Best of both worlds

Unless your engine packs six, eight or 12 cylinders are you really that bothered whether you hear it or not – I’m not.

Your average four buzzes away in the background with little to offer in terms of aural excellence.

That gives electric vehicles real appeal as they are not only quicker, more economical and smoother than internal combustion engines but they are a lot quieter too.

The only issues I have with EVs is range anxiety, the palaver and cost of public charging as I can’t have a home charger and the resultant low residuals on electrics.

Well, Nissan has come up with the perfect answer in the Qashqai e-Power, an EV with a petrol generator to keep you away from the public charging stations and on the road.

So, a normal hybrid uses a petrol motor which powers the wheels and an electric motor as back up.

It will run in pure electric but there’s no need to plug in because the petrol motor charges for you.

Nissan’s e-Power sees the electric motor connected to the wheels, driving them round at all times.

The petrol motor is no more than a generator, there to charge the lithium ion battery and/or provide direct power for the electric motor.

This means that the Qashqai feels like an EV to drive, with instant torque and seamless performance, but it will never need to be plugged in and won’t run out of charge.

Press the throttle hard and the pick-up is instant with no screaming revs from the combustion engine, which just chugs away to charge the electric motor.

The Qashqai also features e-Pedal which boosts brake regeneration and allows the driver to use one pedal for acceleration and deceleration, which is great.

With more than 200PS and 330Nm of torque to tap into performance is always going to be impressive. It is quick off the mark and great in the mid-range for rapid overtakes and with sharp steering it’s a car drivers can’t fail to enjoy.

Handling is surefooted and body control is excellent but the ride is hard made worse by the shocking state of our roads.

Economy is varied. Work it hard and on the motorways and you can struggle to reach 40mpg. But take it easy, drive off the throttle and I saw 78.7 appear on the trip computer. Nissan claims an average of 60.1mpg, which is good.

Qashqai has been around for decades and virtually invented the SUV class.

It has evolved over the years and the current iteration is the best looking yet with a super-sleek nose, sensuous lines and tidy tail.

Big 20in alloys enhance proportions even further making it look big, wide and planted.

The interior is plush and well equipped. I love the choice of materials which are high quality and tactile.

The dash features the now traditional touchscreen and the clocks are TFT virtual affairs but the main functions, such as the climate control, are on knobs and buttons, which suits me fine.

There are the usual controls on the steering wheel for cruise and infotainment and more switches near the stubby gear control on the centre console. It’s all very neat and easy to live with.

Qashqai is a sizeable SUV with decent specification and at under £40,000 not bad value for money.

Heated seats and steering wheel would have been nice but then they have to leave some luxuries for the higher spec models.

They say compromises please no one, but who are ‘they’ to talk anywhere because that’s exactly what the e-Power does.

Drivers will love the seamless power delivery of the electric motor and won’t mind one bit when they have to pop into the petrol station for three minutes to fill up with unleaded.