2025 Nissan Qashqai N-design e-Power Review

That was primarily because, on paper, the approach of using a petrol engine that’s not directly connected to the wheels, to instead only charge a battery, sounded flawed.  

How fuel efficient could it possibly be given the various layers the energy needs to pass through to make the vehicle go? The petrol needs to be burnt in the engine to then charge a battery to then pass through an electric motor to turn the wheels.  

Get behind the steering wheel though, and all that complication adds up to a driving experience that mostly feels like an electric car in terms of acceleration and refinement but doesn’t need to be externally charged.

The petrol engine is a 1.5-litre, turbocharged three-cylinder unit that starts and revs up according to how much the 2.1kWh lithium-ion battery needs to be charged.  

In the combined cycle regulation test, the Qashqai e-Power uses 5.2L/100km, whereas rivals like the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid two-wheel drive and Hyundai Kona Hybrid use 4.3L/100km and 3.9L/100km respectively.   

So the Qashqai e-Power isn’t especially fuel efficient against some rivals, but the upside is that it drives much more like an EV, which could well win over those who want a vehicle that feels like an EV but aren’t quite ready to be totally dependent on an externally charged battery.

The update for 2025 with the Qashqai e-Power is the addition the N-design variant, which comprise several cosmetic changes to the body, lights and interior, along with a new wheel design.  

The N-design means there’s another e-Power model in the Qashqai range, though it’s pricier than the Ti-L e-Power it joins in the range. It would have been great to see an e-Power Qashqai available in the lower spec variants.