feels sporty. Almost. It’s not up there with the likes of the Ford Kuga but it’s not a bad compromise of ride and handling. Very few cars are able to “fuse” these two characteristics as well as the Qashqai, and it’s even more impressive at this price range. The handling isn’t sleep-inducing like some of its rivals but it’s not exactly a hot hatch rival either. It does a great job of riding on the fine line between sporty and sensible.

Performance wise you get a choice of a 2.0-litre petrol or a 1.6-litre diesel. I sampled the petrol which develops 145bhp and 200NM of torque. Those numbers might not seem like much but it didn’t feel like it struggled shifting the Qashqai around. I didn’t feel like it was lacking in power and despite having a 5bhp deficit from last week’s Aircross, the Qashqai was more effortless in its power delivery. It didn’t sound as strained as the Aircross and it was more responsive. However, like the Aircross the Qashqai uses a CVT auto. Nissan’s CVTs are some of the best in the business, Nissan pioneering the system many years ago. CVTs are great for fuel economy but they don’t have a reputation for sportiness. For fuel economy, the petrol Qashqai returns a claimed 6.9L/100km while the diesel returns a respectable 4.9L/100km. As for sportiness, well there aren’t any “gears” as such, since it’s constantly variable, but it does have 6 “programmed” gears for which you can go through via tiptronic controls with the gear stick. No paddle shifters here – which I like. It doesn’t pretend to be sporty, it knows it’s not sporty. It’s not some pretentious crossover trying to appeal to racing drivers or cash cheques it can’t write. I like the Qashqai’s honesty.

That honesty continues with its spec. Prices for the Qashqai start from a very reasonable $35,990 for the entry-level ST spec. That comes equipped with all the essential stuff such as a 5-inch display screen, USB and bluetooth audio, and a reversing camera. Step up to the ST-L which starts from $39,990 and that adds that awesome panoramic sunroof, keyless start and entry, auto lights and wipers, and larger 19-inch alloys. The Qashqai diesel only comes in one trim level which starts at $42,990 and comes with the same features as the ST-L plus stop/start tech. The top-spec Ti starts from $43,990 and adds all the clever electric aids such as AVM, BSW, LDW, MOD, LED headlights, front and rear parking sensors, Intelligent Park Assist, and sat nav on a larger 7-inch screen. All Qashqais get a 5-star Euro/ANCAP safety rating, Active Ride an Trace Control, VDC, EBD, Brake Assist, a rear-view camera, and LED daytime running lights. There’s a lot more equipment as standard, a good 2 pages worth to be exact, which further emphasises the Qashqai’s value. Price-wise it’s more or less on par with similar sized hatchbacks such as a Mazda3 or Ford Focus for example, which makes stepping up to the bigger and more practical crossover body style a no-brainer.

After a short time with the Qashqai, it quickly became apparent why this car became a huge success not just in terms of sales but also as carving out a new niche. There’s no doubting the popularity of these sorts of cars and if you look online, in magazines, and even out your window I can guarantee you’ll find a crossover or SUV of some sort. A full market can be good, it gives customers a choice. Nothing wrong with that. However, it can sometimes mean there’ll always be some more equal than others. I mentioned last week in my review of the C4 Aircross how many of these sorts of cars are more or less the same. The way they feel, the way they drive, and the way they look are so similar most people would be hard pressed to notice any difference – other than the badge.

Luckily the Qashqai manages to feel different. Not just in the way it looks and drives but it has an intangible quality about it that’s hard to describe. I guess it’s a bit like the BMW 3-Series or even a Range Rover. These are the benchmark cars of their respective segments – the cars on which everything else is judged by. I can confidently say the Qashqai is the best of these sorts of cars I’ve driven. I’d even go as far as to say it’s not just the best in class but I have a sneaking suspicion, in our contemporary world, it could very well be the best realistic family car. It does everything you could want from a car of this size and price and some on top. At this point I’d mention some of the faults of the Qashqai but I couldn’t even find much to criticise. Okay, the option of 4WD would’ve been nice, even the Juke gets a 4WD option but 99% of people will never take these things off road anyway. It also won’t steal sales from hot hatches which might take away some of its all round ability. In all honesty, though, the way the Qashqai drives will be more than acceptable for most. It’s composed, responsive, and smooth. It is, and I really don’t use the term lightly, faultless.

Verdict: 8.5/10
Pros: Style, ride and handling, safety, practicality, decent economy, great spec, competitive pricing, panoramic sunroof, awesome tech
Cons: No option of 4WD, Not an alternative to a hot hatch…
A car that can do anything and everything you’d want and expect from a family car. Simply the best car in this segment. It’s pretty much faultless. This is the quintessential crossover which makes it the quintessential family car.

Turning Over A New Leaf

2014 Nissan Leaf review

At the time of writing petrol prices in New Zealand are around $2.21/litre. That’s after a 2 cent increase by the major oil companies a few months ago and a recent 3 cent government tax on fuel. Yet again. At one point it reached $2.23. The rise in fuel prices shows no signs of stopping as the crisis in the Middle East is worsening. I’m not an economist or politician but it seems to me that as soon as something happens in the Middle East, that’s an excuse to hike up fuel prices.

According to reports we are currently paying 56 cents of tax for every dollar of petrol. That’s ridiculous. The government says the new tax will go on to improving the road network but if prices are driving people out of their cars there’ll be no one to use the improved roads. Some might turn to diesel which is currently $1.47/litre but while the 3 cent increase in fuel will add about $20 a year to the average petrol motorist’s bill, the increase in road user charges for diesel vehicles will add around $60 a year to the ownership cost.

Road user charges, by the way, is a weird scheme that charges diesel vehicles by the distance travelled. Diesel fuel has no tax at the pumps so revenue comes from these road user charges. This wouldn’t be so much an issue if New Zealand had a decent public transportation service but it doesn’t. The trains don’t go anywhere where you’d actually want to go. The buses are scary and smell weird inside. There’s also the risk of getting stabbed, vomited on, and contracting a disease on them. You also have to follow a schedule so you can’t go whenever you want to. And most of the time they’re late anyway. A helicopter is impractical unless you’re Kim Dotcom while the ferry seems to lose a propellor every second day.

Fossil fuels are still vital to our lives, even in 2014, and I have a feeling that they will be in the foreseeable future as well. Too much of everything we rely on for our everyday lives runs on fossil fuels. The ever increasing prices can only have negative effects for us in New Zealand. We live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world and its best seen in a car. Not a train, or a bus, or a motorhome. A car. A car gives you freedom. The freedom of movement; the freedom to go wherever you want whenever you want. A Kiwi road trip is something everyone has to experience before they die. But it seems less people will be inclined to go on a road trip if fuel prices keep climbing. It’s bad for tourism, bad for the economy, and worst of all bad for petrol heads!

Now I could go on about how the government seems to treat drivers as a sort of tax ATM which they can withdraw more money from whenever it takes their fancy. But that’s for another place and time. This isn’t a blog on politics after all. So, back to cars. Apart from improving roads the government said they’ll use some of the revenue from the new taxes to aid infrastructure for alternative fuel vehicles. Vehicles like the all-electric Nissan Leaf.

