Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2014 | Page 56

Staddlestones, Brading Road,
MOTORING
Nettlestone,
IW, PO33 1QG
Tel: [phone]
08446 922171
www.staddlestones-nissan.co.uk

Nissan Qashqai
Test driven on the Island by Peter White
The latest generation Nissan Qashqai has
been named Car of the Year 2014 at the
37th annual What Car? Awards, and I was
intrigued to find out why.
What made this car, built in Sunderland,
stand out from the rest? I have to admit
it didn’t take me long to discover why
it had picked up the accolade. In short,
there is absolutely nothing to fault the
Qashqai. It looks sleek and elegant from
the outside, and once inside the cabin it
has all the finery and technology required
for modern day driving.

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I test drove this smart crossover
courtesy of Staddlestones Nissan, and
here on the Island, with road surfaces
gradually improving but still with more
potholes than the Peak District, I believe
comfort is an important factor for any
journey. I was delighted at the way it
glided over surfaces as if they were all as
smooth as silk.
In fact, there is so much to commend
it. For example, the technology includes
a 360-degree parking camera which
gives a bird’s eye view of the car and its

position. And the Intelligent Park Assist
steers the vehicle into a parallel parking
bay without the driver having to touch
the wheel.
Other features to marvel over include
lane departure warning to let you know
if you have drifted over the central white
line; traffic sign recognition for speed
limits; Moving Object Detection, Blind
Spot Warning and a Front Collision
Avoidance system.
It all adds up to a must-drive car that
has options of diesel or petrol, manual
or automatic, and starts at just £17,595. I
drove the 1.6 Tekna 4x4 which comes in
at around £28,000 OTR.