The Nissan Qashqai loses a star in crash test
- Published on 21/11/2025 17:42
The latest round of Euro NCAP results brings an expected news… and a much less good one for Nissan.
The new Nissan Micra, a technical cousin of the Renault 5, logically scores four stars, a result consistent with the platform it shares with the French city car which has received the same rating. But it is mainly the Qashqai, a key model for the manufacturer and an iconic SUV in the European market, that draws attention. It also now peaks at four stars, a symbolic regression for a vehicle whose architecture and thermal-hybrid positioning have remained associated with an image of robustness.
The new Euro NCAP protocol is indeed more demanding, but the loss of one star for a family SUV, often perceived as a benchmark in safety, raises questions. With a score of 78% in adult protection – compared to 80% for the Micra – the Qashqai maintains a survival cell deemed stable and provides good protection for lower limbs. However, the overall rating reflects a less convincing combination, particularly in interactions with vulnerable road users: only 65%, a result that falls behind a competition that is now very sharp, especially from Chinese manufacturers.
A slight drop in form for the Qashqai
However, the Qashqai demonstrates exemplary performance in several aspects. In child protection, it achieves 85%, with nearly maximum points in lateral crash tests and a perfect installation of child restraint systems. A major downside, revealing an aging model, is that the evaluation of driver assistance features peaks at 62%, where the norm among its compact SUV rivals clearly exceeds 70%.
Overall, this outlines a technically safe vehicle, but no longer at the forefront, which is significant for a mass-market model of this scale.
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These results highlight a trend. The city car Micra meets the expectations of the segment, neither more nor less, while the Qashqai appears to be caught up by evolving standards. A loss of a star that comes at a very bad time for Nissan.
READ ALSO: New Nissan Qashqai e-POWER: more economical and cheaper
This page is translated from the original post "Le Nissan Qashqai perd une étoile au crash test" in French.
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