The Nissan Leaf was launched in 2010 and if I’m perfectly honest I didn’t pay much attention to it. The only other electric car I had known of prior to the Leaf was that weird Mitsubishi i-MIEV which cost an eye-watering amount of money (around $72,000 if I remember correctly) when it was launched in NZ. Thankfully it was quickly withdrawn from the NZ market. The Leaf was brought into NZ in 2012 and Nissan ambitiously priced at $69,990. Around 23 were sold. So when I went to Japan I was in for quite a shock. There was quite a number of Leafs there were driving around. But then this was the country that gave us the Toyota Prius and the bullet train. In Japan the Leaf is advertised as a car that doubles as an emergency power supply for your home. Quite the multi-purpose vehicle indeed.

But this is a car first and foremost so what it’s like as a mode of transportation. Well first impressions show it’s just like any other car. It has four wheels, four doors, a boot, an interior, windows, and lights. Nothing new here then. Actually, while it uses a basic car design formula, the Leaf stands out from conventional hatchbacks. There are hints that this is a car for the future. The blue badging, the lack of a fuel filler cap, the solar panel on the spoiler, the sculpted headlights, the alien-like taillights… it all makes for a unique look without looking over the top. It’s futuristic but not as if it was drawn by an 11 year old in 1954 when asked what an electric car would look like in 2014.

It’s certainly a head turner. People gave it a second look. Which is good because they wouldn’t hear you coming. It’s eerily silent. Starting the Leaf is almost as conventional as its looks. You put your foot on the brake and press the ‘Power’ button which is just that. It’s even got a symbol for power like you get on a washing machine. It took me a while to figure out when it was turned on. Only the dashboard lighting up and a small beep give any indication it’s turned on. It’s a fantastic sensation. When it starts moving you don’t notice it at first. It’s only when scenery starts moving past do you realise you’re on the go. It makes you wonder why high-end luxury cars aren’t going down the EV road. In a way the silence reminded me of the bullet trains in Japan. You motion and speed without the sensation of noise. Usually speed and noise go together like eggs and bacon. But the Leaf was pure meat-free silence. I felt like Captain Picard and I was piloting the Starship Enterprise. It felt like the future.

Just to make things even more interesting the gearstick is far from conventional. Slide it right and up for reverse, right and down for drive. Go down again and it puts it into eco mode. Yeah, an eco mode in an EV is as amusing as a sport mode in a Ferrari. Setting off in it felt not unlike a golf cart. Anyone who’s driven an EZ-GO will no doubt be familiar with the immediate torque delivery of an electric motor. That’s what its like in the Leaf. Hit the accelerator and all 280NM of torque is delivered in a smooth and predictable fashion. It took me by surprise at first at how quickly this thing picks up speed. You could call the sensation as electrifying! The 80kW electric motor develops the equivalent of 110bhp which is acceptable in a car of this size. But its the torque that’s the standout number. However a hot hatch it is not. It doesn’t encourage you to drive fast. Quite the contrary actually. Driving it was more like being on a permanent eco drive. You are more aware of everything on the road as there’s absolutely no engine noise to interfere.

Actually, there’s hardly any noise at all. Nissan’s designers have done a brilliant job making the Leaf cut through the air as smoothly and silently as possible. Case in point are the headlights. They make look weird but they’ve been specially designed to direct airflow away from the cabin. The wing mirrors are smaller than usual too to reduce wind noise. Even the motors to the windscreen wipers had to be specially designed because the standard ones Nissan use in their other cars made too much noise. That’s not an exaggeration, it’s that quiet inside the Leaf. Only the eco tyres can be heard on the move. The solution would be to have the radio turned on but it didn’t feel right to waste precious electricity listening to Lana Del Rey. It’s the same with the heater. It was a cold, miserable, winter’s day when I drove the Leaf. The outside temp readout was indicating 9 degrees. It felt more like -9. Still, turning on the climate control would’ve decreased range by 20km. That’s the thing with driving an EV. You find yourself trying to eek out as much range as possible from a single charge.

As a vehicle for saving the environment though, this is hard to beat. All eco car are made eco, but some are more eco than others. I got this warm fuzzy feeling when I pulled up next to a Prius in the Leaf. It’s hard to put a finger on it but it’s a very satisfying and smug feeling. A Prius still utilises a petrol engine (Victorian technology!) and it still produces dirty and harmful CO2 emissions. The Leaf doesn’t. It’s not often you can out-green a Prius, even in a red Leaf. Everything about the Leaf is green, eve the name. LEAF actually stands for “Leading, Environmentally friendly, Affordable, Family car”. Certainly it’s proved popular since its launch four years ago. The Leaf has a 45% market share worldwide in fully electric vehicles. It’s also won numerous award including Japanese Car of the Year in 2011 and World Car of the Year in 2011.

The eco-ness doesn’t stop with the zero-emissions electric powertrain either. It utilises recycled materials in the interior, it has a solar panel on the spoiler which charges the 12V accessories battery, and regenerative braking. The regenerative braking happens behind the scenes. You don’t notice it driving around except for a little readout on the dash indicating it at work. It converts and stores energy developed by braking in the car’s battery to help extend range. But once you’ve gotten used to the new driving style and the silence the Leaf is a brilliant hatchback. What made the Mitsubishi i-MIEV so incomprehensible was it was a small car (based on the i-Car) with a mammoth price tag. The Nissan Leaf costs like a normal car and does all the practical things you’d expect from a normal car. Visibility is great. The large windows make it feel nice and airy inside. And very rare in a new car, I can actually see out the back window! Space inside is generous. Up front its easy to get comfortable. The seats are supportive and with lots of adjustment. You have to manually do the adjustment yourself, the seats aren’t electric for obvious reasons. I have to add the fabric seats are superb. I’ve never felt fabric seats quite like the ones on the Leaf. They were soft and reminded me of a cat. But obviously they’re not trimmed in cat fur. That would be cruel and not very eco. It would also be frowned upon in most societies.

In the back there are three seats like you get in a normal hatch. Only, there’s actually a decent amount of legroom. The middle seat is useable too, just. I found headroom to be adequate though taller folk might find it a bit limited. The boot is a decent size too, though the shape of the opening is awkward and there’s quite a high load lip. The rear seats fold down but unfortunately it doesn’t fold flat with the boot. That’s because the batteries are placed between under the seats. This allows for a lower centre of gravity and makes for better packaging inside. Speaking of which, the build quality of the interior is relatively normal too. You’ve got decent plastic inside. They’re not soft touch but they do the job. The piano black trim that’s seen in other Nissan interiors also makes an appearance here. It would’ve been nice if there was an option for a different colour. Green or blue perhaps? But other than that its standard Nissan. There’s a lot of tried and tested Nissan switchgear, and it’s very conventional actually.

