New Nissan Qashqai e-Power SQUEEZES 937 miles from a tank of fuel

Nissan has taken the new Qashqai e-Power on a jaunt from Land’s End to John O’Groats on a single tank with fuel to spare.

It’s been almost nine years since Nissan revealed their e-Power Hybrid powertrain, effectively a range-extender powertrain using an ICE engine to charge a battery, which then powers an electric motor, giving the feel of an EV but with no range anxiety.

Despite the success of the Note e-Power in Japan – accounting for 70% of Note sales – it wasn’t until 2021 that the e-Power powertrain arrived in the UK with the Qashqai e-Power, with the same physical setup as the Note e-Power but with a more powerful 1.5-litre petrol engine powering the battery and a 187bhp electric motor powering the front wheels.

The new Qashqai arrived in 2024 with a choice of the same e-Power powertrain or a mild hybrid setup, but in June Nissan announced a new e-Power powertrain for the Qashqai will be available from September, with an all-new engine with ‘STARC Combustion’ which is said to be 42% thermally efficient, a bigger turbo lowering revs at cruising speeds resulting in an improvement in economy from 54mpg to 62mpg (delivering range of up to 745 miles) and a lowering of emissions from 117g/km to 102g/km, and a more powerful 202bhp electric motor.

To demonstrate the new e-Power’s range, Nissan took the Qashqai e-Power on a jaunt from Land’s End to John O’Groats, completing the 837-mile journey still with 100 miles left in the tank. The trip was done over two days and a total of 18 hours of driving (at an average speed of 46.5mph), delivering 75mpg in the process.

Dean Driver, one of the drivers in the challenge, said:

Driving the Qashqai e-POWER from Land’s End to John O’Groats really showcased the strength of the new powertrain. Not only did it deliver a smooth and quiet drive throughout the journey, but we completed over 800 miles with fuel still in the tank—proving just how far this technology has come in combining range with refinement.