Nissan Qashqai Ti added to Australian range

Nissan Australia has added a new top-spec variant to its Qashqai small SUV range. More than six months after the launch of the facelifted Qashqai, the brand has finally added the Qashqai Ti priced from $37,990 plus on-road costs. The higher-spec Ti will help the Qashqai compete against the Mazda CX-3, Honda HR-V, Toyota C-HR and Hyundai Kona.

Citing production limitations for the car’s active cruise control system as the reason for the delay, the Ti also adds full Nappa leather upholstery and lane keep assist to the limited edition Qashqai N-Tec’s standard equipment list. The Qashqai Ti is on sale now.

“The Nissan Qashqai Ti features a long list of Nissan Intelligent Mobility safety technologies and other standard equipment for buyers wanting more,” said Nissan Australia managing director, Stephen Lester.

“The top of the range Ti has everything that the outgoing N-Tec model had, but adds Nappa leather seating, plus Intelligent Cruise Control and Intelligent Lane Intervention.

“With its contemporary internal and external styling, technology and safety, there’re plenty of reasons why Qashqai is one of the best performers in its segment.”

Sitting atop the local Nissan Qashqai range, the Ti adds extra equipment that’s finally available to Australian buyers. Adaptive cruise control, black ‘wristwatch’ Nappa leather and active lane keep assist are now standard equipment over the previous top-spec Qashqai, the N-Tec, which was a range filler until the Ti arrived.

This means that there is now a $5,000 price premium for the Ti, and in addition to the features listed, the Ti also adds a panoramic glass roof, a 360-degree parking camera with self-parking tech, dual-zone climate control, heated front seats, keyless entry and start, a 7.0-inch touchscreen with DAB+ digital radio and inbuilt satellite navigation with SUNA live traffic reports, LED headlights and an assortment of active safety equipment including autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring with rear traffic alert, automatic high beam headlights, lane departure warning and driver attention alert.

Like other 2018 Qashqai models in Australia, the Ti is powered by a 2.0-litre petrol engine combined with a CVT automatic transmission. It produces 106kW of power and 200Nm of torque, and Nissan claims a 6.9L/100km fuel economy average for CVT-equipped variants (the sole manual in the range, the $26,490 ST, uses 7.7L/100km). In Australia, the Qashqai is front-wheel drive only.

Nissan Qashqai sales are up 1.0 percent in 2018 so far to 5,015 units – an improvement largely thanks to the car’s facelift in late 2017. That means it sits in fourth place behind the Mitsubishi ASX, Mazda CX-3 and Subaru XV in the small SUV segment in 2018 so far, though the Honda HR-V is just 12 units behind. Nissan is expecting the sales split between Qashqai models to be fairly even, with the Ti expected to take 30 percent of sales for the rest of 2018.

2018 Nissan Qashqai pricing (plus on-road costs):
– ST 6-speed manual: $26,490
– ST CVT automatic: $28,990
– ST-L CVT automatic: $32,990
– Ti CVT automatic: $37,990

Options:
– Metallic paint: $550

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