just going to order a Qashqai but want advice

[m0bmn]

Hi Alljust joined today, I drive a mobility car and it is due for changing in March, i have started to look around at what to buy next. I have a Yeti 1.2 DSG at present and its been a good car giving me about 32MPG overall.I find that the seats are a bit small and not to comfortable so i have decided to change, i have had a sit down in the Qashqai and it seems better and i like the spec of the Ntec+ (and the mobility price isnt to bad) but..... having spent a night reading the posts here i am worried about the reliability of the engine and gear box. I need to have a Auto , i would like a little better mpg than i am getting now but could live with it at the current level (low 30's) . what do you think would be best option, 1.2 petrol or 1.6 Diesel ( i only cover about 8K miles a year) or should i keep away from the Nissan CVT auto altogether? hope i can get some adviceregardsPaul

[duncho]

Go for 1.2 CVT otherwise you may face to DPF issues. 1.6 dCi is not properly tuned with CVT, it has huge lag when you kick it in.

[DarronUK]

Have you considered the 1.6 dig-t? that is also on mobility.
Just that the car tax is only a few £10's difference.The only problem I think it only comes in manual.
DarronUK2015-08-28 16:37:26

[Hound]

My 1.6dCi is my first Motability car and has CVT (can't use left leg for clutch any more). I find it smooth with no lack of power, though if you pull out of a junction and your foot is a bit heavy on the accelerator, the turbo kicks in harder than you expected and the car takes off like a scalded cat. I guess that is lag, but lag meaning you have to tame the power, not that it's missing. I drive it on Eco and it has plenty of beans when needed. Its fuel economy will improve after a few thousand miles (only 667 so far, still breaking in) but even now I average 49 mpg. Not bad for a big automatic. I test drove the 1.2 and found it a very nice quiet drive but a bit breathless over 60; boot it and it shifts, but fuel consumption jumps a fair bit when you do so. I don't remember having to tame the throttle when pulling away from a junction so I guess the power is better balanced. However that's a characteristic of the engine's power band, not the CVT gearbox. So the 1.2 is fine but needs working harder, and quite a few people have said it becomes rather thirsty under those circumstances. Reliability? On the scheme, reliability isn't such an issue - if something goes wrong, it's Nissan's/Motability's problem and expense. If a DPF problem arises, I'll get a replacement car while mine is fixed at no expense to myself - but my understanding is they did some re-engineering on and the DPF isn't an issue now. So although my mileage is probably going to be similar to or even less than yours, I went for the bigger diesel for the extra shove (almost double the torque of the 1.2 CVT) and the somewhat better fuel consumption. Of course you may just do town and local journeys and not care about the power, in which case I would say the 1.2 is a nice, quiet, smooth town/city car, if a bit thirsty. With the CVT the economy is only very slightly worse than the manual. Also, when I ordered my 1.6dCi CVT N-tec+ in May, it was only £600 more advance payment than the equivalent 1.2 - however, the 1.2 is now £100 cheaper and the 1.6 is £200 more expensive so the gap has increased to £900... another aspect to consider! Well that's some theories and opinions anyway -- why not just test drive both and see which feels best for your driving style and requirements (and wallet)? Renault, incidentally, has boosted the power of the 1.2 unit in their new QQ-based Kadjar, but unfortunately on Motability we only get offered a 1.5dCi as an auto option.

[Kentishman]

I have had a 1.6 CVT for a year now and have had no problems with it whatsoever done about 11k miles in the year majority of driving short urban journeys. No DPF issues at all.

[m0bmn]

Thanks for all the comments, I think i will get a test drive in both the 1.2 and the 1.6 and see what i think, i had heard that the 1.6 is a noisy unit and was advised by someone else to stay clear of it, but no one on here seems to be saying that to me.thanks again all , i feel a little better now about going for the QQ .all the bestPaul

[Hound]

Like any diesel, you hear it at tickover and slow manoeuvres, but it's a refined diesel sound, not clattery or rough. As soon as speed is over 20mph all I hear is tyre/road noise and a bit of wind (not my own I hasten to add)

[ProceSS]

Hi I'm driving 1.2DiG-T for a year and my best MPG is better then "Hound's" 1.6 dCI ...if you not doing 15-20K./year I would go for 1.2 DiG-T, 1.6 DiG-T is good for speed and accelerate but worst for mpg, Tax and Insurance ... The choice is yours any way QQ is a nice car to drive

[PeterL]

Just to add my bit - I have had a 1.6 CVT for well over a year now and have had no problems at all with it. About 12k miles, the majority of driving short urban journeys. No DPF issues at all. Certainly no (huge) lag when you put your foot down and given that I had a BMW300D Touring previously I think I'd know one when I saw one.

[duncho]

1.6dCi is really noisy, I own one. 1.2 is indeed quiet, you have to concentrate to hear the engine running when you stop.