2023 Nissan Qashqai vs 2021 Renault Kadjar

What's the difference?

As mentioned we need more time behind the wheel for more accurate drive impressions, but it appears, once again, that Nissan has stepped up its game and made significant improvements over the model it replaces.

The new Qashqai is far more refined than the old model, and indeed much more refined than a bunch of other top-selling small SUVs.

A larger and more premium interior, huge uptick in standard gear and much needed safety boost are the icing on the cake.

Nissan is well and truly on a winning streak. 

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with accommodation and meals provided.

The Renault Kadjar Intens ticks a lot of the urban boxes. It’s small, which is good for navigating narrow city streets and parking in tight spaces, but it’s also spacious and practical. The Kadjar is fuel efficient for a four-cylinder petrol engine and it has that sophisticated French styling.

The Intens is expensive, though, and unless you absolutely have to have leather seats, a glass roof, and the Bose stereo I’d go for the mid-range Zen grade and save yourself $5K but still have all the same safety tech. That said the Intens has auto parking as standard which is a nice convenience for the city.

Safety could be better. The AEB system doesn’t have pedestrian and cyclist detection, rear cross traffic alert, or reverse emergency braking.

Finally, the dual-clutch automatic and 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engine while a fuel efficient combination, isn’t all that easy to live with and can make driving a less-than-smooth experience. The Nissan Qashqai’s combination of CVT auto and four-cylinder naturally aspirated engine is better suited to the urban jungle - something to think about there. 

Now the scores, the Kadjar Intens gets the same mark for daily driving and its urban talents – it could be smoother to drive, but there’s still lots to like. 

After recently spending quite a bit of time with Nissan’s other two new SUVs, the X-Trail and Pathfinder, there’s a clear family resemblance to the new Qashqai.

It represents an evolution of the second-gen model it replaces, but brings it bang up to date. Interesting touches include a floating roof, which is two-tone on some grades, LED boomerang-style headlights, lashings of chrome, and a ‘Qashqai’ imprint stamped into the front quarter panels.

Nissan didn’t stray too far from the formula of the larger X-Trail with the interior, which makes sense given the two models share Nissan’s CMF-C platform.

The new Qashqai is longer, wider, taller and has a longer wheelbase than the old model.

There’s been a focus on tactility of the controls and the design is elevated. The clean, modern look and feel is a welcome departure from the dated look of the previous Qashqai.

We only sampled the higher grade ST-L and Ti, but ST and ST+ make do with a cheaper looking plastic steering wheel. The leather D-shaped steering wheel with stitching in higher grades is a nice touch. 

People talk about French design being good. Well if you want to see just how good take a look at the Nissan Qashqai, because the Kadjar is fundamentally the same SUV with Renault’s design spin applied.

Yep, as I mentioned about 15 seconds ago, Renault and Nissan are part of an alliance that allows them to share the same cars, but each brand has room to ‘make it their own’ with styling that delivers a very different look, inside and out.

Now, the Qashqai is not an ugly car, but I think the Kadjar is more stylish and premium looking in the same way the larger Renault Koleos SUV is gorgeous compared to the relatively straight-laced Nissan X-Trail it’s based on.

There’s no doubt the Kadjar is a Renault thanks to the giant diamond logo on the plunging grille. I like the way the front bumper rises up into the bonnet like it’s all one piece, but I’m not completely sold on the rear of the car which looks a bit like its shirt is tucked into the back of its pants, which makes no sense unless you look at the images.

Still, the tail-lights have a prestige feel and the Kadjar model name spelled out across the tailgate is a confident statement, also adopted recently by other brands such as Volkswagen (T-Cross) and Ford (Puma).  

Telling the Intens apart from the other two grades is fairly easy, it has 19-inch wheels (the others have 17-inch rims), there’s the enormous glass roof, and it also has a chrome effect on the front and rear bumpers, side skirts, and around the fog lights. It’s a more premium look.

That higher-end feel goes into the cabin as well with the Intens’ black leather upholstery and colourful ambient lighting. The touchscreen is tiny, though, and there isn’t a great deal inside that you don’t get in the entry-grade Kadjar’s cabin, which is also almost as stylish.

The Kadjar is classified as a small SUV, which means nothing really when it comes to wondering if it’s going to fit in your garage or in the tiny parking spaces we’re faced with in the city.

So, I’ve mapped it out for you. The Kadjar’s dimensions are, 4449mm long, 2058 mm across (including the wing mirrors), and 1612mm tall. 

Another interesting thing – each B-pillar is adorned with a little French flag. I’m not sure if they're a sign of Gallic national pride or to remind everybody that meets the Kadjar that Renaults are French.

