Nissan’s new compact crossover, QASHQAI, has picked up its first award.  The 2.0 dCi with ALL-MODE transmission has been voted Best SUV in the What Diesel Car? 2007 awards.

Voted for by the editorial team at What Diesel Car?, QASHQAI was praised for being “a brave departure from the norm which comes across as a class act”. Editor Garth Sumpter said: “QASHQAI is the best SUV come hatchback, come family car – this is the shape of family cars of the future.  A lovely drive, a capable car and a good looker.  It’s at its best with the 2.0-litre dCi engine.”

The 2.0-litre dCi engine produces 150hp at 4000rpm and 320Nm of torque at 2000rpm, while returning a frugal fuel economy figure of 40.9mpg and CO₂ emissions of 184g/km when fitted with manual transmission and in 4WD configuration.

QASHQAI went on sale on 1 March and so far orders have far exceeded expectations with over 10,000 customers placing an order for the new car.  As at the end of May, sales totalled over 6,000 vehicles.

Nissan’s Managing Director, Gary Frigo commented: “We are very excited about QASHQAI’s sales performance to date which is well beyond our expectations.  We always believed we had a big hit on our hands and this has been proven by what I hope is the first of many awards.”

QASHQAI was awarded the maximum five-star rating for occupant safety in the recent Euro NCAP crash test, with the highest ever recorded score for any vehicle.