Perfect scores in two aspects of crash testing picked out for particular praise.

GLOWING praise for a Nissan family car, on sale in New Zealand soon, has come from the national agency performing independent crash testing.

The Australasian New Car Assessment Programme, the new vehicle safety auditor funded by the NZ Government and some agencies here whose findings take priority status, says it has been impressed by how well the new Qashqai scored in an evaluation conducted by its sister organisation, Euro NCAP.

The car’s maximum five-star safety rating has been adopted by ANCAP and delivers two of the Melbourne-based organisations best results on record for its safety assistance technology and child occupant protection.

It is not clear, however, if a result standing as one of the best out of ANCAP since it implemented new procedures in 2020 also ticks off the e-Power hybrid versions that will in time join the pure petrol models that are cited in the data share. For NZ these comprise ST, ST-L, Ti and ST Plus editions.

NZ market-specific comment about ANCAP scores used to come from the Automobile Association, but now comes from ANCAP directly, as the NZAA is understood to have pulled from funding the programme.

Today ANCAP chief executive officer Carla Hoorweg said Nissan deserved congratulation for the car’s range of safety features.

“The presence and performance of these features demonstrates the significant effort Nissan has made to offer the best safety equipment possible to Qashqai buyers.”

The new models are on a fresh platform than the preceding car, which came out in 2014, and also carry more tech. That reflects in the price. At $45,990, the cheapest is just $600 less than the most expensive offer in the old line, which exhausted earlier this year. The dearest has jumped up to $11,000 above its immediate previous equivalent if ordered fully loaded.

Qashqai’s launch engine creates 110kW and 250Nm – so, 4kW/50Nm more than the outgoing 2.0-litre. It's paired to a CVT automatic, driving the front wheels.

The ‘e-Power’ versions have the same drivetrain just announced for X-Trail, which pairs a 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor and lithium-ion battery.

Conceivably it will carry a premium over the fully fossil-fuelled car, to account for the battery’s cost, but might also attract a Clean Car rebate, due its CO2 count, which overseas’ data puts at 119 grams per kilometre.

The Qashqai recorded results of 91 percent in Adult Occupant Protection, 93 percent in Child Occupant Protection, 74 percent in Vulnerable Road User Protection, and 97 percent in Safety Assist technology.

The last result is the second-highest highest recorded under the latest criteria, bettered only by the Tesla Model Y electric SUV (98 percent).

Full marks were recorded for the new Nissan Qashqai’s occupant status, lane support and autonomous emergency braking (AEB) junction assist systems. Minor penalties were applied to its speed assistance and AEB car-to-car systems.

The Child Occupant Protection score is equal to the highest scores recorded by ANCAP, matching the 2023 Ford Ranger one-tonne utility and the Ford Everest SUV.

Perfect scores were recorded across the dynamic side test and restraint installation tests, with the Qashqai dropping a minor number of marks for its dynamic front test and on-board safety features.

The Adult Occupant Protection score was through it achieving full points across the side impact, oblique pole and far side impact tests.

The small SUV was issued a minor penalty of 1.54 points due to its “moderate risk to occupants of an oncoming vehicle in the MPDB (frontal offset) test”, while chest protection of the rear passengers was marked as marginal.

In the Vulnerable Road User Protection category, ANCAP said the Qashqai’s bonnet provided good or adequate protection to the head of a struck pedestrian, however its stiff windscreen pillars resulted in marginal or poor results.

Upper leg impact assessment was the only test where the small SUV scored less than half the available points. It took a 3.36 point penalty for that.