Either way, you don’t see this type of thing on other cars and for many buyers the appeal of a Renault is having a car that’s not like everybody else’s.

Following last month’s X-Trail launch, it was clear as soon as I jumped behind the wheel of the Qashqai that the two models are related.

The dash layout and design are the same, which is not a criticism, with some elements like the gear shifter mirrored in both models. The Qashqai misses out on the under-console storage tray found in the X-Trail and Pathfinder.

There may be far fewer than the old model, but I’m glad Nissan hasn’t completely ditched physical buttons like some brands are trying to do. It’s much faster to change air-con settings that way, rather than via a touchscreen menu.

Speaking of, the 12.3-inch multimedia screen is responsive and has a relatively logical menu structure - the graphics are much more visually appealing than the old model, too. There was no ST at the launch so I’m not sure what the 8.0-inch system is like.

On higher grades, the digital instrument cluster is easy to customise, while the head-up display is crisp. 

The front USB-A and USB-C ports are found in the central bin which is a decent size for the segment, but the glove box - like in the X-Trail - is smaller than expected. Big bottles fit in the front doors, and storage is best described as good for the segment, without being exceptional. 

The front seats in ST-L and Ti don’t have a huge amount of thigh support, but chunky side bolsters. 

There is more rear head and legroom than before and I sat comfortably behind my 183cm (six foot) frame, with loads of toe room and plenty of headroom, even in the Ti with the massive sunroof.

In terms of amenities in the rear, it has knee-level air vents, USB-A and C ports, map pockets, smaller bottle holders in the doors, a fold-down centre armrest (in ST-L and Ti), ISOFIX hooks on the outboard seats and top tethers across the board.

The boot in most grades takes 429 litres of cargo, but that drops to 418L in the Ti due to the placement of a subwoofer. Fold the 60/40 split-fold seats and available volume increases to 1524L (1513L Ti).

It’s a spacious boot but can’t quite hit the heights of the petrol Corolla Cross (436L). There’s a 17-inch temporary spare under the boot floor.

Ti grades also come with Nissan’s ‘Divide N Hide’ boot storage solution that allows you to lift and split the boot floor panels and slide them in vertically so they provide separate, secure spaces in the cargo area. 

The Kadjar is a big-small SUV, in that it’s longer than many in the same segment at 4.4m with a wheelbase of more than 2.6m, which means more space inside for people and their stuff.

That said, don’t expect limousine legroom, but at 191cm (6'3") tall, I can sit behind my driving position with my knees only just touching the front seat back, which is pretty darn good for a small SUV.

Making life a bit more comfortable back there, too, are directional air vents, two USB charging ports and a 12V power outlet. There are another two USB ports and a 12V up front, too.

Cabin storage is okay. The door pockets in the back are big enough for a 500ml bottle, while there are larger ones in the front, along with two cupholders and another circular hole, which looks like it’s for coins, if anybody still uses those?

The centre console bin is pretty decent in size and so too is the boot which has a cargo capacity of 408 litres with all seats up and 1478 litres with the second row folded flat.

The Intens is the highest grade of Kadjar you can buy and has a list price of $37,990. As a point of reference, the entry-grade Kadjar with an automatic transmission is $29,990. So, what are you getting for an extra $8K?

Well, the entry-level Kadjar comes with a 7.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, cloth seats, dual-zone climate control, privacy glass and 17-inch alloy wheels. The Intens gets 19-inch alloys, leather seats (heated up front), a seven-speaker Bose sound system, leather steering wheel, panoramic sunroof, as well as LED headlights and fog lights.

The Intens also comes standard with auto parking, and even the most determined DIY parkers will appreciate that in the city.

The Intens also has more advanced safety equipment than the entry-grade, although the same tech also comes on the mid-spec Zen for $32,990.

You may already know this, but the Kadjar and the Nissan Qashqai are essentially the same car. Renault and Nissan have an alliance which lets them share technology and as well as entire models.

So, you might want to compare the Kadjar Intens to a Qashqai Ti which lists for $38,790. Other models to check are the Mitsubishi ASX and Toyota C-HR.

Gone is the old 2.0-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine from the previous model, replaced by a new 1.3-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol unit that is found, in different states of tune, in sister brand Renault’s Captur and Arkana. 

Power and torque is up by 4.0kW and 50Nm respectively over the old model, for outputs of 110kW and 250Nm.

The engine outputs are better than a number of the aforementioned competitors, while matching those of the Skoda Kamiq.

The new Qashqai is front-wheel drive only (there is no all-wheel drive version planned) and uses a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

While the Renault Kadjar and Nissan Qashqai are essentially the same car, they don’t share the same powertrain. The Kadjar has a smaller but more powerful engine – a 1.3-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder making 117kW/260Nm.

