Just thought I would give my comparison of the above two cars in my honest opinion.
I have just been to Edinburgh and back and also London and back, clocking up near 1000 miles since the 4th when I got the Qashqai, I have to admit that the XC40 is the better car (which I had from May last year for 6 months) , BUT certainly not worth an extra 15 grand over the Qashqai.
Personally I am very pleased with the ride quality and the engine is an absolute peach, I find the seats are more comfortable as well in the Qashqai, it has virtually the equivalent equipment as the XC40, the auto feels absolutely fine to me, the XC40s auto box was a little jerky to me and in the real world the difference in acceleration between both cars is negligible despite the XC40 being quite a bit more powerful.
All in all I am very impressed with the Qashqai so far.
I dare say other people will feel differently but just thought I would give my twopennuthworth!