FIrst month passed....

Reviews / Comments about the 2014 QashQai
fat controller
Posts: 190
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2015 7:22 pm

Post by fat controller »

Well, it has gone like a flash, but my first month of QQ ownership has passed, and I can honestly say I have not a single regret.

The Background
I have a very patterned car history, which I may disclose at some point, but that is a whole new thread..... Anyway, German metal has featured quite regularly, and the past 6 years have seen me back in the VAG stable for a third time - firstly with a VW Passat B6 2.0TDI ('56-plate), and latterly with an Audi A4 SE Exec 2.0TDI ('09-plate). The Passat was a bit of a nightmare, being fitted with a BKP engine that became quite notorious as being about as reliable as a politician. The A4 was a much better car in every way, but from the moment of buying it was plagued with clutch and gearbox problems - the clutch and DMF were replaced under the used car warranty at 67k; two years further on and now 79k the juddering and baulky gearchanges were back and a bill of £1200-ish loomed....

I have only had to replace one clutch in all my years of driving my own and company cars, and some of those have done astronomical mileages (I had a Ford Sierra Sapphire that did 182k on the original clutch); I am also an experienced coach/bus driver, and am used to numerous types of transmission etc, so I am pretty positive the A4's troubles were nothing to do with me.... Besides, they have a reputation of being poor ("made of cheese" was one quote I had from an Audi specialist)

Anyway, after three years with the A4, I still loved it for all its faults, and had my heart set on an A6; four months of trawling, I found one - - three years old, 41k on the clock, and at the dealer I bought my A4 from (who had been really good to deal with), so I made moves to buy it. First attempt to view was cancelled as the V5 hadn't arrived (fair enough); six weeks on, the V5 still hadn't arrived (alarm bells now going mad!), so I stared looking around at all other options in local garages in case there was something better to see, and stumbled over a deal on brand new Vauxhalls - - 0% deposit, 5-years 0% finance, and 5-years free servicing - - - too good to be true? Well, I downloaded a brochure and within the hour had Vauxhall on the phone making me an appointment at the nearest dealer to find my 'perfect car'.

In the interim, we looked at a 6-month old Focus Estate (too small), and Mrs C caught her eye on an Ink Blue Qashqai.... "Ooooh, I like that glass roof....."

Apparently, the salesman at the Vauxhall dealer was on a different page to everyone else, and seemed hell bent on flogging me a 3 year old Insignia with 25k on the clock. I wasn't offered a test drive, I wasn't really shown any of the Vauxhall range, despite telling him that I wasn't overly familiar with the Vauxhall range and therefore wasn't sure what I wanted...... When he pulled the line "What can I do to get your business today...." he was politely told to go away and stop being silly, and informed that I wanted to look at an A6 estate and that Mrs C wanted to look at a Qashqai..... "You don't want a Qashqai" says he; "Why not?" I ask; "They are tiny - just a Nissan Note on stilts" he says. I retain my composure, and manage to politely say our goodbyes before getting in the car to go and 'think' about his advice.....

As we were on annual leave, and as it was absolutely chucking it down, I said to Mrs C - "Stuff it, we are heading for the Nissan dealer, we aren't doing anything else anyway", and off we went.

In the Nissan dealer's showroom, I was able to get into a nice Magnetic Red Qashqai (once the other three families that were with salesmen had cleared out of the way), and as I sat in the driver's seat, Mrs C stood in front of the car and grinned; she obviously saw my confused expression when my bum sank into the comfortable seat and I felt the quality of the materials which were better than I was anticipating...

We returned home, and took another look at the Ink Blue one - - 9500 miles, 11 months old, and looked stunning in Ink Blue. I phoned the dealer (the same one we bought our A4 from) and enquired. I was offered a test drive the following day, and they were even going to move it up country to their showroom that was nearest to me - "12 o'clock OK for tomorrow?" I was asked; "Oh yes, I will be there"

Suffice to say, we left home at 1115 in the morning and by 1445 we were home, with our new Qashqai......

