6/5/2023 0 Comments Nissan qq 2015Our Nissan Altima test car was a 2.5 SV with the standard 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. In one of the most competitive classes in the car market, the generally capable 2015 Nissan Altima is hamstrung by subpar drivability - an unrefined transmission and associated engine noise. It will save you £1500 over the more powerful petrol and is a fine urban performer.Two model years after bringing up the rear in a comparison of midsize family sedans, the 2015 Altima has again faltered in the $27,000 Midsize Sedan Challenge - despite its success as the third-best-selling midsize sedan in the U.S. If you have an apposite reason for choosing petrol to fuel your next purchase and your journeys rarely take you out of the city, then the 1.2 115 DIG-T is a worthy proposition. Yes, the petrol is refined, but the diesel is not far off it for smoothness, and although it falls behind in terms of outright performance, its low-down torque makes it the more usable and relaxing everyday performer. If you're a company car user, the tax liability for both is broadly similar, with the petrol working out about £80 more per year for a standard rate tax payer. This is partly down to a peaky power delivery that means you often find yourself heading towards the upper reaches of the rev counter. The Qashqai 1.6 163 petrol is £250 cheaper than its 1.5 110 diesel equivalent, but that is not enough to usurp the latter as the pick of the range.ĭespite the new engine claiming some impressive efficiency figures, in this respect the diesel still outscores it on paper and in the real world. The steering is good, though, being lightly weighted around town while loading up nicely at speed. With the Qashqai’s bias towards comfort, it isn’t as fun to drive as the Mazda CX-5, but it handles perfectly well for a small crossover. However, at slow speeds, even this trickery can’t stop the car becoming jittery over broken road surfaces, although the 18in alloys fitted to our N-tec-spec test car won’t have helped. The system works by gently dabbing the brakes in order to control excessive body movement. There’s barely any tyre noise and only a hint of wind noise from around the mirrors at 70mph.Īt speed it rides well, too, which may be a result of the Active Ride Control that Nissan fits to all Qashqais. Once you’re up to speed this becomes less of an issue, and the extra refinement of the petrol certainly makes the DIG-T 163 a restful place in which to rack up motorway miles. This renders the engine lethargic and laggy, and you can easily find yourself hurriedly hunting through the six-speed manual gearbox for a more suitable ratio. Work it hard from 3000rpm and above and you’ll find it's quite the jackal, spiriting the Qashqai around with a peppiness that’s seemingly out of sorts for a crossover, even a small one.ĭrop below 3000rpm, however, and you're outside the turbo’s optimum operating range. This is a good thing because there’s something of a Jekyll and Hyde character to this motor. Thankfully, this new engine does nothing to diminish that asset, being both smooth and quiet no matter what the revs. What Car?, our sister publication, made the Qashqai its 2014 Car of the Year, and one of the many qualities that won over the judges was refinement. Opting for the new petrol model will put you at the helm of the quickest and fastest model in the current Qashqai range, too, with 0-62mph taking 9.1sec and a top speed of 124mph. Nissan’s own downsizing effort certainly makes some formidable statements when compared with the old 2.0-litre unit: a 15% improvement in power, which now peaks at 161bhp and 22% more torque, which rises to 177lb ft. It’s tempting to use the term ‘squeezing more from less’ with almost every new engine these days, as they all seem to be chasing the same goal.
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