4500 mile short review - 1.6dci Tekna 2WD Manual

Reviews / Comments about the 2014 QashQai
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Adrian
Posts: 98
Joined: Mon May 05, 2014 7:27 pm

Post by Adrian »

Hi

Been meaning to add my experience and thought I'd give the car and myself a good opportunity to settle in and become accustomed to each other...

Engine
Not half as bad as the reviews may suggest, though certainly not the most refined I've driven it's rarely intrusive. Quite sluggish to pull away (presume for economy) but once it climbs the revs and speed it performs admirably, with good torque and nicely geared for motorway speeds. I'm averaging just over 50mpg which is what I'd expect so happy there.

Build quality
Interior is great where it matters and questionable where it doesn't. So no real complaints. Early squeaks and rattles seemed to have settled down, with just one annoying rattle I think caused by a loose wire or clip after having the auto mirror kit fitted in the drivers door.

Exterior also seems good to me. Haven't caught or experienced any issues as some others have reported, though there is some wind noise emanating from around the driver wing mirror.

The doors and boot do have a reassuringly soft closing 'clunk' sound to them!

ICE & Tech
Probably the area causing most frustrations and complaints for me. Had the speakers replaced and this improved the poor audio performance (though that's of personal taste/opinion).

The self park is not quite as smart as it should be. Apps are pretty useless, except for Google send to car which I've used a few times, but even then it takes far too many button presses to be a pleasant experience.

Cameras are great, they struggle in certain light conditions and resolution could be better, but still very useful. Blind spot alerts largely unreliable with too many false positives and also unnecessary given the huge door mirrors. The customisation options available to vehicle options via the settings is quite impressive compared to what I've driven before (e.g. Lights, indicators, etc).

Sat nav is functional. POI database is however notably good. Doesn't show additional time added by traffic to predicted ETA, which is my biggest want.

Overall I find the whole system glitchy and buggy and does not inspire confidence, in addition to far too many beeps and bongs with little to no explanation of what's going on. Sat nav has drifted off, system has crashed/reset, couldn't lock the car in a car park the other day as suddenly refused to acknowledge I was in possession of a key, etc. These have all been random and infrequent which I guess is better than consistent faults but at least then I'd have a chance of getting them fixed.

Comfort
Seats are good. I'm not sure they're the most comfortable but again a personal view. Having spent nearly 7 hrs with three blokes on one journey we did all comment how fresh we all still were so that has to be a testament to a decent interior. Those 19" wheels do suffer from some roar and vibrations but not nearly as bad as they could be. Some surfaces do seem to make the car quite bouncy but overall it's a pleasant experience.

Think that covers the main areas. Would I recommend this car to others? Yes, but only just. Blank out the Connect system and as a drivers car this is a great vehicle IMHO.
2014 1.6dci Tekna Storm White 2WD

Alekos
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2014 9:59 pm

Post by Alekos »

Hello Adrian, that was a great review. I am thinking of buying the 1.6dci accent premium with manual gearbox and i would like to ask you few things now that you've done quite few thousand miles:1. Could you please be more specific as far as engine noise is concerned? I've driver the 1.5dci and found the engine very quite. You only hear it in the cabin if revs are above 3.5K. Is it the same in the 1.6?2. Regarding the wind noise from the driver wing mirror. Have u tried to fold the mirror and test if the noise is still there? I read there are some cases of misalignment of the mirror wight the door frame thus leaving a gap and the air circulated through that gar causing the noise. Is there road noise coming into the cabin or is kept in acceptable levels?3. Which speakers did you change to? Did you also install a subwoofer?4. How is your mpg so far? Do you usually travel alone or you have more persons in the car? Have you used the air conditioning? How much did this affect the consumption?
Silbo7

Post by Silbo7 »

Hi Adrian

How can you say that you would "only just" recommend the car to others and in the next comment say that its a great vehicle? It's all about individual opinions I know, but I find this one rather strange.
Adrian
Posts: 98
Joined: Mon May 05, 2014 7:27 pm

Post by Adrian »

Hi Alekos...[quote="Alekos"]]1. Could you please be more specific as far as engine noise is concerned? I've driver the 1.5dci and found the engine very quite. You only hear it in the cabin if revs are above 3.5K. Is it the same in the 1.6?[/QUOTE]]It's certainly got more of a rumble than the 1.5 but I don't find it intrusive in the cabin and there's still very little vibration through the wheel. The biggest difference I notice is when idling after it's been running for awhile compared the 1.5 but honestly from my experience there is not a huge amount of difference and I'd rather have the extra grunt.[quote="Alekos"]]2. Regarding the wind noise from the driver wing mirror. Have u tried to fold the mirror and test if the noise is still there? I read there are some cases of misalignment of the mirror wight the door frame thus leaving a gap and the air circulated through that gar causing the noise. Is there road noise coming into the cabin or is kept in acceptable levels?[/QUOTE]]Yes and it was worse (started whistling) - it's particularly noticeable if there's any cross wind. Other than that the cabin is fairly quiet despite those 19" alloys. I have no problem holding conversations with passengers, etc. and the stereo doesn't have to be very loud to drown it all out.[quote="Alekos"]]3. Which speakers did you change to? Did you also install a subwoofer?[/QUOTE]]Alpine SPG17C - also had a sub but it was a full size boxed version taking up boot space and I'm getting enough bass from those door speakers now so it's coming out. I'm no audio aficionado but very pleased with the audio quality now (this is all subject to personal taste though).[quote="Alekos"]]4. How is your mpg so far? Do you usually travel alone or you have more persons in the car? Have you used the air conditioning? How much did this affect the consumption?[/QUOTE]]
I travel alone prob 70% of the time and also with one adult and child/child seat. MPG doesn't seem to have been affected by either occupants or air con to any great degree. My best has been 57.6 which I did just yesterday with the child in the back, rarely does it dip below mid 40s and averages 50.1 MPG.
2014 1.6dci Tekna Storm White 2WD
Adrian
Posts: 98
Joined: Mon May 05, 2014 7:27 pm

Post by Adrian »

[quote="Silbo7"]Hi AdrianHow can you say that you would "only just" recommend the car to others and in the next comment say that its a great vehicle? It's all about individual opinions I know, but I find this one rather strange. [/QUOTE]
Hi I tried to clarify that - in that if you ignore (or don't use) any of the fancy gizmos then i do believe it's a great car to drive IMHO, even with some minor wind noise and engine rumble.But the glitches I've had with the ICE really do bug me, perhaps more so than other drivers but I do get narked by poorly designed systems like that. As you say personal opinion - if all you do is listen to FM and switch off everything else, you'll probably be a very happy owner! But Nissan make some bold (even misleading/false) claims and raise expectations here, so it's hard not to criticise.
2014 1.6dci Tekna Storm White 2WD
Kentishman
Posts: 237
Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2014 11:54 am

Post by Kentishman »

This does seem to vary from car to car. I have no wind noise from mirrors and audio for me compares favourably with any other car I have had. I agree not sure if blind spot indicators are necessary but mine are working to spec I.e no false positives to date. Sat nav system again working fully to spec. The apps for connect I find totally useless, Facebook don't want send destination to car I must be missing the point I have been putting destination direct onto screen, very quick accurate works every time. To date everything on car is working to spec and I have no rattles
Tekna 1.6 CVT Nightshade
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