Used Nissan Qashqai 2021-present reliability

The Nissan Qashqai scored five stars (out of five) when it was appraised for safety by Euro NCAP. Diving deeper into the results shows that the Qashqai did well at protecting adults and children, scoring a 'marginal' in only one area.

There’s plenty of safety kit, with even entry-level Visia models coming with automatic emergency braking (AEB) as standard from new, along with blind-spot monitoring, driver attention alert, traffic-sign recognition, lane-keeping assistance and e-Call emergency response.

If you go for the Tekna or Tekna+ trims, you get Nissan’s ProPilot driver assistance system. That adds a self-steering function that allows the Qashqai to keep itself in the centre of a lane on motorways and dual carriageways (although you must keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times). When paired with an automatic gearbox, it uses software from the sat-nav to anticipate the speed you should be going and adjust it for you.

There are no major recalls to report as of yet.

This latest version of the Nissan Qashqai did well in our 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey. It came in 11th place out of 34 cars in the family SUV category with a good overall score of 94.9%. Most problems were linked to the infotainment system and the car's non-engine electrics. Problems were fixed quickly and cheaply, although some mentioned slow dealer service.

Unfortunately, the 2014-2021 version of the Nissan Qashqai didn't fare all that well in our most recent reliability survey. In petrol form, it placed 19th out of 34 cars in the family SUVs class, while diesel counterparts ranked 31st. These are rather disappointing results. See the full list here.

Reliability rating 83.2%

What went wrong? Non-engine electrics 20%, brakes 15%, battery 10%, engine 5%, fuel system 5%, gearbox/clutch 5%

Owners of diesel versions of the 2014-2021 Nissan Qashqai are far more likely to be acquainted with their local dealer than petrol Qashqai owners because 35% of diesel models went wrong, compared with 18% of petrols. A third of cars were out of action for more than a week, and although Nissan covered the cost of 72% of repairs, that left some owners with bills of up to £500.

Nissan as a brand did better than it has in the past. With its reliability rating of 90.7%, it came 19th out of 32 manufacturers featured. That put it above Audi, Mercedes and Volkswagen, but below BMW, Dacia and Skoda.

Check out the full list of manufacturers here.

Used Nissan Qashqai reliability: the owners' view

Readers who told us about their experiences with the 2014-2021 Nissan Qashqai for our annual Reliability Survey found most of their cars reliable.

However, reliability issues which were highlighted included outdated sat-nav systems – which may require a trip to a dealer to update – air conditioning which needed frequent regassing, and one instance of the car’s alternator failing after 30,000 miles. Other issues included recurring tyre pressure warning messages.

Issues with Nissan’s dealer network were also highlighted by our readers, with some noting that dealers found addressing repairs a challenge.

If you would like to see the full reliability list for small SUVs, head to the What Car? reliability survey pages for more information.

To take part in our annual reliability survey with your car, please follow the link here