Which might disappoint those expecting a futuristic sci-fi design. It’s got the same 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system as other contemporary Nissans such as the X-Trail and Altima. That means an easy and intuitive user interface and clear, readable writing. iPod connectivity and Bluetooth phone compatibility come standard. I actually quite like how they’ve made it look and feel like a normal Nissan inside. It’s not crammed with too many buttons which some find intimidating. Even the readouts for the battery information, power meter, and range weren’t too overwhelming for the eyes. It’s all logically placed and friendly to look at while still feeling very cool and geeky. The eco indicator even grows trees for you the more eco you drive. No really, it does. Okay, they’re not real trees as such but it’s quite fun seeing how many virtual trees you can grow before you arrive at your destination.

It’s as safe as any other hatchback at this price range too. It was awarded the maximum five star safety rating by EuroNCAP. It’s got the standard safety kit such as many airbags, ABS, and VDC. While we’re talking about VDC, it was a wet day when I drove the Leaf. And the 16-inch eco tyres aren’t the grippiest in the world. At one point I turned at an intersection and it understeered. That was unexpected and scary. Luckily the VDC kicked and saved the day but it made it very obvious that it was no GTI. The steering was light and made driving in town easy. I was surprised that in a car for the future a few of today’s tech such as blind spot assist and lane departure warning weren’t fitted. But for the money few rivals have that anyway. It does have an audible pedestrian warning system if a pedestrian steps out in front of the car. So that’s all the conventional stuff dealt with. And you must be thinking buying one seems like a no brainer. Not only can it do everything a normal hatchback can, but it does without producing any emissions and it costs roughly the same as the equivalent sized petrol or diesel powered hatch.

But hold wait a second as there are a couple things that need mentioning. If you live 200km from where you work you best get something else or walk the extra 20km as the Leaf has a range of 170km. In a hilly city like Wellington it’s more like 150km. Ideally you’d have two cars. The Leaf for your weekday commute to work, given your roundtrip is within the range, and then a petrol or diesel car for weekend and long distance trips. That’s what I’d do anyway. Unlike an internal combustion vehicle, when the Leaf runs out of juice and range it’s not a quick fill up to get it going again. You are able to do a quick charge (80% charge) which takes around half an hour but this shortens the battery life. A full charge on a 240V 15A dock takes around 7 hours. The Nissan dealer will also have a charging point.

With prices now starting from a very reasonable and realistic $39,990, the Leaf should definitely be near the top of your shopping list if you’re looking at an economical family hatch at this price range. For the same sort of money you could have a conventional VW Golf, Ford Focus, or Hyundai i30. These are available as both petrols and diesels. But while they have a bigger range have a think and work out the maths if the Leaf is more suited to your commuting needs. If you already have a petrol or diesel powered car then the Leaf could offset some of the running costs by taking over urban commuting tasks. It’s the same with the Prius. If all you want is an eco-friendly runaround then the Leaf is about as eco as they get for the money. Other EVs such as the Holden Volt and BMW i3 may have a bigger range thanks to their petrol-powered range extender which acts as a generator charging the batteries on the go but they cost considerably more than the Leaf ($75,000 for the Volt; $83,500 for the i3). However, a range extender on the Leaf would be a welcome option. It’d take some of the range anxiety away.

Compared to a conventional car servicing costs are considerably less too as there aren’t any mechanical or oily bits to maintain. Only a yearly check up is required and that costs around $100. The Leaf uses a lithium-ion battery which is more efficient and lighter than the nickel batteries used by most hybrids. The battery has been designed to last for years and is covered by Nissan’s 3-year/100,000km warranty. However over time the battery’s performance will decrease. Have a look around you right now. Your phone, your tablet, your laptop… everything that has a rechargeable battery will eventually experience a drop in battery life over time. My iPhone for example only lasts a couple of hours. I can’t live without my iPhone and start having a mental breakdown when the battery goes red. Imagine the anxiety attacks I’d get if that happened in a car.

I do like the idea of never having to go to a fuel station though. I find nothing more tedious and time wasting than going to a fuel station. But today, the Leaf’s 150-170km range has a long way to go to be on par with the 800km range of something like a Mazda3. So as an urban commuter it’s much better than a train and getting stabbed in a bus. But as an all round form of transport, an internal combustion engine car is still better. Obviously this is only a first generation electric vehicle and as technology develops so too will the range and life of batteries for electric vehicles. It should also be said we’d need to retrain children on how to cross the road. These are so quiet I have a fear that unless we have a new system for crossing roads, every child, deaf person, and animal will at some point get run over by EVs such as the Leaf. Hopefully the next Leaf will have a city brake function. If any car needs one of those it’s this.

However, my biggest issue with the Leaf is a personal one. What I love about petrol cars, and some diesels actually, is the noise they make. The noise a car makes is one of the most important factors for me. It makes you feel more connected with the car. To me, the noise is a way connecting with a car. It’s like the soul of the engine singing to you. Going up and down the rev range experiencing the different notes and noises of an engine is one of the best sensations in the world. Yes that’s great for going around quiet suburbs but it takes away some of the connection with the car. In an EV, and its not just the Leaf, there is no noise. Just a sort of buzzing noise like you get from a computer. Oh, that’s the other thing. The ‘Power’ button makes it feel more like an appliance. It’s a little thing but it annoyed me. It didn’t feel right.

It’s not something children will be dreaming about and have posters of on their bedroom walls. Sure, cars like the Tesla Model S, Fisker Karma and BMW i8 are changing the way we see EVs but they don’t evoke the same sort of feelings as a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or Aston Martin. Let me put it like this; if they ever do a remake of the movie ‘Grease’ it’d be unlikely the producers will use a Nissan Leaf as the Greased Lightning car. Unless they wanted to be literal about it. To be fair on the Leaf though its rivals such as Focus, Prius, or Golf aren’t exactly things of dreams and if we’re being honest that’s just my personal view anyway. For most people, i.e. those who don’t know their Austins from their Astons, won’t care that the Leaf doesn’t scream like an opera singer who’s stubbed their toe.

This doesn’t take away the fact that the Leaf is an impressive car, and an electric one at that. Any fears of EVs not being able to fit into our daily lives in 2014 were quickly thrown out the window when I experienced the Leaf. What makes it incredible is that underneath that conventional exterior lies the future of cars. It’s still a niche car. This is one for early adopters. It’s for the people who had the first iPod, the first iPhone, the first iPad, and MySky before everyone else jumped on the bandwagon. This is the ultimate gadget. But unlike most first-generation gadgets, the Leaf actually works. I have no doubt most of us will be driving silently and emission-free in the near future. The Leaf is great as you can pop down to a Nissan dealer and buy one today. I never thought I’d be driving a pure electric vehicle this early on in my life let alone recommending it as a viable alternative to an internal combustion engine. The future is here, today.

Verdict: 7.5/10
Pros: Instant torque, zero emissions, never having to go to a fuel station, space inside, design, value, the feeling of being greener than Prius drivers, being the future today, driving in silence, cheap to own and run,
Cons: Limited range, has first-generation EV niggles (some might want to wait for the next generations), not available with a range extender, children won’t be able to hear you.
I am both shocked and impressed by the Leaf. It now makes for a feasible proposition after Nissan kindly lowered the price. Seriously consider one if you’re looking at buying a hybrid or diesel hatch for urban use.

