Nissan Qashqai Picture Leak

The first totally uncovered image of Nissan's upcoming Qashqai submerged into to the net, a month before its official unveiling at the Paris Motor Show.

Based on the homonymous concept which was revealed in the 2004 Geneva Motor Show, the Qashqai will try to grab the attention of European buyers who find C-segment models like the VW Golf and Opel Astra a tad compromising and boring. According to Nissan, the Qashqai will combine characteristics from C-segment hatchback, SUV and MPV models (sounds very familiar to the Dodge Caliber concept, doesn't it ?).

Although the production version seems to stay very close to the concept iin terms of design, it is not sure yet if 4wheel drive will be standard on all versions of the Qashqai.

Practically, the Qashqai, which is named after a southern Iranian nomadic tribe, will take on the role of the Almera & Primera in Nissan's European line-up. This is the second model in Nissan range that tries to lure buyers from different categories. The first one was the mini-MPV, Note which aims at buyers who want a B-segment sized car (Fiat Punto, Renault Clio etc) with C-segment interior space (Peugeot 307, Opel Astra etc).

In other words, Nissan has accepted its defeat in mainstream segments in Europe, focusing now on more niche -and less competitive, categories. After seeing what happened to companies like Fiat, who can blame them ?

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