The Qashqai - a veritable cash cow for Nissan and one of Europe's best-selling off-road cars - will get a sharper look and more stately wheelbase, increased by 2 cm, while the length is stretched by 4 cm to 4.43 metres. The boot size has meanwhile increased by 50 litres.
Going toe to toe with the VW Tiguan and Ford Kuga, the Qashqai is also switching to a new platform from the Nissan alliance with Renault.
The new look also comes with a more modern interior - including digital instruments, a large touchscreen and better connectivity with smartphones and any smart home devices you may have. The assistance systems are also set to be smarter, for example with lane guidance and distance control.
But the most significant change in the new generation, which comes after a facelift in 2017, is that hybrid is now no longer just an optional extra, and the entire engine range will have battery support for efficiency.
First up is a 1.3-litre turbo petrol engine with a mild hybrid system. Manually shifted and with front-wheel drive or with continuously variable automatic transmission and all-wheel drive, the four-cylinder engine is available in two output levels with 138hp or 155hp.
In the second half of the year, Nissan says the Qashqai will get the ePower technology already introduced in Japan, where an electric motor provides the drive and the 1.5-litre petrol engine merely acts as a generator.
With an output of 188hp, the Qashqai should then, according to Nissan, consume less than a conventional hybrid and be able to cover greater distances than other hybrids. However, the Japanese only want to announce exact data later in the year.