 

The Born Altima-tum

2014 Nissan Altima 2.5 Ti review

It’s a cloudy winter’s Sunday in Wellington. There’s a mild breeze and people are going about their Sunday routines; church, the vege market, and sports activities. The roads are full of people inside their cars unbeknown to them that the cars their driving tells a lot about the type of person they are. It’s funny that isn’t it? No matter what reasons we have for justifying a car purchase deep down what it says about us is an important factor in deciding which car to buy. Few things in the world can tell so much about someone. A person’s choice in phone, or fashion style can change at a blink of an eye but a car is a more long term commitment.

The middle-aged woman in the convertible Mini probably wants to portray she still has a some fun left in her life, the young guy in the modded Honda Integra wants the attention of the local police and the soccer mum in the Mercedes ML63 AMG wants to tell the world she’s made it and needs to get to her manicure appointment in a hurry. People like to differentiate cars by placing them either in the “woman’s car” category or the “man’s car” category. In all my years of being a petrolhead I have never actually known what the definition of a woman’s car or a man’s car actually is.

I get a lot of stick for liking the Fiat 500 Abarth. Apparently that’s a woman’s car. How so? There’s nothing feminine or womanly about it. It doesn’t have breasts or ovaries and it sure as hell can’t give birth. So what makes it a car only females should drive? It’s the same with every small roadster. The Mazda MX-5, BMW Z4 and Porsche Boxster. No matter how great a driver’s car these are, people still think they’re a car for women. Mind you, not everyone generalises like this. I’ve noticed it’s only simple minded baffoons that think this way. Because at the other end of the scale these people believe a man should drive something preposterous like a Hummer, an Evo or a blacked out BMW 7-Series. No, those aren’t men’s cars. Those are Russian Mafia cars.

Are they saying women shouldn’t drive a big fancy car and should only drive little cars? Because if they are then that’s just blatant sexism. I like seeing women in Range Rovers and Ferraris. I saw a woman in a dark blue SL55 AMG today and I nearly had to run to the nearest toilet because I was that, erm, excited. And when I see a man in a Mini or an Abarth I have nothing but pure admiration for him. As well as a slight hint of jealous as I want an Abarth badly. So, if the message your car sends about is important then what sort of message does a Nissan Altima say?

The Nissan Altima was introduced to Australian and New Zealand markets in 2013, just as the Maxima left. But Nissan stress the Altima isn’t a direct replacement for the Maxima. That car was positioned in the ‘large car’ segment. However, and I’ll whisper this, the Altima is actually slightly larger than the Maxima. The Altima measures in at 4885mm while the Maxima was only 4850mm. Confusingly the Maxima we got here was different to the USDM Maxima. Our one was also known as the Teana in Japan. Instead, Nissan say the Altima carries on where the old Primera and Teana left off in the ‘mid-sized’ segment aims to compete with the likes of the Mazda6, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Subaru Legacy, VW Passat, Kia Optima, Hyundai i40, Ford Mondeo, Holden Malibu and Skoda Octavia. Quite a crowded segment then. And rather worryingly, I haven’t seen many Altimas on the road.

Certainly you’d notice it on the road, and not because of its distinctive styling. It shows its size on the road, and behind the wheel it can be quite intimidating. The length or height wasn’t an issue, it was more the width. It’s American influence shows. Americans are graced with wide roads to accommodate their love of muscle cars and trucks. Wellington roads weren’t designed with that in mind and some of the narrower streets was quite daunting to go through. The parking sensors and warning noises definitely had a good work out.

There are only two trim levels, ST and Ti, and both come with a 2.5-litre four cylinder engine. This develops 172bhp and 230NM of torque. 0-100 kph is taken care of in a decent 8.6 seconds. It is more or less the same engine found in the X-Trail. It’s got adequate performance with decent low range punch but it does need to be worked hard if you want to make it shift. The transmission is a CVT and in normal ‘D’ its smooth and the usual CVT droning noise is pretty much non-existent. But in ‘Sport’ mode it hangs on to gears like a shark hangs on to its prey. It’d be fine if it made a sporty noise but the harder you push the coarser the noise it makes. When you take it easy and waft about, the engine is refined. The CVT didn’t have a ‘tiptronic’ function nor did it have paddle shifters. It was one of those single gate automatics. Last time I saw one of those was in my dad’s old 1999 Toyota Crown. So it’s not a sporty car then.

And this is apparent in its driving dynamics. The steering is light and there’s little feel. I found myself having to apply more lock than expected. Don’t get me wrong, the steering works. It turns the front wheels and such but it doesn’t provide the same sort of directness and sporty feel as others do. The upside to this is you could, in theory, steer with just one finger. It’s incredibly light and easy. Around town the slight steering almost makes up for its size. Almost. The seats – produced using NASA technology thank you very much – are very comfortable but don’t offer the kind of bolstering support as something like a Holden SV6 does. It took me a couple of minutes to establish that the Altima isn’t a sports saloon. The top it all off the Altima is front-wheel drive. When I first saw it I thought it’d be rear-wheel drive but no. It’s a front-wheeler but there are advantages to that. So with its non-sporting aspirations established I concentrated on more important issues.

Important issues such as comfort. The NVH levels in the Altima were superb. It does a brilliant job of isolating unwanted noise and instead you can turn your attention to the brilliant 9-speaker Bose sound system. Nissan knows this market well. They’ve been making mid-sized and large saloons for a long time and over the years they haven’t strayed far from their template. Nissan saloons tend to lean more on comfort than sports so its nice to know that the Altima continues this. It’s a fantastical smooth thing to drive around in. Usually I’d jump at the chance to take a car by the scruff of the neck and blast around a good coastal road. Instead I found myself sinking into the La-Z-Boy like seat and wafting around taking in the scenery. It was lovely. The suspension soaks up imperfections on the road well. I noticed it dealt with bigger potholes, speed bumps, and harsher roads than it did smaller bumps though.

The great thing about the Altima is the space inside. As mentioned before the Altima sends its power to the front wheels. What this means of course is that it’s not as dynamic as something a BMW or Holden or whatever else thats rear-wheel drive in this price range. Of course the BMW and Holden compete in a different segment. The Altima’s main rivals are all front-wheel drive as well. For performance, front-wheel drive isn’t ideal but for packaging it’s king. The Altima uses Nissan’s D Platform which is also shared with the Maxima, Murano and Pathfinder. The family connection is certainly evident. There’s so much space inside the cabin. The seats are electrically operated so the seating adjustments are infinite and the steering wheel can be adjusted for reach and rake.

Headroom and shoulder room up front are very good as well. The seats are a good size though the lack of horizontal support is my only complaint. You can feel it as you go around a medium sized roundabout. In the back there’s so much legroom you could even have your own shoe polisher down there. The middle seat is usable too. I found I had enough headroom and because the footwell was deep and a good size, I had somewhere to put my feet. There’s even a rear roller blind for the back windscreen. Then there’s the boot. Which was huge, 488L huge. I tried squeezing myself in there, and I succeeded. So it could easily swallow luggage for a weekend away or a couple sets of golf clubs.

