New Nissan Qashqai vs Europe: Autocar's 5000-mile road trip

We travel from Sunderland to Istanbul and back again in a brand new Nissan Qashqai. Autocar covers 5000 miles and 21 countries in 13 days to see just how good the follow up to Nissan's best-seller really is.

The longest test to date of the all-new Nissan Qashqai takes Autocar from the car's birthplace in Sunderland, England to Istanbul and back again. Why Istanbul? Because it bridges Europe and Asia and to the east lies the heart of the Nissan brand, while Europe is a key market for the Qashqai. Richard Bremner, Mark Tisshaw and Matt Burt make the journey.

Autocar, the world's leading motoring magazine and website, delivers industry-leading news, the most in-depth car reviews and opinion from our team of experts. Our presenters include some of the world's top motoring journalists who have unrivalled access to the world's fastest, rarest, most exotic and most exciting cars on some of the world's best roads and race tracks.

Can a supercar beat a superbike? Can a Audi A1 outrun a Nissan GT-R on a wet circuit? Can a Porsche 911 slay a Corvette on the drag strip? Autocar pitches the giants of the performance car world against each other to deliver the all-important verdict.

Read the story of our trans-European journey:

[JohnnyWrong]

Within about 10 seconds of that first guy opening his mouth I was bored to tears. What charisma.

[dimosk]

that trip deserved AT LEAST 20mins of video

[JayBlue]

Reports of any faults or things wrong would have been nice. Any punctures? Average MPG? What were the fluid levels like, and did you have to top them up along the way? Road noise? Etc.

[mr.rawhite]

Really like the concept, but a more detailed final analysis would have been great guys. Perhaps you could have broken down each drivers journey into its own video and given a detailed run down on the good and bad points from each drivers perspective?

One to think about, but great concept!

[allanmacbadger]

A couple of years ago a friend and myself drove to Burgas in Bulgaria and back to the UK via northern Italy, Monaco and Millau in France. The great European plain and the mountains of Romania were stunning, would do the same trip again in a heartbeat, but spend more time in the Carpathian region.

[edjack]

Just been reading the comments below. It's a shame many of you feel short-changed by this free video (which, admittedly, lacks a bit of energy but is nicely shot in places). However, you have to realise that Autocar will make the bulk of its money from magazine sales. If you want more detailed mpg etc figures, buy the the print or digital versions of the magazine!! - having bought the mag in the past, I'd be surprised if the detail was not in there. Business models will differ and I appreciate there are other car channels on YouTube that take a different approach. I don't believe it is fair, however, to simply criticise Autocar for not giving all of their work away for free! These videos are essentially tasters for what is in the mag. If they don't inspire you to spend some money on the mag, then arguably they've failed in their purpose. But they should be viewed in that light - not 'where is all the detail I feel entitled to, at no cost to me'...

[delboy]

I second the previous comments.More about the car performance, MPG, how good was the Sat Nav. Did it cover all Counties?

[cmagennis]

Any brand new car that has just rolled off the production line could do this.. My 3 year old Peugeot 308 1.6 e-HDi could do it easily.

[dbauernf]

Yay you've been to Croatia! The coast road is what I hit at least once a year on my motorcycle, it's one of the best roads around (from Rijeka to Maslenica), but too bad you didn't continue along the coast all the way to Dubrovnik. You also passed through where I live, far east/north in Croatia where the 4 lane highway ends in Osijek. \o/

[SiHaworth]

Wow, I bet this guy is a hoot on the Autocar Christmas Party!

[Gio]

More video ! barely 6 minutes for a  trip across europe and back! come on give us more to enjoy 

[aswinlasvegas]

Thanks for giving awesome info about ride quality and mileage! 5000 miles to show a new car can do it without breaking down :(

[sickjohnson]

Cool...wish you would have shown a bit more of the Quashqai...not just where it went what was pretty epic. 

[electronalchemy]

Two of you said "it never missed a beat". Maybe you could add that the doors closed with a reassuring clunk, and do so while perching one foot on the front offside wheel?

Is there any chance that you could remember you are Autocar journalists and not hacks for the Slough and District Advertiser? Seriously lads, you drove 5, 000 miles in a brand new car. Wow. Most of us do something like that several times a year, and our 20 year old cars with 128, 000 on the clock still don't miss a beat. What is this strange magic from far off lands (well, Sunderland)? 

I know you aren't experienced video producers, but I do think you can do better than this almost totally content-free item. Yes, I double checked the date. 

[HesteBremse]

Sorry but a a lot of Critique to follow:

Nice journey and neat footage, but I really missed some more car info while you where at it. Nearly nothing else than; it did well and is a comfortable ride. Was not even told what version the car was. Situations of handing the car over or perhaps a summary over a beer in the end would have been and appropriate finish.

Only place where we got invited a little closer were at the alps with the extra equipment needed - why not break the editorial flow slightly and show it in action (perhaps it was not needed so okay).

With all these various places a few questions to people on the street about the car could also have added a little spice (It is a after all a nice and well rounded SUV Design). Sorry but the vid simply felt to plain and on the boring side for a car journey editorial. Driving bumpy roads; Let´s hear you talk while it happens. What about the Sat Nav, easy, good, in tunnels etc. ?. High speed on the Autobahn (i´m now doing 180 Km/H and the noise level is good as you can hear...). - It´s a lot of Journey to cover and if there is no real highlights then they must be created.

The whole flow felt nearly as boring as the way the first presenter took off from the factory - He´s tone of voice is unbearable IMO, I would like to hear him laugh and smile as it was seen in a few side clips, include it please. Honestly Autocar you have such experienced auto journalists within your crew, a little feedback and advice would have been in place to spice this long road Journey up.

It´s cool to take a car on such journey, but if it is too much footage to cover then id prefer a shorter and more entertaining one. No humor included in this vid what so ever !!! - You are British that simply does not add up.

Thank you for the video but please try to level the entertainment value it a notch up next time.

Best regards

[harrycallahan]

I almost had to phone the Samaritans after listening to the first guy.  

[CyberDEL]

Nice road trip around Europe (not all but same of it) with an excellent car. Think about a road trip around European south, including the beautiful Greece, and give more time to your video. It will worth to try it...  

[dezontk]

So it drove on roads for 5k miles. That fills me with confidence.

[meownmazda]

What engine was in this particular qashqai? How was the fuel consumption?

[lffit]

What does this prove?
Any modern car car do this without a problem, sounds to me like a paid advertisement to old cynical me!
Do it over kms and get back to us all?