The verdict
Coming from an A4, I was originally concerned about two things:
- Build quality (particularly interior materials)
- Performance (I thought it would eb a gutless wonder)

Well, I was concerned unduly.

Sure, the interior quality of the A4 is better, and felt more 'solid', but the quality in the Qashqai certainly couldn't be described as poor in any way. Equally, the Audi's performance was better (faster, I suppose), but the difference was not as marked as I anticipated; by the time I considered that the vast majority of my mileage is a mix between town running and 60-mph A-roads almost daily, I don't really need a flying machine.

The good
- VERY comfortable! The seats in the Qashqai are excellent; not up to Volvo standards (who's seats are?), but pretty close.

- The gearbox is a complete revelation! So light, and so easy to use (despite it being a little long-throw)

- The technology as standard is unbeatable - and it (mostly) works really, really well

- The ride is very compliant and comfortable, whilst the handling is reasonably sharp (quite 'chuckable') and very safe and predictable

- Fuel economy is probably the closest I have ever come to manufacturers claims, and as it currently stands I am using less diesel than I did with the A4, despite doing more miles every day (daughters new school is adding approx 7 miles a day to basic running)

- Boot layout with the false floor and the ability to split that floor to stop stuff rolling about is very clever; the load bay is far more usable than the A4's was, and by the second day of ownership we had fully 'insulted' it by ramming it full to capacity with stuff for a dump run

- Panoramic roof is absolutely brilliant! I will admit, I thought it was an absolute gimmick and couldn't see what Mrs C could see; that evaporated on the road test when I opened the roof cover and the light poured in, even on a chucking wet day. Love it.

- Dash layout, displays and controls are very clear, very intuitive and also look really good (graphics on the driver information screen in the instrument cluster is WAY ahead of VW/Audi)

- Bluetooth handsfree for the phone works very well; let down only by the lack of voice command, however the super-easy interface more than makes up for it

- Has to be one of the best looking SUV's on the road. I confess to quite liking the Ford Kuga until I saw the back end (what on earth did they smoke at lunchtime to come up with that back end?) and the interior (particularly the radio/phone screen which looks like a postage stamp stuck on the back of the car in front, and sat-nav is only a dream!) Seriously though, it is no wonder that the J11 is proving so popular as it is one smart looking car,

The bad
- Only the driver's electric window will open/close 'one-touch'; no biggie, merely a niggle

- Electric windows will only work with the ignition on (pull up, switch off to wait for someone, get hot..... ah, can't open the window without ignition on.... pain in the bum), and the switches are not backlit!

- Rattly air-box, phantom parking sensor and iffy windscreen washer jets; all niggles that will be mentioned when it goes for its first service next Monday.

- Paint not the best; VERY prone to chips and marks, and colour coat appears thin; methinks I will be getting friendly with my local SMART repairer at some point

- Audio system isn't great. Adequate, yes, but not great despite being well featured; It is very much a CICO system (crap in, crap out) and is totally unforgiving if you play a bit of a rough MP3 track; I will probably invest in some decent speakers, sound deadening inside the doors and maybe even a small active sub at some point.

- Some of the plastics are a bit cheap, especially lower down in the cabin, and the parcel shelf feels as though you could spit peas through it - however, it all works.

The ugly
Well, apart from me, there isn't anything for this part....

And finally
So far, even the dealers seem to be a bit better than I am used to; I visited my local dealer last week to book the first service and was given a warm welcome despite not buying the car from them, had a good natter with the service guy while he looked up recalls and updates (apparently there are two that my car hasn't had), and ended up going for a service plan at just over £19 a month. Bearing in mind that the road tax on the A4 was nearly £12 a month, and that is now free, and the fact that the basic service with Audi was £349, and you will see that the £19 a month is a good deal.

Overall, I am really chuffed with my Qashqai, and so far it is proving to have fairly reasonable running costs.

