Nissan to Debut U.S.-bound Qashqai in Detroit

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

Nissan will add the overseas Qashqai crossover to its U.S. lineup, with the model debuting at next month’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit, multiple sources tell TTAC.

Pressed into domestic service to satisfy a crossover-hungry marketplace, the compact Qashqai will slot just below the popular Rogue.

Sources tell TTAC the Qashqai will not replace an existing model. Adding a new crossover allows the automaker to shore up its product portfolio in a country that’s rapidly switching from passenger cars to utility vehicles.

Given that the model — in its current form — has rolled off the company’s Sunderland, UK assembly line since the 2014 model year, bringing the Qashqai to America doesn’t pose a challenge. However, keeping up with demand could be an issue, assuming the model performs as well as it does in overseas markets.

The model first bowed for the 2007 model year, and has since become Nissan’s best-selling product in Europe. There, the Qashqai rules the midsize crossover segment, which is similar to the compact class in North America.

Looking very much like a Rogue Light, the Qashqai is offered overseas with a lineup of gasoline and diesel four-cylinder engines. We don’t know powertrain details just yet, but expect the U.S.-bound model to reach into the four-banger parts bin for propulsion. A continuously variable transmission should carry over.

In terms of dimensions, the Qashqai is certainly closer to the Rogue than the Juke. At 104.2 inches, the Qashqai’s wheelbase is only 2.3 inches shorter than the Rogue’s, while overall length, at 172 inches, undercuts its larger stablemate by about 10 inches.

No release date was given, but we expect the Qashqai to appear late next year as a 2018 model.

[Images: Nissan]

Steph Willems
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  • Sector 5 Sector 5 on Dec 29, 2016

    Sunderland Juke don't match Oppama in build quality. Is there a Star Wars called Qashgai? Or is it Nissan can't spell quality no more?

  • WallMeerkat WallMeerkat on Jan 03, 2017

    The thing sells like hotcakes in the UK, where the new car market is now wall to wall crossover / CUVs. Usually bought by the type of person who would never buy French, yet are happy to poorly drive (taller vehicles have different blindspots!) / badly park what is effectively a jumped up Renault Megane.

    • OldManPants OldManPants on Jan 03, 2017

      "poorly drive.... badly park" Well, natch, their damn steering wheels are on the wrong side. That's not the car's fault. And I've never understood how any real man could shift an MT with his *shudder* left hand. In America we shift with the right and wank with the left, one activity being a substitute for the other.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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