Is the Nissan Qashqai hybrid family-friendly? I decided to find out

Small SUVs aren’t so small anymore, as evidenced by the segment-straddling Nissan Qashqai.

But can a ‘small SUV’ really cut the mustard as a family hauler?

Well, in my week with Drive’s latest long-termer, a 2024 Nissan Qashqai Ti e-Power, I see how it fares on one of my family’s favourite traditions – hitting up a market for good grub.

The market in question? Preston Market, which offers a great assortment of fresh fruit and veg, a decked-out deli, and enough food stores to make even Melbourne’s Night Market jealous.

Fun fact: My wife and I used to go on Sunday morning dates through the market before getting married and having two kids, so it was great to revisit an old stomping ground in the Qashqai.

Speaking of which, the Nissan Qashqai hybrid will need to accommodate not only two young kids, but also car seats, a full-sized pram, a nappy bag, and snacks for both young and old.

Measuring 4425mm long, 1835mm wide, 1625mm tall, and with a 2665mm wheelbase, the Qashqai is no doubt larger than most other small SUVs like a Mazda CX-30, Toyota Corolla Cross, and Kia Seltos, but still smaller than mid-size fare like the Nissan X-Trail, Toyota RAV4, and Hyundai Tucson.

Making life a bit easier in the Qashqai, especially with kids, is the fact the rear doors open to nearly 90 degrees, so egress/ingress are an absolute breeze.

Keep in mind, though, you will need an appropriate amount of space either side of the Nissan to make full use of those wide-opening doors, but it's great in the right situation.

The boot, however, measures 452 litres in volume, which sounds expansive until you put a full-sized pram into it which eats into most of the available floor space.

Of course, ancillary items can be scattered around, but you aren’t getting anything of significant size into the boot if you are lugging a pram.

The Qashqai does have a false floor, though, so if you desperately need more space – or just need to stop items rolling around in the boot – you can also make use of the little storage area underneath.

It’s a handy-to-have feature, if not all that useful in my case, but I can see it coming into its own for wet sports gear and the like.

Anyway, back to the Preston Market adventure.

With everyone loaded up and ready to go, the trip begins.

Nissan’s Qashqai Ti e-Power features a unique hybrid powertrain system, which still pairs a small-capacity petrol engine with an electric motor, but differs from most other hybrids in that the engine never drives the front wheels.

The engine is there to generate charge for a small battery which is then drawn upon to power the electric motors, which in turn, drive the wheels.

This means the Qashqai e-Power drives much more like an electric car, offering instant torque from the line and a mostly quiet and serene cabin.

The trip over to Preston Market is about 21km from home, or 30–40 minutes depending on traffic with a good mix of freeway driving, and the much-maligned and extremely busy Bell Street, offering varied conditions for the hybrid.

Good conditions to put the Qashqai e-Power’s powertrain to the test, as well as the Bose sound system blasting The Wiggles and the Frozen soundtrack to keep the kids happy.

Luckily, both pass the test, with the powertrain in particular a delight in stop-start traffic and keeping economy to a frugal 5.5 litres per 100 kilometres – not far off the official claim of 5.2L/100km.

Getting to Preston Market is one thing, but finding a car park is another.

The concrete and bitumen car park is layered with years’ worth of dividing lines sprayed one on top of another as lines constantly get redrawn. It can be an absolute nightmare navigating the tight laneways as each car tries to snake down a one-way street to snag a park.

And it’s here where the Qashqai’s surround-view monitor really came in clutch, letting me gingerly creep past waiting cars and the front end of parked utes without stress.

With a silent powertrain and long wait times of finding a car park, one kid fell asleep, while the other was (luckily) happy to keep peering out the window at the coloured graffiti and colourful characters found around Preston Market.

Once parked up, it was time for food.

Making a beeline past the fresh fruit and vegetables for the hot food, the first order of the day was a spicy potato borek.

Sitting down and sharing the Middle Eastern baked goods among the family was no problem, while friendly locals started up chatter.

“You have to try this pizza joint,” a stranger said, gesturing towards the deli section.

Not one to be told twice, once the borek was polished off it was time to head deeper into the Preston Market, following our noses first with the aroma of cured meats and then the tantalising smell of fresh pizza.

Two slices ordered, two slices eaten, what was next?

A coffee of course.

As a staple of the north side, good coffee is easy to find, but you still must pick the establishment with the coolest-looking baristas for extra hipster points.

Coffee in hand, let’s pair that with more pastries, so straight to the bakery for flaky croissants and a cheeky fruit tart.

But alas, the three-year-old’s hunger still beckons, and it was time for his favourite of all treats – chocolate, this time in crepe form (freshly made of course).

And by the time the family was stuffed to the gills with food, there wasn’t any room left for the fresh stuff for meal prep and the like, let alone think about eating them.

Fortunate then, because the wallet had taken a beating and it was high time to head home for naps (myself included).

So straight past all the bananas, watermelons, oranges and fruiterers calling out their specials.

While I might not have bagged a tray full of mangoes or an assortment of fresh greens, that doesn’t mean I came away empty-handed.

There were still plenty of leftovers to fill the boot and interior of the Qashqai, keeping crankiness at bay on the way home.

And the trip back home was about as smooth and uneventful as the Qashqai, which emerges as a no-fuss, easy to live with small hybrid SUV with enough space (just) for a family of four.

When juggling the school run, lunches, dinners, activities, and everything else that comes with having kids, sometimes it’s the cars that just do everything you need them to do without much effort that you appreciate most, and the Nissan Qashqai hybrid certainly fits the bill.