Would I recommend one to other people? Absolutely!
1.5dci Acenta Premium
Wishlist: Autofold Mirrors, Chrome body trim and Metal sill protectors;

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Daz8172
Posts: 52
Joined: Thu Jun 26, 2014 6:29 am

Post by Daz8172 »

Electric windows: I cannot get my drivers side to auto close but not concerned.
Very quiet on the move, no niggles at all.
Auto rain wipers, not so keen on them rather do it manually.
Fuel economy is excellent so far ( only urban so far though ) 53.9 highest. Not had it on motorway yet or used the turbo properly, not rushing it.
Lane departure warning ( not so good sometimes comes on when I am no where near the line, also you have to be driving above 34mph and only comes on certain types of roads.
Blind spot warnings, quite good but wouldn't rely on it, turn your head around to see what is coming more safer.
USB socket, takes me ages to put a usb memory stick into the socket because of where it is located.
Speakers: You should try the Tekna speakers awesome sound feels like your actually there listening to the musicians.
Sat nav out of date, some of the roads have changed a lot.
Nissan Qashqai, 1.6 dig-t 163, Gun Metal, Tekna, Pan sunroof, Spare wheel,
jet
Posts: 69
Joined: Mon Apr 06, 2015 7:48 am

Post by jet »

Daz8172 wrote:Electric windows: I cannot get my drivers side to auto close ..
A little bit off-topic, but there is a simple procedure regarding the Auto close issue: http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/power- ... -gens.html

Also, a short video you might find useful ;-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMIT1b2YOSg

Tested and working :-)
1.5 dCi MT Premium
big_boz
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2015 10:58 am

Post by big_boz »

Car Salesman in my experience know F*** all about cars in general, and seemingly less about "their own" products. I know more about cars that most people, I currently own 5 and have in the coarse of a 18 year driving career owned 30+ personal cars and traded more than I can remember, I also used to work in motorsport and studied car design at university. I find going into new car dealerships comical, and having just got the missus her QQ, have had a full round robin of all the local dealers.....

Nissan......Pure idiots, tried to tell me that if any diesel car is not driven 15k miles a year the DPF will die, when I suggested that this is nonsense and tried to explain to him the science behind DPF regen and I was told I was wrong. Bye Bye idiot

Kia......firmly believed that the true competitor in the kia range to the Skoda yeti is the Soul. Didn't seem to grasp that a FWD small engine'd manual lifestyle supermini was not in fact on par with a 170BHP dsg 4WD yeti. Bye Bye idiot

Hyundai.....told me that IX35 was the "same" car as the new Tucson. Same platform engines and no real difference. Great sales patter and an obvious lie to sell pre ordered stock vehicles.....refused to discount to boot...MUG

Ford...disinterested in selling me a car at all at first, then when I managed to get one of the lazy idiots to come and offer some advice on Kuga's, refused to speak to the missus and would only speak to me even though I was actively telling him to speak to her and wandering off. Eventually however refused to actually take on board any of her requests and tried to push her towards one of those hatefull Ecosports or whatever they are called.
65 Plate Quashqi 1.5DCI Ntec+, 15 Plate Passat GT, 1972 Vw Beetle, 02 Plate Alfa 147
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Roadie
Posts: 73
Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2015 8:48 pm

Post by Roadie »

Well first month and 2000 miles gone and what can i say, it does what it says on the tin!. It's got to go back next week for a DAB radio check as the signal has dropped a couple of times and as i have got the latest software they are just going to check to make sure it is not a glitch in the software. The only thing i don't like is the position of the window switches, i would have liked them further forward. The known problem with the blind spot indicators (i am told it's to do with water running over the cameras under the wing mirrors, not the rear camera) i can live with this as it means you don't become reliant on them. So what do i really think? i am not going to put a great car down just because of a couple of small minor problems that don't bother me. The free family portrait photo session with a premier photographer the dealer sent me has not swayed me at all. :D
big_boz
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2015 10:58 am