Quality is good too. NZ Altimas are sourced from Thailand but don’t let that put you off. There’s a generous amount of soft-touch plastics and the steering wheel and seats are trimmed in leather. There’s a mixture of aluminium and piano black trim on the centre console. The design is very much Nissan and is similar to that in the X-Trail. It’s more function than form but it’s not a bad place to spend time in. Because everything is logically placed and easy to reach its quite stress free. Nissan’s 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system is a standard fit in the top spec Ti trim and like the X-Trail its very easy to use. The font is large and clear and you never have to fiddle with multiple sub menus as everything is more or less button’s touch away, be it sat-nav, audio or phone. The dual zone climate control is easy to use as well.

Equipment levels are good too but they should be as the top spec Ti starts at $53,990. Included in the price are everything mentioned before, so that’s the 7-inch touchscreen, leather electrically power seats, climate control, sat-nav, a reversing camera and parking sensors, bluetooth for your phone and audio streaming. On top of that you also get lane departure warning and blind spot assist which are shown on a very cool and clear driver display screen, keyless entry and go, automatic bi-xenon headlights, LED taillights, automatic wipers, iPod connectivity, and en ECO button. I have no idea what it did because I never actually used it nor did I feel the need to. According to the trip computer we were averaging 7.4L/100km which is better than the claimed 7.5L/100km which is less than everything else in this class bar the diesels. That’s thanks to the Altima actually being the lightest (1435kg) in class because of the use of aluminium in its bodywork – the only car in its class to have this.

There’s a theme developing here. The Altima is a car that’s more about the country club than the racing club. But I like that. I like how it knows its not a sporty car so it doesn’t try to be. It may have a ‘sports’ mode but that really should be renamed to ‘noisy’ mode. Really, you’d only ever use for overtaking manoeuvres. Most of the time owners will just leave it in D. The soft, cruising driving style will appeal to those in country clubs rather than racing clubs. That’s not to say the Altima is a slow car. No, it’s got decent punch but its not one that’ll get your heart racing. Which is good for the target audience as their hearts are fragile things. Anything that’d make it unnecessarily active might not be such a good thing.

Which is funny because out of all the cars in this class I think the Altima, along with the Mazda6, are the most emotive to look at. Everything in this class are either dull or downright awful. The Altima has all the right curves and looks the business, especially in black like my test car. We don’t get the Infiniti brand here in NZ. I think we did for a brief period of time last year but they just sort of disappeared. Well, the Altima is probably the closest we’ll get to an Infiniti for now. The prominent chrome grille and sharp headlights give it a distinctive Nissan look, the sculpted curves on the wings and sharp waistline give it a more athletic look than it deserves and at the back alien-like LED taillights are the main talking points while a pair of exhausts finishes the look off. Some have said it looks like a bloated Pulsar and to that I say a Honda Accord looks like a bloated Honda City. Sure there are similarities between the Pulsar and Altima but that’s because they’re made by the same people. It’s hardly a surprise that two cars from the same company share the same design DNA.

And that brings me on to the Altima’s rivals. The base ST model actually undercuts most of them, it starts at a very reasonable $43,990 and really if you’re in the market for a mid-sized saloon at that price the Altima is hard to ignore. The Camry is dull, the i40 is diesel only and a small diesel at that, I’d rather drink hydrochloric acid than own a Holden Malibu, the Subaru Legacy is ugly, the Ford Mondeo is getting replaced soon, the VW Passat is about as exciting as cement, the Honda Accord is too beige, the Kia Optima isn’t as well equipped and the Mazda6 is too expensive. The range topping Ti is around $7,000 less than the range-topping Mazda6 and that’s a huge amount of money.

Spend a little more and you could have a Holden SV6 or Chrysler 300. Both cars are in the size above the Altima yet ask a few thousand more. No they’re not as economical but the Holden is a sportier drive and sends its power, 100bhp more of it in fact, to the rear wheels. The 300 is even more comfortable and spacious, but again is no where near as economical as the Altima is even harder to drive on Wellington roads thanks to its bigger size. You could go for a posher badge and get yourself an Audi A3 Sedan or Mercedes-Benz CLA200. Those are front-wheel drive but aren’t as spacious or as come as generously equipped as the Altima.

I haven’t even gotten to the best part of the Altima. Up until very recently Ford and Holden were the only two manufactures involved in the V8 Supercars race series in Australia. The V8 Supercars if you’re from the Northern Hemisphere, is like touring cars but with great big Aussie V8s. The fans are obsessed with them and its divided friends and families for years. People are split between supporting Ford and Holden cars. A couple of years ago Nissan joined in with a racecar resembling an Altima, hence its introduction to the Oz/NZ market. Mercedes-AMG joined in as well with an E63 racer and Volvo is the latest with an S60 Polestar racer.

That means the Altima is the least expensive way of owning a V8 Supercar. Sort of. In my mind. So what sort of message does the Altima say about you if you bought one? Well you like to stand out from the crowd. The distinctive styling is a change from the conservative norm of this sector. You value comfort over performance which either means you’re a mature person or have delicate bones and you fancy yourself a V8 Supercar without all the stickers and aero bits. But actually I think the Altima is a great car for dads. The kids will like it because it looks like the racecars on telly, the wife will like it because its easy to drive and park, and dad will like it because it looks good, goes well and stands out. It might not be the sportiest or the stand out star of the class but does offer a more relaxed approach to motoring and that should appeal to some. It is the ideal car for doing all your Sunday activities in.

Verdict: 7.5/10

Pros: Bold styling, ride comfort, easy of use, space, value, still quite rare, V8 Supercar connection, fuel economy, generous equipment

Cons: Coarse engine note, CVT can get confused in sport mode, lack of horizontal support, width, lifeless steering

A very comfortable way of travelling and while it doesn’t set the segment on fire, it does offer an alternative way to enjoy driving.

Kamika-Zed

2014 Nissan 370Z Auto review

During my time in Japan I spent a lot of in the Tochigi are. Like many gaijin I didn’t know much about the place until I was actually there. My idea of Japan was the modern metropolis of Tokyo and ancient traditional places such as Nara and Kyoto. But the time I spent in Tochigi is something I’ll never forget. It’s a properly beautiful place with lots of nature’s best sights and sounds. They also grow some of the best strawberries in the world. The best part is that it’s only an hour ride on the bullet train from Tokyo so you literally get the best of both worlds. You’ve got Japan’s beautiful natural sights not far from Japan’s state-of-the-art city.

Tochigi is also the place where the car I’ve been driving recently is made. The 370Z is assembled at Nissan’s Tochigi plant alongside various Infinitis and the cult-hero GT-R. I wish I had visited the factory when I was there. They only do tours in Japanese though so I better brush up before heading over. But after driving the 370Z, a car I quickly fell in love with, it may just be worth it to learn more about this wonderful car.

