News : Nissan Qashqai wins What Car? CoTY 2014

Nissan Qashqai (2)

What Car?  has named the British designed, developed and manufactured Nissan Qashqai as its Car of the Year 2014. The 37th annual What Car? Awards were held at the Grosvenor House on London’s Park Lane and the Qashqai also won the Best Small SUV category.

The new Qashqai has yet to go on sale in the UK, but it’s already expected to be a substantial hit given the Top 10 sales performance of the outgoing model, which constitutes the lion’s share of production at the UK’s largest car factory in Washington.

What Car? Editor-in-Chief, Chas Hallett, said: ‘The all-new Nissan Qashqai brings excellence and polish to a class of cars that is brimming with talent and tempting buys. The Qashqai delivers low costs and first-class levels of comfort, refinement, space and safety. Nissan has thought of every last detail and this complete approach is why the Qashqai is What Car?’s Car of the Year. The Nissan team should be justifiably proud of their achievement.’

Nissan Motor GB’s Managing Director, Jim Wright, added: ‘A huge amount of effort has gone into the design and engineering of the new car and we’re all extremely excited about creating the template for the second-generation crossover.’

The Range Rover Sport won the Best Large SUV category.

Nissan Qashqai (1)

Keith Adams

22 Comments

  1. I do not have anything whatsoever against this car, and I really do like the Juke but is it worthy of the award?

    It seems there was probably not enough on offer?

    This car is a distinct improvement over the previous model though.

  2. Yes they provide a lot of UK employment, but these things seem to be my arch nemesis on the road!

    When I encounter bad driving or bad parking it seems to increasingly be Qashcows.

  3. How can a car get COTY when it is not even available here, The Pug 308 should have been a good bet but looking at the WC list, they seem to like cars that are not yet available here. Which in my humble opinion they should not do.

    Awards should be given for things that are out there for all to see/buy.

  4. I like this car and it looks good in the flesh. Doesn’t surprise me its won this accolade. Nissan are good engineers and producers of vehicles and this ticks so many boxes for so many people, even if some think it a little dull but everyone doesn’t want or can afford an Aston Martins or a Jaguar. Well done Nissan.
    I notice the foot note for Range Rover Sport winning best large SUV, now that is an exciting car if a little expensive.

  5. A worthy What Car winner. Remember What Car eats, sleeps and breaths residual values, CO2 emissions and company car tax rates. On the limit handling and 0-60 times arn’t really its thing.

  6. I think that is great news.

    I do find it interesting however that Land Rover have moved from selling ‘4×4’s (a market which they owned), into selling ‘SUV’s, which puts them in the same bracket as the Qashqai and even some of these very small crossovers. I would have thought that maintaining a distinction was a good marketing strategy, rather than muddying the waters.

    Chris.

  7. Emmintely better looking the outgoing model which is basically a shapeless lump. Good cars though my neighbour swears by his

  8. Everyone says they’re “good cars” (if you could call an SUV a ‘car’), while at the same time badmouthing French cars.

    The Qashcow is basically a Megane SW – same C platform and DCi engines.

  9. @12 & @13 agreed.

    Bland, anodyne, typical COTY fodder.

    1982 – Renault 9
    1986 – Ford Scorpio
    1989 – Fiat Tipo
    1993 – Nissan Micra
    1996 – Fiat Bravo/Brava
    2009 – Opel Insignia

    Distinguished company.

  10. What the hell has happened to the Qashqai? This is the first time I have seen the new model and I’m shocked! Not because its styling is awful, but because the front end looks like a deliberate rip-off of the latest Toyota RAV4 – not so much similar as identical!

    The rear-end light-treatment is a rip-off of the Mazda CX-5.

    Why did they feel the need to lose the car’s identity and produce a clone of lower-selling rivals?

  11. You’re confusing this with the European CoTY award. What Car? did vote some class CoTYs from time to time, such as the Renault 20TS, MG Metro, Saab 9000…

  12. The Qashqai is a good car and helps keep jobs in Britain. It makes a change from the endless worship of Volkswagen in the motoring press, whose products are overpriced and overrated.

  13. Motoring press may worship VW, I certainly don’t. Last VW I owned [from new] was in the dealers so often that Mrs E thought I was having an affair with the receptionist.

    So it’s made in Britain. it’s still bland, anodyne and derivative. Personally I can’t tell the difference between a Squashy, Kia Tumble Dryer, Hyundai Freezer, Toyota Microwave and Mazda Food Processor.

    My opinion won’t stop them selling in droves, I just don’t want one personally and find them all much of a muchness.

    [My daily drive is none of the above]

  14. The Qashqai is a worthy winner of What Car magazine’s COTY award. The car is a success story appearing in the top ten UK sales chart and supports thousands of jobs in this country. It’s a good all rounder and you can’t escape the fact that crossovers and SUVs are popular in this country.

    I neither own one or wish to as that type of vehicle doesn’t suit my needs, but it sells for a reason – it’s good!!!!

  15. A lot of back slapping for a car no-one has seen in the flesh yet! GB PLC and all that… The price of the Qashiqai has gone skywards too, I think affordability was one of it’s virtues.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.