Watching this Nissan Qashqai overcome the Moose Test is reminiscent of a drunken husky-sized diehard trying to get drinks for his friends at a football game. He wobbled, stumbled, nearly lost his balance, hopped on one foot briefly, but somehow delivered the goods without spilling a drop. At the end of the day, the crossover made its way through the cones at a target speed of 77 kph (48 mph). But Wow, Nellie did it stumble in the end.
To be fair, the reviewer at KM77.com who drive a Qashqai (Rogue Sport for those in North America) say things feel a lot less dramatic behind the wheel. It’s a different story on the outside, where the SUV bodes and meanders its way through the slalom course while transferring speed and weight adds up. Physics eventually forced the inside rear wheel off the ground, disrupting the rear causing the entire Nissan to bounce.
Switching from slalom to Moose Test, Qashqai’s first run at 77 kph was a success. In fact, it was running at 79 kph which also didn’t hit any cones, but one did get bumped hard enough to move and technically it was a failure. Here’s another technicality worth mentioning: watch a net speed of 77kph walk very close from the rear camera. You’ll notice the Qashqai’s left corner disappear slightly behind the cone at the peak of its makeshift maneuver. This meant the SUV literally slipped between the two cones, breaking an invisible line that some might consider a failure.
Still, it missed the cones despite the unhealthy bouncing of the suspension. The video shows Nissan’s poor suspension setup in the Qashqai, which allows for considerable weight shift between the sides and corners of the vehicle. Firming things up a bit can also help reduce understeer, which is amplified once the rear wheel is lifted.
It is worth mentioning that this test is a 2023 model year Qashqai. This is a new model from 2022, and this particular version is an E-Power series hybrid. A single electric motor powers the wheels, with a three-cylinder petrol engine used to charge the battery as an extended range. That is, too no a Nissan Rogue Sport, as that model has been phased out for North America after 2022. However, it’s still possible a version could reach US shores at some point.