The Zed is a hard car to place. For the MY2014 Nissan have given the 5-year old Zed a bit of a mid-life update as well as slashing the price by a good $10,000 here in New Zealand. Yes, you read that right. Nissan has slashed a massive chunk from the Zed’s price to make it more accessible to a wider audience. For a car asking $59,995 for a manual and $63,495 for the auto, that’s incredible value. Picking between the manual and auto is all down to personal preference but for me, the auto seemed to tick all the right boxes and not for a moment did I feel wanting for a manual stick and a third pedal. In terms of power its closer to the likes of the BMW Z4, Mercedes SLK350 and Porsche Cayman than Toyota GT86.

And therein lies the problem. Do I compare it against its more expensive rivals or the GT86 which costs less but has less power? I have to be careful as well because unlike its rivals which are relatively new to the scene the Zed lineage celebrates its 35th anniversary this year. The Zed was one of the first Japanese sports cars and in its 35 years the Zed cars from the original 240Z to today’s 370Z have built up a loyal following. Very few cars are able to do this but that just goes to show the appeal and the brilliance of the Zed cars. To say this 370Z has a lot to live up to would be an understatement.

Let’s start with the looks. I know its objective but I won’t take any arguments, this is one stunning looking thing. Especially in this metallic Midnight Blue colour which is a new colour choice for the MY14 cars. It really sets it apart and the new LED daytime running lights, Z-shaped LED taillights and Z-shaped Xenon headlights help make it stand out. And boy does it stand out. The 19-inch ‘Rays’ alloys do it lots of favour too. I haven’t seen many 370Zs driving around NZ, so people turn their heads. I even got a thumbs up from a guy in a Porsche 993 Turbo. That in itself is about as good as praise gets. The rest of the design is largely the same as the 370Z that came out in 2009. That’s to say it’s a smaller, more aggressive evolution of the 350Z’s design. Like its predecessor, the 370Z was actually designed at Nissan’s design studio in California. The chap who penned it is from the Philippines. Which makes this the car equivalent of me… In my mind.

The shape could be nothing else other than a Zed car’s. It’s such a striking looking thing and if there was one thing I enjoyed more than driving it, it was looking at the damn thing. No it’s not classically beautiful like say, a Jaguar F-Type, but in its own Japanese way it never fails to look cool and handsome. This is a very different sort of beauty. I particularly love it from the side. The long bonnet and short bum proportions are just right and in my mind reminds of me various Ferraris, Aston Martins and Porsches. And that by no means is a complaint.

The interior is very Japanese. It’s simple and everything is logically placed. There’s not pomp and ceremony in here, it’s does one job and does it well. It does have some nice little details which add to the whole sportiness of the experience. The three dials at the top of the dash show you the time, battery voltage and oil temperature. These are faced towards the driver, naturally. The dials arenice and easy to read. To the left is the driver info display which shows fuel range, milage etc. In the middle is a big tachometer while on the right is the speedo. The quality is good and there really isn’t much to complain about. I suppose if I were to be picky the lack of USB port and Bluetooth streaming is a bit of a disappointment in a product of 21st Century Japan. Especially as its aimed at a younger generation of drivers. While most of the plastics are of the soft touch variants, some don’t look particularly suited to a $60k car. But let’s be honest, like the GT86, you don’t buy these sorts of cars for the interior quality. Yes, you could say that compared to the likes of the BMW Z4 and Porsche Cayman the quality isn’t as good but let’s not forget those cars cost almost twice as the Zed.

It’s got decent equipment levels too with a starter button, automatic climate control, an 8-speaker Bose sound system with 2 subwoofers and 6-CD changer with Aux input, 6 airbags and leather trimmed steering wheel and seats. The latter having suede inserts which were a nice touch. On the practicality front you get two seats, with lots of adjustability to get comfortable. The seats, which are electrically operated and heated, are great and offer good support. I found a comfortable position without too much fuss and the steering wheel was already in the perfect spot. Some might find the driving position, long arms short legs, a bit uncomfortable but it reminded me a lot of some European sports cars so that’s a plus in my books.

There was a lot of storage space as well. You had a little cubby hole on the centre console where the sat-nav would be if it was fitted and there was one under the central armrest. The glovebox was a good size too and you even get two little storage spaces behind the seats which are the perfect size for a computer bag. The boot is less surprising. In fact its very much that of a typical sports car. It’s shallow and don’t even bother with the tonneau cover as with that in place the most you could store in there is a weekly magazine and some biscuits. You’ve got a spare wheel under the boot though but it looked like a space saver to me.

Visibility was pretty good too, I mean for a low-slung sports car. You sit quite close to the ground, which is something I really liked, but there’s still good headroom and seeing out wasn’t a mission and a half. I loved looking out over the bonnet that stretched on for infinity. Then there’s the wing mirrors. They’re a good size but that’s not why I love them, no. I love them because when you look at them you get a glimpse of the wide rear wheelarches which remind you that you’re in something special. Rearwards visibility was less loveable but it was aided by a rear-windscreen wiper, not a common feature in a few fastback style cars. The lack of rear parking sensors made parallel parking a bit tricky. Luckily I developed a trick to parking it; stick your head out the window. It’s not a big car so once you’ve gotten the hang to its width its pretty manoeuvrable around town.

That said, the low-speed ride might become tiring. It’s not a car like that imperfect roads and crashes and jolts over every single bump. I’ll forgive it for that because its stiff chassis and sports suspension come into play when you take out of town but that could hinder its ability to be the ideal daily driver. There’s a lot of tyre noise too. The rest of the NVH is good. Engine and wind noise are kept to a minimum when cruising but those 18″ wheels do produce a lot of noise. I know Japanese roads and some American roads, where the 370Z is most successful, are smooth so drivers there won’t find its ride too much of an issue for us Kiwis it might take its toll.

Get it out of town though and the Zed really shines. This is a car to drive, not pose in. The engine, a 3.7-litre naturally aspirated V6 is a refreshing change to the small capacity turbocharged units coming out of Europe these days. It’s old-fashioned but by no means outdated. It’s a variation of Nissan’s award-winning VQ-series with Variable Valve Event & Lift. I wish I could explain what that meant but I have no idea what it actually is, it does sound cool though.

There’s 335bhp on tap and 363NM of torque which is plenty. A lot of it happens in the low to mid- range but take it up to the redline and it really comes alive. 0-100 kph is done in a respectable 5.5 seconds. Because there’s no forced induction, all the responses are immediate. The torque curve is very linear, you can predict when the power comes. What you can’t predict is the level of brutality of the delivery. It gives you a good kick in the back it gives you when you hit the accelerator. It’s gotso much punch to it and its so brutal you’d never tire of it. It’s an experience and a half. Its really addictive and I’d find myself accelerating for other reason than just to feel my head get pushed back into the headrest. And because of the flexible engine and the linear torque curve, this happens at almost any gear and any revs. I found myself leaving it in 3rd most of the time and still coped well in terms of response and power delivery.

