Why the Nissan Qashqai is a poor choice

Sorry for lack of posts, just come went to uni and it consumes my life:(. So The other day my father was lent a base spec 2016 Nissan Qashqai ST to which I was amazed by but not in a good way. 

The small to medium SUV segment has probably become the most competitive in the market in Australia and I've been left wondering why anybody chooses the Nissan over any of the vast array of competitors. The interior was a particular low point where the sub-par material quality and lack of features which gave similarity to a 90's Pulsar. The only difference is the main center screen which isn't a touch screen and is incredibly hard to use. It literally takes 5 minutes to slowly page down through your phone contacts to find the person you're after. The worst part about Qashqai I drove was the defected windscreen that sort of magnified the view in front of the driver in a small area, giving a sort of optical illusion to make things a little more interesting I guess. To drive, the Qashqai was hard over the bumps, under powered and the CVT gearbox was so slow. Very slow. PAINFULLY SLOW to react. 

The moral of the story here is to shop around. PLEASE! I feel that people who buy the Qashqai thinks it either looks cool or just didn't consider anything else. The Hyundai Tuscon (above) is an example of a fantastic medium SUV alongside the Mazda CX5, Subaru Forester which all drive superbly and come packed with standard features. A little bit of research goes a long way.

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What do I drive on the daily?

One of the first topics of discussion has to be about my own car, why I bought it and why you might want to get one for yourself. To start with a bit of context, I am a 19 year old male and still retain my green probationary licence which meant putting much consideration towards the cost of insurance that comes with a particular choice of car (another post coming soon about things to consider when choosing a first car). Anyhow, my choice was a manual 2010 Mazda 3 SP25 sedan with around 80,000 kilometers on the clock

The Mazda became my third car and had to be one of if not the best choice at the time after originally setting my mind on getting a Subaru Impreza RS (typical, i know...). The Mazda 3 range in general is extremely popular since its release in 2004 and has been characterised by bulletproof reliability, strong resale value and excellent driving dynamics. 

Now don't get me wrong, the Subaru is great car and it was after driving my mates Impreza that I wanted one. But after going to see about 10 of the things, there was not one that hadn't been thrashed and at the right price. That's when the Mazda came up as a suggestion on Carsales.com at a local dealership at a great price and that was that. Almost a year on and I still love driving it everyday, its short shifting 6 speed manual gearbox is perfect, the torquey 2.5L engine provides plenty of grunt, uses only 8L/100km and is cheap to insure and service. Dual zone climate control, GPS and cruise control are standard on the SP25 making it the most desirable pick of the range a bargain for any second hand car buyer today. The only niggles the Mazda 3 has been known for is the road noise, engine mounts on older cars and cheapish interior plastics. Lastly, on very few models after 2009, the dash was known to 'lift' or dis-form when in extreme heat but the factory warranty was increased to 10 years for this particular issue/recall so there's little to worry about there. 

Thanks for reading, stay tuned for a post soon about choosing a first car and some other helpful info

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Introduction

Hello and welcome to the Auto-Torque blog! My name is Jarod Spiteri, a university student who decided to setup this platform as a way to share my passion and knowledge as a die hard car nut with not only other enthusiasts, but anyone wanting advice and general information. You're probably thinking, "Hang on, why would I want advice from some aussie dickhead with an internet connection about a car, tyre, part, type of fuel or whatever?" Well not only I have spent my whole life around cars, reading about them day in day out and working on them occasionally. I'm also employed by Repco, one of the most reputable parts suppliers in Australia and have written a few reviews such as this one on the new Holden Astra, https://fleetautonews.com.au/new-astra-is-ready-to-challenge-for-the-title/. 

I have been wanting to create something like this for a while and look forward to seeing where this blog goes in 2018.

Cheers, Jarod 

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