I've always loved Nissan's X-Trail and the beautiful Murano so I couldn't wait to lay my hands on the new Qashqai to see if it matched their standards.
I wasn't disappointed. It's a beaut of a vehicle and, in case you're wondering, slots in between the X-Trail and the Tiida.
Oh and the name, by the way pronounced Cashkai, is that of a desert-dwelling nomadic tribe which hangs out in Iran (the south-western end) near the lesser-known Zagros mountains...
But back to this fab SUV. I loved it at first sight and was even more enamoured after driving it.
Loved the seats - thick, soft and ultra comfy - the amazingly smooth drive, the clean and efficient layout of the gauges and dials and the size and spaciousness of the car.
I drove the 1.6 Acenta 4x2 (R196 900) and have heard that the two-litre Acenta is even better - but the 1600 was perfect for my purposes, which included doing several long hauls up and down the coast over a couple of days.
A huge boot (when you move the back row of seats) and a hot sound system (nearly blew the many speakers with Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love . . . )
and a very respectable consumption of something like 6.7 litres/100km all helped endear the car to me.
It's very user-friendly, and the combination of hatchback and SUV is sheer brilliance. In fact so brilliant that a local Nissan dealer told me he couldn't get stock quickly enough to keep up with demand for the vehicle.
Apart from its very handsome looks (you've got a big spacious hatchback with the height and ground clearance of an SUV, hence the "crossover" tag), I also loved the finish of this import.
Everything is classy and upmarket, and the Qashqai actually feels far more expensive than it is. It's also well and solidly built, and I have no doubt it's going to do for Nissan what the X-Trail did for the manufacture - become a hugely popular seller and earn the company some serious loot.
The car is equipped with everything we've come to expect from top-of-the-range vehicles today: a host of crash bags all over the place, anti-lock braking and power-assisted steering.
The kids loved the huge and chillable cubbyhole (you can fit a bumper-sized Bratz colouring book in there as well as crayons etc!) and were delighted to find the sliding drawer under the front passenger seat.
Of course it also has folding exterior mirrors, a feature I really find incredibly useful on any car.
Diesel version in 2008
Nissan will bring in a diesel version in 2008 which should do down well, as well as a 4x4.
For the curious, the engines of the Qashqai range are completely new; the all-aluminium 1598cc unit that produces a claimed 81kW and 154Nm of torque, weighs 25kg less than Nissan's previous 1.6-litre petrol unit.
I absolutely loved it. Can't wait to drive the 2.0 - and next year, the 4x4.