She sings as well. Ooooh it makes a nice noise. I love 6-cylinder cars, I’ve been surrounded by them for most my life. The one in this is easily one of the best I’ve heard. It has that V6 growl that comes alive as you take it higher up the rev range. Its a sweet and rewarding noise and the exhaust note is pretty decent too. On the overrun it does this nice burbling noise. It’s hard to put my finger on it but its childishly good fun. It’s at its best around the 4-6k mark and can get quite coarse any higher than that. But the great thing is around town its quiet and restrained. In other words, it doesn’t sound like a boy racer car. Which is good. Make no mistake though, this thing sounds as sporty as it looks. There is a downside to all this sweet noise and revving though. The fuel consumption isn’t the greatest. Nissan claims 10.5L/100km. I can’t remember what I averaged but it wouldn’t have been much better than that. But it’s a V6 sports coupe, what else would you expect?

I can’t get over at how quickly this thing picks up speed. Let’s not forget this isn’t the lightest of cars, it weighs a smidgen under 1500kg, yet somehow as soon as you hit the throttle it sheds all that weight and flies. The 7-speed auto is a work of genius if I may be so frank. Leave it in ‘D’ and at low speeds it just feels like any old auto, slushing to the gears with ease. Stick the lever into manual mode and all of a sudden the gearbox wakes up and goes into sport mode. The paddles, which are column mounted, are long and have a nice tactile feel to them. Changes via the paddles are quick and even have rev-matching blipping on the downshifts, which made me feel like Tiff Needle. There’s also a little red light to tell you when to change up.

The meaty engine should be an indication on what the rest of the driving experience is like. This is a man’s car. The controls feel meaty and chunky. The steering is my kind of steering, thick wheel and heavy weighting. It gives good feedback too and because its a hydraulic system it feels natural and connected. Its such a sweet thing to steer, it honestly is. The feedback that comes through the steering wheel is sublime and makes it all the more enjoyable to chuck around. It’s easy to get carried away so it’s a good thing the Brembo brakes are very effective. The pedal gave good feedback and was very responsive without being violent. They were rather impressive.

Remember that firm suspension I mentioned before? Well while its not suited for town driving, on the open road it really gets into its own. The faster you go the better the ride gets. In my mind. Maybe its because of all the adrenaline coursing through your body you forget about the harsh ride. But whatever, the stiff chassis really shows its merits. There’s no body roll, you simply point the front wheels where you want to go hoof the throttle and it’ll get you there in a torrent of noise and power. The ESP does intervene a little too much but on slightly wet roads I was secretly relived to have the electronic nanny present. You’d think though, with 330bhp on wet roads and even with ESP switched off that the Zed would want to dance around every corner. But no. It wasn’t having any of that. It just gripped and went around corners without too much drama. It almost felt like it had AWD.

Right, so how does it compare to rivals. Well for a start at this price range it really doesn’t many rivals per se. Sure you could look at hot hatches such as the VW Golf GTI or Renault Megane RS265 but they don’t nearly have the same amount of power as the Zed and more imporantly they’re front-wheel drive. Very good front wheel drive, but front-wheel drive nevertheless.

The GT86 which is around $12,000 less will draw many comparisons but as far as I can see the only thing they have in common is that they’re both front-engine, rear-wheel drive coupes from Japan. The GT86 has less power and less weight but is more of a precision tool. The 370Z feels more brutal, more grown up. It’s a lot like a Japanese muscle car. Then there’s its European rivals. Not only do they cost A LOT more but they don’t nearly have as much curb appeal as the Zed, bar the Cayman. The biggest difference is the thrill ride the Zed is compared to say an SLK350. A Z4 may be closer to the 370Z but while I have yet to drive one of those I’ll reserve judgement. But compared to the SLK, the Zed is more of a heart racer. As its rivals become more modern and somewhat diluted, the aging Zed’s appeal increases. It’s an old-school bruiser that’s so manly and brutish it makes those Old Spice ads look weak and pathetic.

There’s so much to like about the 370Z. It’s an old-school approach to sports cars which in many ways makes this a modern classic. It’s almost like a metaphor for Tochigi with the way it fuses traditional Japanese qualities and the Zed’s history and modern day technology and convenience. The way it looks, the power, the engine, the noise the gearbox, the driving position, the handling, the chassis and the grip all come together to make the whole package work so god damn well. Is it one of the best cars I’ve driven? Yes and its one of the most loveable cars I’ve driven too. $60,000? For the amount of fun this thing is able to offer its worth every cent.

Verdict: 9/10

Pros: Glorious V6 engine, eye-catching design, chassis, handling, fun factor, power, noise, split personality of auto ‘box, value,

Cons: Laughable boot space, tyre roar, low-speed ride, Most fun you can have for the money.

Cars in the price range don’t get any better looking or powerful than the 370Z. It’s in a class of one.

 

Crossing Over The Trail Tracks

2014 Nissan X-Trail 2.5 Ti 4WD review

It could be argued that today’s world has reached a point where political correctness has gone absolutely mad. If you haven’t heard, recently an often outspoken figure in the motoring press has been at the centre of a controversial storm. Some have accused him of being ‘racist’ for mumbling a particular word in a nursery rhyme and some have gathered a lynch mob outside his home calling for his head on a spike. Has the world gone mad? Are we really at a point in civilisation where we’ve been so sheltered that the slightest detraction from the ‘social norm’ must result in ending a man’s life? This is the witch trials all over again.

I won’t get in too deep about this because I’ll be here all day. But this whole political correctness gone mad does bring me on to the new Nissan X-Trail, weirdly. The first generation X-Trail was launched way back in 2001. That was the one that had a rugged boxy look. It was replaced by a second generation in 2007 which also sported a rugged boxy look and offered something different to other crossovers. The first two X-Trails also offered more capable off-roadability compared to its more road-orientated rivals. As a result the first two generation X-Trails were hits. It was function beating form.

This third generation of the X-Trail has gone through an ‘x-treme’ makeover and now follows the hegemonic styling of this class. In the world of crossovers, the new X-Trail is politically correct. Gone are the old rugged looks and in is a sleeker and sportier design. It’s a good looking thing. The prominent Nissan grille gives it a macho presence and the daytime running lights grabs people’s attention. The side is nice and sculpted without looking too fussy. The rear of it has drawn comparisons to the second-generation Lexus RX. Admittedly, they do look similar but that should be seen as a compliment. The styling follows on from Nissan’s latest SUVs and is a mix of Juke, Murano and Pathfinder. However its the new Qashqai that it resembles most. Which is no coincidence as while not only replacing the previous X-Trail, this also takes the role of being a 7-seat option for those wanting a bit more practicality from their mid-sized crossovers.

And people want crossovers. Everyone likes to think they want to save the world and buy a Prius or a Golf or something in in fact they want a high-riding SUV or crossover of some sort. Case in point my test drive of the X-Trail was shorter than my other test drives as people were lined up to take it out for a spin.

I understand the appeal of an SUV completely. It’s been a while since I drove an SUV but when I climbed into the X-Trail and got myself comfortable in its high driving position I have to admit it felt good. There’s a strange ‘feel good’ sensation sitting higher up than other motorists be it in a Nissan X-Trail or in a supercharged Range Rover.

Read into that what you will but there’s no denying the upside to visibility. You get a better view out of the road ahead which means you have time to change your driving style to suit conditions ahead. Which makes SUVs all the safer for families.

