At first sight you wonder why a car like the Nissan Qashqai exists. It has the high centre of gravity of an SUV but only two-wheel drive, so you get soggy on-road handling with no offroad ability to make up for it - so goes the theory anyway.
But my few days behind the wheel of the Qashqai 1.6 Acenta turned out to be a perception-changing experience.
Because this hatch-that-wants-to-be-an-SUV doesn't actually handle badly at all. I pushed it through corners at a pace that a reasonable owner would be likely to achieve and it felt settled and nimble. So I pushed it some more, and it still felt fine.
Eventually I went into flat-out boy-racer mode; I did get the tyres squealing and there was a little more body roll than from the average hatchback but the Qashqai still resolutely resisted feeling like a squishy, top-heavy SUV.
So you can tick off car-like handling on the Qashqai's talents list. So too good dynamic safety, with anti-lock brakes as standard.
It still leaves the question: Why give it such a tall 200mm ride height but leave out the four-wheel drive?
Because that's how many South Africans like it, as evidenced by the number of people who buy expensive 4x4s but never take them off-road.
They like the high seating position that allows them to peer further ahead in traffic, and the sense of security that sitting higher somehow gives, but they don't need the all-terrain capability.
That said, an all-wheel drive Qashqai will soon be added to the line up.
Along with its clean handling the Qashqai displays comfortable ride quality and makes its way gracefully over bumpy roads with no unecessary jiggling of your internal organs.
Another bonus of that extra ride height is the car's ability to scoot more rapidly over speed humps and steeply angled driveways than a regular car without scraping its belly.
The Qashqai is available in two petrol engine sizes, a 1.6 and a two-litre; go for the bigger one if the budget stretches far enough, especially if you live higher than sea level.
My fear that a 1.6-litre engine in such a large car would struggle at Gauteng altitude was more or less confirmed.
The 1.6 is no car for impatient drivers who tend to drive around in a hurry; they'll find the car a bit pedestrian. For the calmer mom's taxi brigade the vehicle has adequate power for scurrying about the suburbs and the cruising pace is decent - but it takes awhile to get there.
General refinement
Soccer moms will like the 1600 for its smoothness; it doesn't sound tortured even when revved into the red. The same goes for general refinement, with little wind noise intruding on their (hands-free, of course) telephone conversations.
Should they end up getting too distracted anyway there are six crash bags to cushion the landing.
The Qashqai's interior finish is generally quite classy with plenty of soft-touch surfaces and tight panel gaps, with some brightwork to spice up the dark and sombre fascia.
Practicality rates high and there's good cabin space, both leg- and head-wise. There's good rear seating space with enough legroom for two or three adult passengers.
Usually I'd say it's wasteful to have that much room over your head, but since the Qashqai's handling doesn't suffer from it, I won't this time.
The boot's a fair size too, and there's a vast amount of stash space including underseat drawers and a cooled 14-litre glovebox.
High spec levels
The height- and reach-adjustable steering wheel allows drivers of various physiques to find a comfortable position at the tiller.
Spec levels are high in the Qashqai 1.6 Acenta tested here, including an integrated CD/radio with steering-wheel controls, a Bluetooth cellphone connection and all the electrically-operated essentials.
Also controlled by steering-wheel buttons is an trip data computer allowing you to scroll through fuel consumption, distance to empty and average speed with minimum attention diverted from the road.
The fuel consumption meter said 8.3 litres/00km, incidentally, which is quite decent for a vehicle this size.
Oh, and the odd name (it's pronounced "Kash-kai") comes from a nomadic Iranian tribe.
VERDICT
It's more versatile and practical than the average hatchback with looks that give it some aspirational value rather than being another straight-to-rental Nissan.
Bt the pedestrian 1.6 engine isn't for impatient drivers, and for them the extra 23 grand on the two-litre version would probably be money well spent. - Star Motoring