New Qashqai Collected today

[phaedra]

Just back from picking up my 1.5 Acenta Premium, not very happy to be honest but I'm sure some of it will improve when I get used to it!.

Stereo, mediocre at best with very little bass, huge mid-range and treble, a huge drop in quality from my Honda CRV with the sub-woofer, in fact even with the sub-woofer off it still sounded a lot better. Hopefully there will be an after market kit to improve things but for a £23,000 car it's a bit cheap

Stupid centre box, didn't notice how big it was with the lid closed as it was open when I looked originally, so my coat gets bunched up on top of it making things uncomfortable, can't always drive without a coat on!.

No hands free Bluetooth so can't say "dial home" etc. it's on the US version as it talk-to-text

Engine, 1st, pretty slow take up from roundabouts etc., 2nd and 3rd not bad, 4th is flat until you get to 40 or over and it struggles badly trying to do 40-45 in 5th, again comparing apples and oranges I could cruise at 30 in 5th with the CRV.

Other than that at least it picked my phone up and my daughters smart phone works with Bluetooth audio which keeps her happy.

Apparently he's not going to be called Rover the 4th, she's going to be called Jezebel says my daughter, because she she looks like one!

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[phaedra]

Small update.

Bluetooth audio from the smartphone has now stopped working for no apparent reason, judging by the Qashqai forums this is another common problem.

Other things missing from the original brochure spec are,

Auto Folding door mirrors

Illuminated door buttons (controls for windows, locking, mirrors etc.)

Connect Apps, only Google and Facebook (really useless choice in a car), all the other apps that are shown, Driving assistance, Tripadvisor etc. etc. are not available.

Auto-locking doors (above 5mph) also removed.

Looks like Nissan are saving pennies by cutting corners wherever they can on the UK and European models.

[Paul]

I wouldn't have accepted the car with all that missing kit, and I'm surprised the dealer didn't do a proper handover.

The engine/gearbox ratios are for economy and not comfort or speed. You've got to remember that it's a big heavy car and a 1.5 Diesel only just has enough poke to move it, never-mind win traffic-light races.

You need to learn to rev it if you want to get anywhere swiftly, but suffer the consequences of poor mpg (see my signature below).

[phaedra]

Hi Paul

Unfortunately the missing kit is how the new Qashqai is being produced, the original black January 2014 brochure has been replaced and those features have been removed from the spec. They are of course still being fitted to the US versions along with the auto boot opening feature, I'm led to believe that all the missing features will be included on the just launched 2014 X-Trail.

I'm sure I'll get used to the engine, it's a big drop in performance from the 2.2 in the CRV.

[removed]

Pardon me if I sound crass, but I presume you got the car on motability. However there is little use in complaining as all the info, as you mentioned was listed in the brochure and more importantly the car is not yours so you will be giving it up in 3 years time. I would have more sympathy if you had bought the car. If you agreed to the car especially after reading the brochure, then I can't see what you are complaining about.

[phaedra]

As I said above all those features were shown as standard in the January brochure when the car was launched and my order was placed. Nissan then decided to change the specification and the brochure has since been changed and the things listed have been removed, not a nice thing to do to customers who have already placed orders whether they are cash buyers or Motability customers.

No, the car isn't mine, and yes it's going back in 3 years, but, I'm still paying for it, £699 AP and my mobility component, why is that any less a valid purchase than a private lease costing around the same amount?.

Had I been physically able to take a test drive I would have found out about the centre console box and probably the poor sound system, would it have stopped me ordering it, to be honest yes it probably would and I have no idea what I would have ended up with.

At the end of the day the Qashqai was my choice from a limited range of options for two disabled adults both well over 6 feet tall with a limited amount of money available for the AP and I'll have to live with it for the next 3 years or I start playing the lottery and win it!.

I'm far from alone in not being happy with what appears to be Nissan penny pinching as you'll see if you look around the UK Qashqai forums.

[Flymo]

As someone studying a law degree I know this area well and Nissan are in the right of putting that clause in the contract. If the OP didn't like this clause, he should have went elsewhere for his car.

If you're studying a law degree, I suggest you reflect on who the various contracts are between - the OP's contract is with Motability, not the dealer or Nissan.

Was the OP's contract was formed based on the brochure specification, bearing in mind the contract consists of what an objective observer would conclude the parties reached agreement over (Smith v Hughes (1871) LR 6 QB 597)? Are there any explicit terms in the contract about specification?

As a matter of common law, is the brochure exclusion clause about 'specifications liable to change' incorporated into the OP's hire contract for the car (consider Parker v South Eastern Railway [1877] 2 CPD 416, Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking Ltd [1989] QB 433 and Interfoto Picture Library Ltd v Stiletto Visual Programmes Ltd [1989] QB 433)?

Could Motability rely on the brochure exclusion clause bearing in mind it would be construed against their interests so far as that is possible (the contra proferentem rule, as seen in Houghton v Trafalgar Insurance [1954] 1 QB 247)?

If the exclusion clause is incorporated in the lease contract, would it be unenforceable because of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/2083)?


I'm bemused as to why you're talking about the Sale of Goods Act 1979, as there's no sale in a contract hire agreement. The implied terms about description, satisfactory quality and fitness for purpose for a hire agreement are found in ss. 6-10A Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. There is no equivalent in a hire agreement of the durability requirements found in ss. 48A-48F Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) - this is a notable asymmetry between Sale of Goods Act 1979 and Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982.


There is nothing in this post that steps outside the content I had to study for my third year undergraduate contract law course.

[stree]

Caveat emptor.
You really should have explored what if any changes to specification might have taken place by the time yours was available. I know hindsight has 20/20 vision, but a little keeping the salesman on his toes does neither of you any harm and would probably have done you good with regards to the small details such as illuminated controls and Bluetooth etc.
The gearing and the power of the engine and the awkward cab layout are in most reviews of the vehicle, and these are readily available with a simple search.
I considered a Qashqai but dropped the idea after reading reviews of the power, the gearing, the relatively poor MPG and the unrefined handling.
I ended up with a car I am more than happy with and am very glad to gave justified the hours of researching reviews and articles about the shortlist of possibilities I had.
Still its only 3 years and then you can try something else. I am sure you will get used to it.

[phaedra]

I read every review I could, this is the new 2014 Qashqai and cabin layout, fuel economy (74mpg/60mpg real world) and handling are much better than the previous version which is why it was awarded car of the year.

It would have been better if I'd been able to have a test drive, unfortunately due to one of my medical problems this wasn't possible, I barely got to the dealers and managed a 5min sit in the car to check head/leg room and visibility.

I was never 100% happy with my choice and would have loved to have kept or gotten another Honda CRV but that wasn't possible. Given the limitations of my size, disabilities and available income for the AP it seemed to be the best choice at the time.

As you say it is only 3 years and who knows, with the dreaded PIP re-assessment for those of us with indefinite awards coming in 2015 it may in fact end up being even less.