New 2007 Nissan Qashqai / Dualis

[Shpesft]

The main dashboard softer material than the hard plastic around the HU/central console... Softer than those in the Latio though

[Alfpoon]

just curious, do you keep your GPS unit when you park your car or do you leave it on the dash as in your pictures?

 

with all the car break ins lately, i wonder if those buggers would target GPS units?

[Shpesft]

Usually I remove the unit when I park my car... Better safe than sorry

[Qpik]

u stay near my sis's place hor....got chance go n molest yr car liao ...

 

marnee kanna makan....no chance to change to CashCow liao

[Jazz]

Envy .... nice ride Bro.

[Kxbc]

Bro, swee. Your headrest paddings look very familiar. There is this red Latio Sport which comes to my estate every Sat/sun, probably visiting parents. But I remember the Slyvester padding was on the front seat. I only wanted to buy the Latio after seeing this red Latio parked in my estate's car park because the front was very chio in my eyes.

 

Was your ex-car a red Latio Sport?

 

Back to your new car. Swee swee. If I buy, prob buy the red one too. Like red cars. Your new dashboard looks more complicated than the Latio's zen design. Sportier. Foot brake?

[Shpesft]

My previous ride was a Red Latio Sports with bodykit, but my Slyvester padding was at the rear as per the current ride Most likely not my car :)

 

The footbrake is a clip-on thingie but the accelerator pad is a little too long so I've removed it already.

[Zaxx]

My colleague is driving a Dualis. Just delivered in about a month. He said he got about 10-11km/L ... but i think it will improve once engine is run in.

 

This 2.0 engine runs on RON91 minimum... so, can pump RON92 and save $$$.

 

Also, if you have the specs of this car (exterior dimension), compare it against VW Golf and Ford Focus hatchback... you'll realize it is very very similar to these 2 except it's taller. So, interior space wise, do not expect it to be in CRV class.

However, driving dynamics will be also more similar to Golf/Focus/Hyundai i30/Peu 308/C4 class than CRV/RAV4 type.

 

Another good selling point of this car is, its Euro NCAP crash test rating is very very good. In fact if you go into details of the score (beyond the 5 star rating), you'll find that it scored very high in adult occupant (front & side) and child occupant test. Better than even Citroen C4, C5 and C6 (which were class leading in individual NCAP points), and even better than BMW 3 series, Audi's new A4 and Merc C class. In short, Qashqai is a very very safe car .... even compared against contis.

 

i personally think this car has no rival at the moment and is in a class of its own.

 

Does this car come with side/cutain airbags for the singapore version?cos read from a local nissian ad that dualis has a 5 star ncap rating.But no where in the specs says it has the side/curtain airbags in the local versions.That will result in A LOT OF DIFFERENCE to the crash ratings.Another case of misrepresentation?sorry to rain on the parade but its something u guys should be aware of...

[Miles]

if i am not wrong, TC Qashqai comes with only 4 airbags. Perhaps Iziz can clarify this.

 

airbags is one for of passive safety. but a well/safe designed car even with less airbags is safer than those poorly designed (for crash), but have 12 airbags.

 

However, i do agree with you that a car marketed as 5 star NCAP should be sold at least with the specs that won it the rating. If not, they should not even use it as a marketing tool, because its like marketing a car with xenon, but does not come standard with it.

[Babyt]

sgcarmart did not give a good review.

 

http://www.sgcarmart.com/new_cars/newcars_...p?CarCode=10599

 

Is this what Nissan built a hatchback to fight with the likes of the Focus and Golf? Or is it a rival to a CR-V?

Comfort : 4 / 5 Reliability : 4 / 5

Handling : 3 / 5 Features : 2 / 5

Exterior styling : 4 / 5 Interior design : 3 / 5

Value for the money : 3 / 5 Engine performance : 3 / 5

 

 

 

Overall rating 3 out of 5

 

 

Review by: Genes

posted on: 15 Sep 2008

 

 

Would you recommend this vehicle to a friend? : No

 

 

 

Review

This car creates a blurred line for cars. The car is so compact that it is around the size of a Focus but has a high ride height, a 2-litre engine and rides on 17" wheels. It creates many problems.

