2018 Nissan Qashqai 1.5 dCi gets new clean diesel tech

With diesel under attack, Nissan has added a raft of emissions-cleansing technology to its top-selling crossover, the Qashqai. Revised 1.5 dCi models are on sale now. 

The key feature of the new engine is the addition of a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system. This uses the AdBlue additive, which significantly reduces the formation of harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.

• The British birthplace of the Nissan Qashqai is 30 years old
• Forget the Qashqai – the Matra Rancho was the original crossover

It hasn’t simply been bolt-on technology, either. Nissan says more than 90 percent of the engine has been modified – including the fuel pump, dual mass flywheel, oil cooler, even the oil filter. 

It’s easy to tell the new engine from the old one: it has 115hp, a 5hp boost over the previous (and long-running) dCi 110. The new dCi 115 also has an overboost function, which produces a further 5hp plus a useful step-up in pulling power for 15-second intervals (easily enough to get you past that slow-moving dawdler). 

Nissan’s released fuel economy figures for the new 1.5 dCi 115, tested to WLTP standards and back-translated to the outgoing NEDC standards. They show models with 16-inch and 17-inch alloys average 74.3mpg, while posher trims with larger 18-inch and 19-inch wheels average 67.2mpg.

CO2 emissions? 100g/km for the smaller wheels, a rather hefty jump up to 110g/km for the larger wheels.

• Petrol and diesel ban is needed by 2030 to meet global warming targets

As for prices, the upgraded dCi 115 engine costs a mere £225 more, model for model, than the dCi 110 it replaces. But where Nissan may struggle is the fact this represents as much as a £1,995 premium over a 1.2 DiG-T turbo petrol engine, when entry-level Visia trim is compared.

In this case, it may not be dislike of diesel that’s leading to its downfall, but simply the significant extra expense of all its emissions-reducing technology…