SAY hello to the Qashqai, Nissan's latest in-breeding effort to develop the once elusive "mini sport utility" vehicle. Nissan hopes that this car's demographic will be itinerants, sparking a sense of adventure in everyone.

This smaller, European being exists to complement the Murano, and yes, it is European. Despite being conceived in Japan back in 2003, the Qashqai is really about as European as a Japanese-made entity can exist today. It was penned down by Nissan Design Europe, which is based in Paddington, London. Then, it was engineered and developed at Nissan’s Technical Centre in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, UK, and for the British market, is built alongside the Note and Micra in Sunderland.

While we’re most likely to receive stocks from Nissan’s assembly line in Japan, differences are negligible. That aside, Nissan realises that not everyone needs such a big car, especially here in Singapore. And for many here, being who they are, would rather live with just the image of owning an SUV, without the associated gadgetry, complications or costs for that matter. It’s a car all right

And we felt that way from the moment we stepped into it and sat at the helm. This starts from the good ol’ fashioned, sedan-like driving position. You aren’t uncomfortably high up for the world to scrutinise, and those seats hug and bolster pretty well. The steering is adjustable for both tilt and reach, but unfortunately, does not have mounted audio or cruise control buttons. There’s a generous amount of head and leg room for all passengers, except maybe at the rear centre seat.

Fit and finish standards are typical Nissan, and while it doesn’t leave much to the imagination, at least they are solidly put together with no tacky, sub-standard surfaces and materials.

The 2.0-litre MR20DE pumps out 138 bhp at 5,200 rpm and 198 Nm of torque at 4,400 rpm. It comes with a new X-tronic continuously variable transmission, and together with the rest of this car’s moving mechanicals, forms the bulk of its 1,500 kilogramme kerb weight.

The Qashqai also dials in at 4,315 mm long, 1,780 mm wide and 1,615 mm in height, shorter than the Murano by a noticeable amount (4,770 mm, 1,880 mm and 1,685 mm) and by typical four-wheeler standards, it isn’t massive either.

On a more adventurous note, the wading depth of this car is pegged to an impressive 450 mm. But it’s not like any of you would dirty your new car anyway.

410-litres of boot space are all yours when the rear seats are folded down. That’s over 400 cartons of milk, mind you. The high roof makes rear legroom widely available in all senses of the word, more than what you might get from a Grand Scenic. But the thing that we liked most of all was the expansive glass roof that literally lit the cabin up with daylight. It can be terrible if you leave it open at twelve noon. But otherwise, it achieves that nice “romantic” effect at night that most of our girlfriends fancy.

Driving the Qashqai

There’s also very little to pick on for a car of its class, really. Being over 1.6-metres tall, it towers over normal-sized sedans like the Sunny and Latio. It feels like the firmest mid-sized Nissan ever made, even when compared to cars such as the Teana and Cefiro.

Reversing this Nissan out of tight spots can be fairly tricky when the rear-view mirror is needed. The view can be a little obstructive, but to be fair, it isn’t a unique problem. Quite a number of rear windshields on different models appear to have shrunk noticeably too, perhaps in interests of safety. Nissan says that a strong, rigid body shell inevitably results in a thicker C and D-section, so one should appreciate effort gone into producing its 5-star Euro NCAP crash rating.

Backing it up and down Narrow Street was found to be comparatively easy, considering the size of its wing mirrors.

The steering is relatively easy to work with, but lacks feel. This can be attributed to the 65-series profile tyres. Aside from that, it drives, rides and handles pretty much like a car half its height, and it isn’t easily flustered.

The car’s spread of power was good enough to get us through town without putting up too much of a fight. The six-speed “M” mode didn’t help matters much, but it did keep us mildly entertained. The CVT kept the engine in the torque band at all speeds, making it easy to overtake under all traffic conditions.

To sum it all up...

The Qashqai will be in non 4WD form, and comes in “basic” guise with equipment such as the intelligent key, 17-inch alloy rims, a factory fitted double din audio console and front fog lamps. Prices start from $86,500 for this model, and climb to $92,500 for the “Premium” edition.

This will come with all of the above, adding automatic Xenon high intensity discharge headlamps, dual zone climate controlled air conditioning and the aforementioned panoramic glass roof.

We think that Nissan has accomplished a magnificent task of producing a car of this relatively new, unknown class of vehicles. It has a great level of ergonomics, with the only complaint being the lack