Post by big_boz »

Roadie wrote:Well first month and 2000 miles gone and what can i say, it does what it says on the tin!. It's got to go back next week for a DAB radio check as the signal has dropped a couple of times and as i have got the latest software they are just going to check to make sure it is not a glitch in the software. The only thing i don't like is the position of the window switches, i would have liked them further forward. The known problem with the blind spot indicators (i am told it's to do with water running over the cameras under the wing mirrors, not the rear camera) i can live with this as it means you don't become reliant on them. So what do i really think? i am not going to put a great car down just because of a couple of small minor problems that don't bother me. The free family portrait photo session with a premier photographer the dealer sent me has not swayed me at all. :D
Does the QQ have to be in the pictures? :)
65 Plate Quashqi 1.5DCI Ntec+, 15 Plate Passat GT, 1972 Vw Beetle, 02 Plate Alfa 147
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Hound
Posts: 1163
Joined: Tue May 19, 2015 12:37 am
Location: Deeside
Qashqai Model: Still looking for one....

Post by Hound »

Blimey. It is a whole ten weeks since I got my sweaty paws on my brand new 1.6dCi Xtronic N-tec+, since when I have covered a modest 1600 miles. The engine is loosening up nicely and in general I am extremely pleased with it!

Most of my previous cars have been Japanese (Nissan, Honda, Toyota) but my last two were Volvos, because of the extremely comfortable leather seats. Problem was that they were big thirsty coupés and, as I'm disabled, becoming rather a struggle to get in and out of. My other half persuaded me to look at Motability cars so I made a rough shortlist; Volvo V40 Cross Country, Audi A3, Citroën C4 Picasso, Ford Kuga, Hyundai ix35, Skoda Yeti and the QQ.

suspects.jpg

Volvo was my first choice as I knew what the seats would be like, but the showroom staff seemed vaguely disinterested, there was no auto to test drive and the car cabin itself seemed claustrophobic with a tiny back window. At that time there was no XC60 available on Motability; the Cross Country was the closest thing to a crossover that was available.

Nissan was just next door and the difference in attitude was quite amazing, even though it was part of the same dealer group (as was Renault/Dacia next door). I test drove a 1.2 as there wasn't a 1.6 auto available, but was also taken out in a 1.6 X-Trail to give me an idea of the engine. The sales guy (the senior of the team) obviously knew the car inside out, in contrast to the experience of some other unfortunate folks here. Mrs Hound was clearly as impressed with the Nissan as I was, and noted how much more easily I could get in and out compared to the Volvo V40 CC.

After that, we spent the afternoon half-heartedly looking at the other cars. The Audi that the press raved about looked a lot smaller than I expected and rather dull. The Citroën felt too big with squishy seats, and again no test drive car was available. The Ford and Hyundai seemed cheap inside. The Skoda (though I tried hard not to be snobby) just looked ugly compared to the QQ's sleek lines. Nothing tempted me to a test drive. Basically it seemed the Nissan had no contest and so I returned to the Nissan dealer and put the order in motion. I initially planned to get the N-tec but Mrs Hound made it clear that what I really wanted was the N-tec+ with panoramic roof, like our test drive. Similarly, although I thought I wanted a white one, it was explained to me that the gunmetal grey of our test drive car was the better option. ;)

I have had only minor issues with the car. The bodywork on the driver's side needed some re-alignment. The front doors need a little more effort to close than the rear - some have said they think the doors drop, so I'm not alone. There's some vibration/resonance through the steering wheel and centre console (but not the seats or dash) at low speeds that becomes less apparent at higher speeds (60+). This may be a wheel balance or tyre issue, though a workshop bod took it on a test drive and thought it was fine (my loan car didn't do it though!). My rear wiper was poorly positioned; an easy fix. On two occasions, the fan has come on inexplicably for about 7 minutes after a short drive. The DAB dropped out during heavy rain once, which also made one of my parking sensors bleep - again just the once. And there's a rattle on rough roads which I think is in the passenger's door although I have not yet pinpointed it.

