Motor Torque with David Berthon Radio 2GB

Driving Nissan’s small new Qashqai e-Power hybrid SUV today - only availableon the top-spec Ti grade - $4,200 dearer to the conventional petrol-only Ti at arather hefty $56,000 drive-away. Unlike the 1.3-litre turbo petrol models the e-Power hybrid utilises a variable compression 1.5-litre turbo petrol three-cylinderengine and it works differently to a conventional hybrid – the petrol engine doesnot drive the front wheels – it purely powers a generator connected to an invertorand a 2,1kWh lithium-ion battery pack – only the e-motor drives the front wheelsthrough a single speed reduction drive – the drive experience quiet, smooth andrewarding offering nearly a 1000 km driving range and a stated economy figuresof just 5.2L/100km on the combined city/country cycle – however, I managed5.9L/100km with mainly city driving. It does however need dearer 95 grade petrol.Whilst the Nissan Qashqai Ti e-Power offers around a 1L/100km saving over aconventional petrol model its price penalty is a real dampener to its purchase.When and if Nissan introduce the e-Power technology onto lower Qashqai gradesit will make more sense. It’s a really nice driver but at the moment, for my money,the 1.3-litre four-cylinder pure petrol variants are hard to pass.
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One of the more impressive small SUVs on the market is Nissan’s Qashqai infour petrol grades and with the recent addition of an e-Power hybrid version, onlyavailable on the top spec Qashqai Ti grade, $4,200 more expensive to the petrol Tiat a rather hefty $56,000 drive-away. Disappointingly, Nissan, at this stage, arenot introducing the hybrid technology to the lower more affordable grades.However, the Nissan Qashqai Ti e-Power is packed with premium features –leather seats with massage function, a panoramic glass roof, 10-speaker Bosesound, power tailgate and a most impressive digital dash and centre touchscreen plus a suite of advanced active safety features. The 1.3-litre turbo in thepetrol models replaced by a variable compression 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrolturbo – and here the e-Power works differently to a conventional hybrid – thepetrol engine has no connection to the front drive wheels – it purely powers agenerator connected to an invertor and a 2.1kWh lithium-ion battery pack – onlythe e-motor drives the front wheels – this hybrid system adds around 200 kilos inweight over a conventional petrol Qashqai’s but it offers nearly a 1000km drivingrange. Despite the e-Power’s exalted price tag the drive experience is rewarding –details next segment.
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Hybrid sales took off in April with Toyota hybrids exceeding 10,000 units for thefirst time, or more than 52 per cent of its total sales tally of 20,771 vehicles. TheToyota RAV4 was Australia’s best-selling vehicle in April posting 5,847 salesconsolidating its position as our top-selling medium sized SUV. And reinforcingToyota’s success with hybrids, 94 percent of April RAV4 sales were hybridmodels. Despite the record deliveries from back orders Toyota has alsoacknowledged that customer orders in April confirm a growing number ofAustralians are now seeking fuel efficient hybrids that are practical, capable andaffordable. RAV 4 average wait times have improved this year, from previously aslong as two years, Toyota now expecting them to be back to normal to aroundthree to four months on order by the end of June.
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In the luxury car segment Mercedes-Benz has been the traditional top sellingmarque however it lost this position for the first-time last year - BMW postingannual sales of 26,184 to Mercedes-Benz’s 24,315. BMW has maintained its leadthis year with sales rising 8.5 percent in the first four months while Mercedes-Benz has suffered a 29 percent decline. In the four months BMW made 7135 salesto Mercedes Benz 5,540. Clearly, Mercedes-Benz move to an Agency model fromJanuary 2022 where there is no discount available, with the company sellingdirectly to the customer at a fixed price has not been a success. The move hasalso impacted dealer profitability and there is considerable unrest within theMercedes-Benz dealer group. In recent weeks some dealers now openlyadvertising considerable end of financial year discounts on certain models tostimulate business. I’m David Berthon
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