 

If you think that this car is to compete with the Focus, then be prepared to be disappointed. For a hatchback, the interior is okay, but the high ride height makes the car feels wallowy, and every bounce is exaggerated. Though the crash safety is the best out there, structural rigidity doesn't feel tight, with some body flex around bumps. The 2.0-litre engine has real strong torque, but then off the line it's really sluggish. Once on the move it manages to pick up speed well. The CVT is really good though, smooth and silky with tiptronic function. And then you have big 17" high profile tyres with so much gap in the wheel arches that it creates so much resistance in high speed cruising. Prepare for poor fuel economy no matter where you go, because the Qashqai has a drag coefficient of 0.35, which is high compared to normal hatchbacks with the figure of betweel 0.28 to 0.31. And with an enormous weight of almost 1.5 tonnes, it beats the norm for hatchbacks which is around 1.1 to 1.3 tonnes! A much bigger Toyota Camry weighs that much.

 

The equipment level is really shocking too. It's very low. Yes, moonroof, dual climate control, auto headlights are standard on the PREMIUM version, but why can't the display show the average fuel consumption? Why does it feel spartan? The interior design lacks confidence. The door handles flexes when you closes it, like it will come off after repeated use. The car just ain't solid enough. Mind you, i am driving a Honda Airwave and i am more pleased with my Airwave in terms of driving dynamics and interior room as well as fit and finish of interior.

 

Some good points are, that really nice moonroof, small footprint so it's really nippy, really large wing mirrors that offers fantastic view of the rear. Other than that, nothing else... Too compromised for a family hatchback, potentially too expensive to run too. Smaller than a CR-V yet weighs so much and the poor driving dynamics.

 

 

What I like

Exterior design

Small footprint

Moonroof

CVT with 6 preset ratios to play with

Good torque of engine

 

What I do not like

Overweight blunts performance

Bouncy suspension

Doesn't feel solid and rigid

Compromised concept - neither a proper SUV or a hatchback

2-litre engine in such a small car

[Tas0577]

Brother, just to check what GPS model you using?

[Nav14]

That is not the official review done by Sgcarmart. It is done by an individual and that is why it sounds so amateurish. Whoever said it was supposed to be compared to a hatchback? It is clearly a small SUV.

[Iziz]

Missed out ur post previously. TC's Qashqai is with 2 airbags, similar to Teana specs.

 

Apologies if I caused any misunderstanding.

[Shpesft]

Bought a garmin Nuvi 5000: 5.2inch screen with AV input (which I've connected to a reverse camera, can connect to DVD player too :). Cons: no interior battery so can only be used when connected to external power supply

 

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=11547

Edited September 18, 2008 by Shpesft

[Tas0577]

Wow, how much you bought huh? I am still using my old Garmin Nuvi 310 and still serving me well.

[Shpesft]

Got it at Comex for $899. Realised that I edited the URL link wrongly in my post

[Wintersonata]

Based on the latest pricing with $3k CAT B COE...

 

Qashqai Basic: $68.5k

Basic Cost = ($22,156 * 2.3) + $3k = $54k

Gross Margin = $68.5k - $54k = $14.5k

% Margin = 65%

 

Qashqai Premium: $78.5k

Basic Cost = ($27,031 * 2.3) + $3k = $65k

Gross Margin = $78.5k - $65k = $13.5k

% Margin = 50%

Edited January 4, 2009 by Wintersonata

[Kelpie]

That is not the official review done by Sgcarmart. It is done by an individual and that is why it sounds so amateurish. Whoever said it was supposed to be compared to a hatchback? It is clearly a small SUV.

 

I think he has some points there. You would be surprised that some of his comments actually quite matched with Top Gear Magazine, which had already reviewed this car in early~mid 2008 . Yes, the general feedback is "what car is this?", SUV or Hatchback, well a nicer term is a crossover, perhaps?

 

Regards,