Nissan is preparing Qashqai with the installation of e-Power: the crossover drove on camera
Japanese SUV brand with a hybrid “stuffing” is expected in Europe next year.
Nissan has been producing the Qashqai crossover since 2006, the main market for the model is still the Old World. It should be noted that the indicator of SUVs in last year's “covid” has decreased significantly: according to CarSalesBase statistics, in 2020, buyers bought 135,829 cars, which is 38% less than a year earlier. This year, the model continues to show negative dynamics, with European dealers selling 85,985 units between January and September, down 14% on the first three quarters of last year.
Qashqai new, third generation in a row, designed for the market of the old world, was declassified in February this year. Sales of new items started last summer. So far, only the so-called “mild hybrid” versions of the new crossover are being sold in Europe. However, in the future, vehicles with e-Power installation will also be available for sale. So far, the manufacturer continues to test the future novelty on the roads of the southern part of the region. During the tests, the car hit the lens in a spy photo, the images were given to us by the Spanish edition of motor.es.
Unsurprisingly, the car with e-Power system is practically undisguised: most likely, it will be almost indistinguishable from the current mild hybrid versions already on the European market. Judging by the photographs, on the tested prototype, part of the optics of the head and rear lights, the radiator grille, the lower part of the bumpers and the embossing on the sidewalls were closed. However, the new Qashqai remained quite recognizable.
We talked about installing e-Power in more detail earlier. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that the gasoline engine is not connected to the wheels: it works only as a generator of electricity, and the front wheels rotate from the electric motor. The Qashqai e-Power unit includes a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine with 157 hp and variable compression ratio (for example, the Infiniti QX50 and QX55), as well as a 190 hp electric motor. Qashqai does not have an electric motor on the rear axle, so this crossover does not have all-wheel drive. Note that in Japan, the new Nissan Note e-Power has an all-wheel drive version.
The versions now available in Europe are based on Renault's familiar 1.3-litre “turbo quattro”, paired with a 12-volt starting generator and a small lithium-ion battery. The gasoline engine has two options for increasing: 140 and 158 hp, in the first case, the maximum torque is 240 Nm, such an engine is combined only with a six-speed “mechanics”; in the second – 260 Nm in the case of a kit with 6MKP and 270 Nm – with the X-Tronic variator. The Qashqai's CVT can be all-wheel drive.
Note that later the new Nissan Qashqai will enter the current market. The machines we sell are manufactured at the company's plant in St. Petersburg. It is worth noting that, most likely, the next crossover? will not be hybrid, it will probably have a different engine range than that intended for Europeans.
The new Nissan Qashqai e-Power will hit the European market next year and is expected to hit dealerships in late 2022. Now the “third” cheap SUV with a “mild hybrid” in one of the largest European markets, Germany, can be purchased for 26,390 euros (approximately 2.21 million conventional units at the current exchange rate). The price for the higher variant will be announced at a later date.