That’s crucial. Keep in mind that its families that’ll be buying these sorts of cars, not Sebastian Vettel. So if you approach it with that sort of mindset you’ll be quite impressed at how the X-Trail drives. There’s very little body roll and the 4WD version I drove felt very surefooted and safe. 4WD X-Trails come with an ALL MODE 4×4 i-system control dial which allows you to switch from 2WD to 4WD.

In 2WD mode it felt like a normal car with decent steering though feel and feedback were a bit diluted. It could be because the roads were wet. In 4WD the steering felt heavier. It could just be how the electrically assisted steering was set up. Around corners the X-Trail comes with a few techy bits to keep in check. As if 4WD grip wasn’t enough it comes with something called ‘Active Trace Control’ which uses many clever electronic brains to monitor speed, steering angle and throttle to brake the necessary wheels to avoid understeer. Then there’s Active Engine Break to help it stop faster. Clever stuff. Really only the inconsistent steering feel lets it down but even that won’t be a concern for most buyers.

What might concern some is the lack of a 4WD option for the 7-seater X-Trail. At the moment only the 7-Seater is only available in base ST trim. All 5-seater X-Trails from the ST all the way up to the Ti come with 4WD as standard.

So its a decent handling thing and doesn’t roll about in corners. But what about the ride? Well I’m happy to report that’s where the X-Trail shines. Its a smooth riding thing and absorbs all the bumps and bruises Wellington’s roads had to offer. Certainly you needn’t worry about your children getting sick on the lovely leather seats. The good ride is partly thanks to the new Renault-Nissan Common Module Family (CMF) platform that’s also shared with the new Qashqai. The Active Ride Control is also responsible. This system monitors road surfaces ahead to detect any imperfections and adjusts the dampers accordingly. It’s all very clever.

Another plus point for SUVs and the sort is the amount of space they have inside. I don’t know how but Nissan seems to have incorporated TARDIS technology with the X-Trail because there’s acres of space inside. Though, that could have something to do with this new X-Trail being bigger than its predecessor in every way. Up front mum and dad will get comfy easily as the electric seats offer infinite adjustment. In the back adults will have room to spare and kids will probably get lost. If you need more room the backseats slide backwards and forwards too.

Opt for the 7-seater and you get two seats in the boot. Note that these are for occasional use only. I managed to squeeze myself in the third row and had decent headroom but my legs needed amputating. It also eats up quite a lot of the generous boot space. If you need 7-seats all of the time then the bigger Pathfinder might be a better choice.

I like that about the X-Trail though because apart from the Outlander and the avoid-at-all-cost Craptiva, this is the only one in this segment that offers 7-seats. For most something like a Pathfinder or even a Santa Fe might be too big. The X-Trail is the right size and the availability of a 7-seat option opens it up to a wider audience.

The interior of the X-Trail is an even bigger leap from the old model than the exterior. The quality is top notch, almost European actually. Everything you see and touch looks and feels like it was designed to be as durable as it is stylish. It’s a good design that doesn’t offend the eyes. The amount of tech and equipment inside is nicely hidden behind a touchscreen veil. It’s a good system to use. The user interface is easy to comprehend and commands are quick. This is an interior befitting a circa-$50k car for sure.

Typical of a Japanese car, the equipment levels are generous. The top-spec Ti comes with nice little touches usually found in cars from the West. You get LED head and taillights, rain sensing wipers, a panoramic sunroof, electric tailgate and passive safety aids such as Blind Spot Warning, Lane Departure Warning and Moving Object Detection. The standard fit reversing camera and the Around View Monitor makes parking this 4656mm long SUV a breeze. I found rearward visibility pretty good anyway and the C-Pillar wasn’t as obtrusive as other cars thanks to a small but handy rear quarter light and large wing mirrors.

Performance wise the X-Trail is pretty good. It only comes with a 2.5-litre four cylinder which pumps out 171 bhp and 226NM of torque. This means a 0-100 kph time of a smidgen under 9 seconds. It’s a good engine being responsive and punchy when needed. What it doesn’t like doing is to rev though. Its not the most aurally pleasing engine out there. Keep it below 4000 rpm and its a refined contender. That reinforces that this isn’t the sportiest of the sports utility vehicle. A diesel might suit it however, Nissan being Japanese, favours petrol and hybrid.

Another thing Japanese firms seem to like is CVT gearboxes. I’ll come straight out with it that I’m not a fan of CVTs. It’s a personal thing, I just don’t trust pulleys and belts nearly as much as I trust cogs. That said the CVT in the X-Trail was smooth when left in auto and in tiptronic mode it made a convincing attempt at feeling like a conventional auto.

The plus side to a constantly variable transmission though is the fuel consumption benefits. Because its constantly trying to find the best gear it uses a decent amount of fuel compared to others in this class. Nissan claims 8.3L/100km. Certainly in Eco mode I can see it coming close to those figures. If you want less litre for your 100 kilometre then the possible hybrid might be for you. The lack of diesel option might put some off.

Prices for the X-Trail in New Zealand start from $39,990 for the 7-seater in ST trim. That’s remarkable value and comes with pretty much everything you need such as a reversing camera, daytime running lights, 8 airbags, multiple safety acronyms and an audio system that’s bluetooth and iPod compatible. The 5-seater ST with 4WD starts from $42,990. Step up to $47,290 ST-L and you get leathery bits, a 7″ LCD touchscreen, Around View Monitor and electric heated seats up front. The top spec Ti trim comes with European-levels of tech and starts from $53,290. Whichever way you look at it, it’s priced very well. It’s on par with the Ford Kuga, Hyundai iX35 and Toyota RAV4 and undercuts the Mazda CX-5, Volkswagen Tiguan and Honda CRV. All of which aren’t available with an extra row of seats.

The X-Trail all in all is a very good family vehicle. It ticks all the right boxes; it looks good; has a nice interior; decent to drive; rides well; has decent fuel economy; and comes with as much space as it does gadgets. Priced competitively it’ll give SUV buyers a harder time deciding on which one to pick. But perhaps if Nissan had kept it rugged like the previous two generations it would be an easier choice for some.

I’m sure a minority will miss the option of having a mid-sized SUV that’s capable off road but truth be told most SUV and crossover buyers rarely take their cars off asphalt. Nissan knows this hence the shift in direction of the X-Trail and Pathfinder. Some might see this change as a bad thing, that this segment that’s getting more crowded by the day is so competitive everyone has ended up making essentially the same vehicle. That consumers have no choice. SUV political correctness gone mad? Perhaps, but there’s no doubt Nissan’s new and improved X-Trail will appeal to many.

Verdict: 8/10
Pros: Styling, on road manners, interior (design, quality and space), 7 seat option, good spec levels, competitive prices
Cons: No 4WD or top spec trim for the 7 seater, lack of diesel might put some off, not as rugged as previous X-Trails
Nissan’s shift of direction for the X-Trail makes it a strong contender in a crowded marketplace and broadens its appeal. Good thing it comes with 7 seats then.