Nissan Qashqai – What Car? Car of the Year Awards 2022: Safety Award

For this award, our judges considered both active and passive safety, along with purchase price, because a model that sells in large numbers will have a bigger influence on road safety...

The Nissan Qashqai takes the top spot this year for a number of reasons, not least because its overall Euro NCAP safety score is among the best of all the cars tested in 2021.

And the fact that such safety comes in a relatively affordable family SUV is great news; it’s likely to be a huge seller, and that gives it the potential to bring the latest safety technology, along with improvements in road safety, to many drivers.

The Qashqai gained the year’s highest Euro NCAP score for Safety Assist: 95%. That’s because all trim levels come with a suite of very effective active safety systems, including automatic emergency braking (AEB) and lane-keeping support.

Its emergency lane-keeping system is one of the best; it will pull the car back into its lane if the driver inadvertently moves into the path of an oncoming car on a single carriageway, or if they steer the car towards the edge of the road. This helps to avoid these common causes of accidents.

At higher speeds on dual carriageways and motorways, the lane support system helps to prevent the car from drifting out of its lane, working in tandem with the adaptive cruise control, which automatically maintains a safe distance from the car in front. Together, these systems improve safety by helping to reduce driver fatigue on longer journeys.

On top of all this, the Qashqai has a very strong and well-designed body structure, enabling it to protect adult and child occupants in a crash just as well as some models that cost four times as much.

Current business offer for the NISSAN QASHQAI 1.3 TEKNA:

  • P11D Value: £37,195
  • Engine: 1.3 litre petrol
  • Power: 156hp
  • Top Speed: 124mph
  • 0-62 mh: 9.5 secs
  • Fuel economy (on test): 41.3mpg
  • CO2: 146 g/km
  • First year road tax: £220