2021 Nissan Qashqai

That's a very sad/droopy front end. Not keen on the rest of the exterior either (especially the big silver piece on the lower rear bumper), but that's no different to the current car and the interior does look better.

I don't even know what the current one looks like.

I find that hard to believe. 

It's not the kind of car I'd buy, but I think it's quite an impressive piece of design. It manages to look like a Qashqai but also looks modern and it isn't trying to look like anything else. It surface work is very sophisticated and it's cohesive. Compared to the premium brands, I'm thinking BMW and Audi, it is more successfully resolved than what they offer for a lot more in the same market and for a lot less.

You can certainly order a spare wheel and tyre - no idea where you'd put the bloody great thing though. 

I like that. A good upgrade and modernisation of the current one. The interior looks a big step forward as well.

That's like being the best looking member of Atomic Kitten.

I was referring to the Kerry Katona era.

Gobby Scouse birds do nothing for me, sorry.

I think I'll always admire the Qashqai. Nissan looked at the utterly miserable, sales failure that was the Almera and challenged itself to replace it with a sales success. Their achievement is extraordinary.

What do you see as the USP of a Volvo interior then? I've not driven any of the new generation cars, but having had a few V40's as loan cars the interior was nothing special at all. Older 850's felt good, but that was mainly as the seats were just so damn comfortable.   

Matra Rancho has a lot to answer for.

Arguably the Renault 4 before it, but I know what you mean.

Not liking this new trend of ultra-slim headlights, but otherwise I think it looks pretty sharp.

So I was half expecting this and sure enough I came home last week to be met by my wife who excitedly told me the Nissan dealer had been on the phone and he could put her in a brand new Qashqai N-Connecta with full glass roof, 160bhp with auto (read CVT) gearbox in Ceramic Grey (primer or undercoat to the rest of us), for less money than she pays currently. On the one hand I was pleased she didn't want another white one but slightly puzzled by her enthusiasm for a car in primer - although the fact that she had just spent a few days painting a feature wall in Farrow & Ball grey in the guest bedroom may have had something to do with it.

She'd arranged a test drive yesterday and we went up and she took it out for run and loved it, placing her order when she returned to the dealership. To be fair, it actually does look quite good in the grey and it's growing on me. I knew we'd always end up with another SUV as she loves the higher driving position, the airiness of the full glass roof, the auto box, and the amount of space for the dog crate, golf bats and trollies etc, but I thought we might look at other options. Not to be, she loves the car and likes the dealership (she worked there many years ago when we returned from Scotland).

My impressions? Our current Qashqai is very good and this was just a little bit better in all areas; a bit bigger, a bit quieter, a bit smoother, a bit more tech. The interior is a very nice step up in quality and the seats are as comfortable as ever. The engine pulls well and the CVT does a good impression of a torque converter auto. In a way I can understand her going for the safe choice of just picking a better version of what she already likes and when I look at the competition it all does look a bit dated now against the Qashqai. I was also pleasantly surprised at their offer for our current car , £500 more than Motorway offered, and the car is underwritten until December when the new one is due (I'll use it more now and stick some mileage on it). So all sorted and I don't have to drag my arse round loads of dealerships dealing with multiple salespersons at different marques.