Nissan
The Nissan Qashqai sold in the US as the Rogue Sport.
- The Nissan Qashqai is one of the most popular subcompact crossover SUVs in the world.
- In Europe, it's Nissan's most popular model by a wide margin.
- The Qashqai is sold in the US as the Rogue Sport.
- Earlier this year, we drove a Rogue Sport in the US and found it to be a pleasant vehicle, but underpowered.
- Recently, we drove a 2018 Qashqai diesel that really impressed us with its strong performance and driving dynamics.
- In the UK, the Nissan Qashqai starts at £19,300 while the US Rogue Sports starts $22,110.
Qashqai. Nissan Qashqai.
Pronounced Kash kai, the subcompact crossover SUV has long been both a sales and critical success in the UK and Europe. Last month, Qashqai was not only Nissan's top-selling vehicle in Europe, it out-sold the brand's next four most popular models combined.
The Qashqai is named after the nomadic Qashqai people of Iran.
After years of waiting, Nissan finally brought the second generation Qashqai to the US in 2017 as the Rogue Sport. And, it's certainly been a major help to Nissan's bottom line, helping the Rogue family of crossovers reach 215,000 units sold over the first half of 2018. That's up 10% over the same period last year.
Earlier this year, I spent a few days behind the wheel of a new Rogue Sport on the roads around Nashville, Tennesee, not far from Nissan's North American headquarters.
Unfortunately, the Rogue Sport's 2.0-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine proved to be woefully underwhelming. The little four-cylinder just didn't have to grunt to haul around the 3,400-pound crossover.
A few weeks ago, Nissan let us borrow a diesel-powered 2018 Qashqai Pilot One Edition in the UK. The base Qashqai starts at £19,300 while our top-of-the-line test car carried an as-tested price of £34,170.
In the US, base Rogue Sport starts at $22,110 while our SL AWD test car cost $31,380.
Let's see if the diesel engine can make up for its gasoline-powered sibling's shortcomings: