FAMILY CAR REVIEW: 2020 Nissan Qashqai

How good is the storage in the Nissan Qashqai? How big is the boot of the Nissan Qashqai?

The Nissan Qashqai has two cup holders in the central console that are well sized to hold a reusable and disposable coffee cup and behind them is a small well.

Behind that, is a compact central console box, with a lined tray in the top, useful for storing your phone.

The central console box is quite deep and has AUX, USB and 12V socket inside. The lid doubles as your armrest.

There is a small well and 12V socket in front of the gear lever too, but I found it's a bit too small for a phone.

The glovebox is a practical size, holding an iPad and my wallet with the manual.

The front door bins will hold a large refillable water bottle and there is a bit of space for a wallet too.

In the back, there are map pockets on the back of both front seats that will hold but not conceal an iPad and a small shelf in the back of the central console box.

There is a fold-down armrest in the central seatback with two cup holders in, they will hold a reusable and disposable coffee cup.

The rear door bins will hold a 600ml bottle and there are also little storage wells in the handles too.

Storage is excellent in the boot for a small SUV.

The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.

Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.

I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.

The boot of the Nissan Qashqai holds ten shopping bags when empty, which is omparable to the Haval H2 and Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross that also both hold ten bags. The Mitsubishi ASX, Kia Seltos and Skoda Karoq all hold one more at eleven shopping bags, the Hyundai Kona holds nine and the Suzuki Grand Vitara holds two more than the Qashqai with twelve shopping bags.

A Duet twin stroller fits in the boot with two shopping bags.

The tandem pram fits with three shopping bags.

The Urban Jungle single pram fits with four shopping bags around it.

The Nano compact stroller fits with seven shopping bags beside it.

You could fit a medium-sized dog in the boot of the Qashqai.

The boot opening is nice and wide, which is great for lifting prams in and out. The floor is flat and even, except for a recess on either side behind the wheel arches and a hump at the back, great for dogs and for an emergency nappy change on the boot floor!

How noisy is the Nissan Qashqai? How good is the media system in the Nissan Qashqai?

The Nissan Qashqai did have announcements to warn me when there might be “wild animals on the road” which was more amusing than anything else!

The media system is great in the Nissan Qashqai, is not that great, it is quite small and has an outdated interface.

It uses a list system which is simple but I found confusing to navigate.

One welcome addition to the media system is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto which definitely makes life simpler.

You can adjust the volume of a few baby-waking sounds within the media screen settings which is BabyDrive friendly!

The reversing camera image is even smaller because the screen divides to give you a birdseye view as well, which is handy but means your view is even smaller. You can change to a left kerb camera by pressing the camera button to the right of the screen.

Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!

That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.

If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?

It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?

A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.

Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!

I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.

You can lock the doors and windows from the driver's door control panel.

The indicator is not too loud and would not disturb a sleeping baby in the Nissan Qashqai.

The windows and doors in the Nissan Qashqai close relatively quietly and are not baby waking.

With baby asleep you can get in and out without worrying the doors will be too noisy. The same for the windows their mechanism is not too noisy and I didn’t notice them having a loud opening or closing sound.

With baby asleep you want to be able to get in and out without worrying the doors will be too noisy and wake Bub up!

An alarm did not sound when I came to a stop, took off my seatbelt and opened the door with the engine still running either in the Nissan Qashqai.

Since becoming a mum I spend A LOT of time parked up somewhere with a nice view while my daughter is asleep in the back! If it's hot I need to leave the engine running and the aircon on but I do like to get out and drink my cuppa tea in the fresh air while enjoying the fact my limbs are free from said dangling child!!

SO this is a very important test as I have found that sometimes I have been held hostage by a cars BEEEEPING alarms when I have taken off my seatbelt or opened the door while the engine is still running!! (I only stand outside the car, I am not a bad mother!!)

How many child seats fit in the Nissan Qashqai?

The Nissan Qashqai has ISOFix points in the two outer rear seats, they are within plastic guides and are easy to connect to. In the previous model Qashqai I tested I could not get the ISOFix to connect so this is one MAJOR improvement as these connected nice and easily!

There are top tether anchorages on the back of all three backrests, they are within clearly labelled plastic guides and are nice and easy to access through the boot and connect to.

Fitting child seats in the Nissan Qashqai is relatively easy. I could fit three child seats in the back with a bit of a squeeze.

A full size forward-facing and rear-facing child seat and a slim booster seat in the central seat. I could just squeeze between the two child seats and I'm 162cm but my shoulders were very compressed!!

With a forward-facing child seat, we found a 182cm driver could fit in front and with a rear-facing child seat installed a 170cm driver could fit in front.

Posting bub into their child seat is fine from inside and outside the car and there is room to feed bub in the back with only one child seat installed.

Australia being a country of weather extremes blazing sun and torrential rain means you may find it easier to put bub into their seat from inside the car. If it’s hot you can get the aircon going, cool the car down and not stand out in the heat with the door open while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether bub can be easily installed from either direction.

The seats in the N-Sport model of Nissan Qashqai tested are black leather-like fabric with patterned woven central panels which would be tricky to keep clean with kids and any crumbs and spills would get ingrained in it!!

How comfortable is a Nissan Qashqai?

The seats of the Nissan Qashqai are relatively comfortable in the front. I couldn't wear a ponytail while driving though, the headrests are not adjustable!

I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get it just right too… said no new mum ever!!!

The steering wheel is fully adjustable in/out and up/down and the cruise controls are on the right side of the steering wheel. The cruise controls are easy to use but I found the cruise control would easily run away with itself especially on undulating roads or at slower speeds, often getting over 8km/h over the set speed.

There is a great seatbelt removal visual in the driver's display screen and you can see your distance to empty in km too which fantastic!

There are four air-con vents across the front dash. Two above the media screen and one at either end of the dashboard.

There are no air vents in the back of the Nissan Qashqai N-Sport and in the Australian summer rear passengers might struggle with that. The air conditioning controls are on the dash under the media screen and easy to use while driving.

Visibility is quite good in the Nissan Qashqai as it is not a big SUV, although I did use the reversing camera when parking and maneuvering.

One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Tulsi has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread when we drive big cars and utes as they tend to take longer to park in our tight apartment block carpark, the little Nissan Qashqai was quite easy and enjoyable to drive and to park!

In the back, the ceiling light is centrally located but quite far back, I couldn't reach it from the front.

The handles above the rear doors on either side in the back are perfect for hanging a baby toy from.

I often will reach back to turn on the interior light if I am driving at night time, I find my little girl gets less distressed traveling at night that way. It helps if I can reach the interior light from the drivers seat so I can turn it on and off whilst driving. I often find my daughter will need it on as we start our journey in the dark but once she falls asleep I can turn it off.

It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.

The Nissan Qashqai scored a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2017.

It got an overall score of 36.56 out of 37. Getting 15.56 out of 16 for frontal offset test, 16 out of 16 for side-impact and pedestrian protection was rated acceptable. That is a very impressive score!

As standard the Qashqai also comes with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), electronic stability control (ESC), emergency brake assist (EBA), daytime running lights (DRL), hill launch assist and reversing collision avoidance. Some models come with adaptive cruise control, lane support systems (LSS), automatic headlights, automatic high beam, adaptive front lighting system, attention assist and blind-spot monitoring (BSM).

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound.

I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Bub’s asleep!