Shifting gears is a seven-speed dual-clutch auto. There’s no manual available, and all Kadjars are front-wheel drive.

Frankly, the Qashqai four cylinder with less grunt and CVT are a smoother combination. The dual-clutch auto and turbo lag means power delivery and acceleration are delayed, while low-speed gear shifts can be jerky.

By using the new engine, the fuel economy figure for the Qashqai has improved over the old model. It now consumes 6.1 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres on the combined cycle, down from 6.9 litres.

While the efficiency gains are welcome, the new powertrain requires 95 RON premium petrol whereas the old model made do with cheaper 91 RON fuel.

The petrol Qashqai’s fuel figure is good for the class, but that will improve with the ePower hybrid that consumes about 5.3 litres.

Petrol Qashqais have a 55-litre fuel tank and emit 138 grams of CO2 per kilometre. 

Renault says after a combination of open and urban roads the Kadjar will have used 6.3L/100km. In my own testing I measured 6.5L/100km at the fuel pump. That’s outstanding.

These drive impressions are fairly high-level given the launch drive was kept to the city limits of Melbourne and that meant we were stuck in a few traffic jams. 

When accelerating from a standing start, there’s a beat or two of turbo lag from the new engine. Once you’re past that, it’s a super responsive little engine when you’re already up and running. If only it sounded a bit nicer.

The CVT does its job well and without fuss, but is not as smooth as the transmission and 2.5-litre engine combo in the X-Trail. But still, very little to complain about.

Ride quality is difficult to fault when you’re on smooth, urban roads, but it becomes a little more unsettled and jiggly on uneven roads.

I only drove the ST-L and Ti at the launch and both ride on 19-inch alloy wheels. I’m keen to drive the ST (17-inch) and ST+ (18-inch) to see if smaller wheels improve the ride. But as it stands the Qashqai can’t match the impressive ride of the new X-Trail.

It may have had a somewhat thrashy engine, but the previous Qashqai has better than average handling characteristics. We can’t report on that element just yet due to the limited city-focused drive route, but the times we managed to punt it into a corner, it revealed a balanced chassis and well calibrated suspension set-up.

One thing that clearly stands out compared with the old model is how much more refined the Qashqai is. The engine is more muted in the cabin, there’s far less wind and road noise and it just feels like a massive step up. Great job!

Renault’s Kadjar may be a better-looking version of Nissan’s Qashqai, but it doesn’t drive as well. This comes down to the engine and transmission Renault has gone with.

There’s turbo lag with that small four-cylinder and this delay is made more pronounced by a dual-clutch transmission that causes the vehicle to lurch during shifts.

This type of shemozzle is not uncommon, the Ford Puma and Nissan Juke behave in the same way with their similar powertrains.

There’s nothing wrong with them, it’s just that for a car that’s probably going to spend its life mainly in the city, the Kadjar won’t provide the smoothest driving experience.

The Qashqai has a CVT automatic and while these transmission aren’t as sporty feeling as a dual-clutch, they’re smooth and good for easy city driving.

The Kadjar does have a comfortable ride and good handling, so if you’re able to get used to the antics of the engine and transmission there’s more to like than not about the way this Renault drives.

The Kadjar hasn’t been given an ANCAP safety rating, but it did score the maximum five stars when tested by its European equivalent Euro NCAP in 2015.

But beware, the Kadjar isn’t equipped with much in the way of advanced safety equipment. Yes, there is AEB on all grades, while the mid-spec Zen and top-of-the-range Intens come with blind spot monitoring and lane departure warning. But that’s about it. No lane keeping assist, or rear cross traffic alert, or adaptive cruise.

There are front and rear parking sensors, which are almost vital in the city, and a reversing camera.

It’s for this reason the score here is so low – charging $38K and not having anywhere near the level of safety tech on a new car that costs much less is disappointing.

For child seats there are three top tether anchor points across the second row and two ISOFIX points.

Under the boot floor is a space saver spare wheel.

As with other Nissan models, the Qashqai comes with a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty.

It is also offered with a six-year capped-price servicing plan, and the average price across that six-year period is $670 per service. The cheapest service is year one at $375 and the most expensive is year six at $1108.

The schedule for the servicing is every 12 months or 15,000 kilometres, whichever occurs first, and that is an appropriate term for this model.

The Qashqai also comes with five years of free roadside assistance.

The Kadjar is covered by Renault’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty.

Service intervals are every 12 months or 30,000km and capped at $399 for the first three services, followed by $789 for the fourth then back to $399.

There’s also up to five years roadside assistance, if you service your Kadjar with Renault.