I have mixed feelings about the auto wipers and lights - sometimes I have to override them. But in general it's nice to have them. I understand the window switch position comments but it doesn't particularly bother me. The seats are comfortable and supportive but I sometimes feel the driver's seat isn't quite straight, and is skewed slightly towards the centre of the car. (It's probably me.)

Lane departure warning got switched off straight away, and the stop/start gets turned off too, as I'm not in the city much.

Audio sounds ok to me, although it is no match for the Dynaudio Dolby Surround 12-speaker system in my Volvo. Some satnav routes are questionable and the bint who gives directions is annoyingly bossy!

Fuel economy hasn't settled down yet; it was around 49-50mpg but has dropped a bit to 46 which is not quite the claimed 57.6 - though I did once see it read 93.7 which was amusing. My Volvo C70 averages 27.5 so I am not complaining about the QQ...

super economy.jpg

The instrument panel is lovely and clear and I really like the info display between the dials. The climate control system is a little awkward both in operation and reach, but does the job. Cruise control works very slickly. I haven't used the Bluetooth yet, but it was simple to pair up. Ride is comfortable and well-controlled with predictable steering; tyre noise is intrusive on rough surfaces but on a new road the QQ suddenly becomes silent - lovely. The CVT box works smoothly enough that I haven't even got round to trying its semi-auto shift options yet. And although the 1.6 diesel is said to be noisier and less refined than the 1.5, I find it very well-mannered and virtually inaudible over 40mph. (I found the 1.2 unsettlingly quiet - I like to have a little audio feedback!) And only once have I knocked the light switch off its auto setting when using the indicator stalk - a problem many seem to have complained about.

So all in all, the QQ has been a pleasure to own and drive, with all its virtues far outweighing those very small niggles. I feel sorry for those who have been unlucky enough to have had a negative experience with the QQ. I will have this one for another 34 months so I'm hoping it's not going to go downhill from here...
Used to have 2015 1.6dCi 130 Xtronic N-tec+ in Gun Metallic
Nightshade
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2015 1:55 pm

Post by Nightshade »

Hi - spookily, I've just come out of an Audi A4 2.0 Tdi as well (SE Technik). No major issues so far - lots to like.
Niggles are: - Nissan Connect a pain to set up but now all OK (I think, as I haven't used it since - gimmic?);
Electric window buttons not illuminated (never occurred to me they wouldn't be);
iPod skips tracks sometimes (think this is a Nissan software glitch as never happened in the Audi);
dipped headlights set too high (assume dealer pre-check was less rigourous that it could've been);
hilarious blind spot alerts - ignored
it likes to beep for all sorts of minor indiscretions - touch a white line, bend approaching, car stopping - all highly sensitive sensors it appears, rather than me being anywhere near dangerous, IMO.

Otherwise really impressed - it swallowed all my daughters 1st day uni stuff with 3 of us in the car. Great fuel economy - decreased fuel consumption by about 15%. Glass roof. Split boot. Even the audio is fine after a few bass/treble/fade tweaks and I had a an uprated hifi system / subwoofer in the Audi. Satnav no worse - in fact it takes full postcodes, so better, if not the best graphics. Doesn't even feel underpowered - a real concern coming out of the Audi.....and saving about £100pm on my lease - so all in all pretty chuffed so far.
Leicestershire, UK - 1.5diesel Tekna Pan Roof in Nightshade
johnbull
Posts: 38
Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2015 9:59 pm

Post by johnbull »

have you tried lowering the main beam with the roller switch on R/H lower dash adjustment ??
Drive carefully, Live longer
Nightshade
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2015 1:55 pm

Post by Nightshade »

Thanks johnbull. I don't get one on the Tekna, assume because the lights are LEDs.
Leicestershire, UK - 1.5diesel Tekna Pan Roof in Nightshade
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