Quashqai +2 review

3. Space

First thing to stress is that although the Qashqai+2 does have seven seats, Nissan isn’t trying to say it’s a fully fledged seven-seater. It’s a ‘five plus two’, to use that somewhat perplexing modern phrase, which basically means it’ll take a full set of adults with room for a couple of little’uns in the back. Nissan says the third-rows seats are designed for people of up to 1.60 metres in height, which pretty much means that by the time your kids hit puberty, the complaints are going to be coming thick and fast.
You certainly wouldn’t want to put an adult in there for anything other than the very shortest journey, if at all. Not that any sane owner will entertain thoughts of doing so, of course. Though to be honest, the second row of seats doesn’t offer the best accommodation either. The standard Qashqai is a bit disappointing in this department, and we hoped that with its extra wheelbase, the +2 would improve on it. Split by 60:40, the second row now slides forward and back by a few inches, partly to allow access to those behind and also to enhance knee room, but even with an extra 23mm it’s still rather poor. With a normal sized adult in front, another normal sized adult will find their knees pressing against the back of the seat; not violently, and the seat-backs are both soft and reasonably shaped to improve matters as much as possible, but it’s still not overly comfortable.
Stadium seating means you do get a good view, however, even with a high waistline. The C-post is a long way back, well behind your eye line, and though the B-post interferes a bit you still get a decent view out. Headroom is surprisingly poor, however – it’s not just six-footers who’ll find their hair being ruffled by the roof lining.
A fold-down centre armrest contains cup holders, a storage bin and a 12-volt socket, in addition to the usual stowage opportunities are the door pockets and centre console, so rear seat passengers are looked after well enough in terms of amenities. We’d still say it’s best for kids, however; not a big problem, considering it’s such a straight-ahead family car, but you’d like to think that Nissan could have done a better job of looking after at least four or five adults in what is, after all, not exactly a supermini.
Where the company has made a big improvement is in the Qashqai’s ability to carry stuff. The third row seats fold totally flat with the pull of a tab in their backs, leaving a compartment behind them in the boot floor which is designed to give you somewhere to put the tonneau cover. Those in front still don’t fold totally flat – they have a one-shot folding mechanism, but the squabs don’t drop out of the way to bring the backs all the way down – but the overall load area you’re left with has a firm, rugged floor that’s plenty long and free of obstructions.
Most vehicles will normally run with the third row stowed and the second row in place. In this configuration, cargo capacity is now around 500 litres, which is 90 more than the short-wheelbase model. That’s more than enough to be going on with, you’d think, especially when you can liberate so much more by dumping it down to two-seat trim.

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