Nissan Qashqai E-Power Guide

With the Nissan Qashqai hybrid range, Nissan introduced a new kind of driving experience for those looking for a reliable family car. As the ultimate hybrid SUV, the 2007 Qashqai provided space alongside the usual amenities that you’d expect from more compact vehicles.

In the years that have followed, Nissan has continued to innovate and roll out compelling choices in its EV range. But, what makes the Japanese brand such a popular leasing option? Let’s take a look.

First entry into the electric vehicle market

In 2010, Nissan played an essential part in the rise of electric and hybrid vehicles. The Nissan Leaf - the company's flagship contribution to the EV market - went on to win several awards and sold hundreds of thousands of units worldwide.

Over a decade later, the latest Nissan Qashqai E-Power model, a hybrid version of the popular family cars, sports a refreshed version of the hybrid technology they once so famously helped pioneer.

The Nissan Qashqai E-Power system

The Nissan Qashqai E-Power system, with its own approach to the mild hybrid configuration, hopes to be the bridge for many people. In particular, it’s designed for people who want to drive a car that has electric power but who don't have the means or interest in keeping it regularly plugged in at charging points - as you must do with traditional hybrids.

The Nissan Qashqai’s E-Power hybrid system uses its 1.5-litre petrol engine not to move the car but to drive a generator, which feeds the electric powertrain and powers the front wheels. The petrol engine is also used to charge the battery pack that powers the motor.

In this way, the Nissan Qashqai hybrid E-Power’s innovative powertrain provides the best of both worlds when it comes to fuel consumption, with the smoother acceleration that the electric components allow alongside the added reliability of a petrol engine.

This EV-like acceleration is felt in the E-Power's 187bhp and the 7.9 seconds that it takes to get from 0-60mph - faster than any Qashqai that has come before it, as well as many of its hybrid rivals. What’s more, aided by its single-speed automatic gearbox, the Nissan E-Power makes for an enjoyable driving experience even for city driving.

If you're looking to lease the brand-new Nissan Qashqai E-Power version and are interested in the history of hybrid technology, then read on. And click here if you're looking for a stress-free, no-obligation car leasing experience .

What are the different kinds of hybrid car technology?

Hybrid cars are split into three main types:

• Full hybrid

• Mild hybrid

• Plug-in hybrid

Full Hybrid

Full hybrid cars use an electric motor and traditional combustion engine - either independently or consecutively - to drive. The typically smaller battery size of a full hybrid means that the best uses for the electric components are smaller journeys and in stop-start traffic.

Similarly, full hybrids convert the kinetic energy that would otherwise be lost during braking and store it in the battery as electricity, furthering their fuel efficiency in urban environments where braking is more regular.

In the same vein, full hybrids use their electric motors to aid the car in accelerating in a way that requires less fuel from the combustion engine to be used and helps you get more miles out of every gallon of fuel.

The battery is different to plug-in hybrids in that they are charged whilst the car is driving as opposed to at a charging point, and because you still need to fill up the combustion engine there is never any concern about running out of juice.

Are you ready to make the move into driving your next Nissan Qashqai hybrid without all the commitment and hassle of owning it? LeaseCar offers a stress-free, no-obligation alternative with affordable rental options and flexible lease deals.

Mild Hybrid

Mild hybrids use electrical components to store and transfer the energy recovered from braking to aid the combustion engine in stopping and starting. This makes for more fuel efficiency and therefore less petrol or diesel being used to power the car over the span of the journey.

The Nissan Qashqai hybrid E-Power model has all the features that you can expect from a mild hybrid vehicle and more. As well as using the electric motor to help make it more fuel efficient, the petrol engine generates electricity to charge the lithium-ion battery, which in turn powers the electric motor.

The electric motor taking some of the work away from the combustion engine results in a quieter, more comfortable drive, as well as an impressive fuel economy. The self-charging aspect of the lithium battery also means that mild hybrids don't need to be plugged in, resulting in relatively cheap running costs and a lower overall price to your wallet.

This isn't even touching on the fact that the Nissan Qashqai hybrid E-Power also boasts the wide range of characteristics that the traditional combustion-powered Qashqai models do, with:

• A powerful 1.3-litre petrol engine

• Dual-zone climate control

• Intelligent cruise control

• Comfortable front and rear seats

• Litres of boot space

• Leather trim steering wheel

• 8" touchscreen infotainment features

• 18" alloy wheels

• Exterior styling options

• Automatic emergency braking and other advanced safety features

• Android Auto and Apple Car Play

If you're looking for a family car without the hassle and extra cost of buying, check out our Car Leasing Guide to help you understand why leasing your next car is the best move for you.

Plug-in Hybrid

Some of the more widely used hybrid cars that you can lease today are powered (in part) by a lithium-ion battery, which must be charged up at a charging point once depleted. If the battery runs out of charge on the road, the plug-in hybrid then helpfully switches to the combustion engine.

For a while, electric car batteries allowed for far fewer miles between charges than a typical car would offer between refuelling, which was a larger time sink and a scary prospect for drivers concerned that they might get stranded without anywhere to recharge.

However, soaring interest and government funding have allowed more robust EV infrastructure like domestic and public charging points to make electric and hybrid cars as reliable as their traditional counterparts.

What is the history of hybrid cars?

Hybrid cars seem like such modern, futuristic technology, don't they? It may surprise you to know, then, that the first hybrid car was revealed at the beginning of the last century! In fact, electric cars were enjoying their moment a while before this until the combustion engine became more of a mainstay.

In 1900, the Lohner-Porsche Elektromobil was revealed at the Paris Expo. Originally made as a fully electric car, the designer (who would go on to create the original Volkswagen Beetle ) added an internal combustion engine to recharge the batteries, and hence the first hybrid car was born.

As you can probably guess, however, the growth of these hybrid and electric vehicles was virtually nonexistent once traditional combustion cars became more refined and polished over the following decades.

A slow start for hybrid cars

The year 1917 saw the Woods Motor Company introduce their Woods Dual Power hybrid electric vehicle , which ran at an eye-watering top speed of 35 miles per hour. Unfortunately, this did not set the world on fire and it was deemed a failure.

Decades later in the 60s and 70s, an otherwise promising prototype inspired by the popular Buick family of cars failed to receive the appropriate funding it needed from the US government and so was eventually scrapped.

It wasn't until the late 90s that Japanese car manufacturer Toyota tasked itself with developing more fuel-efficient cars and, by the new millennium, had introduced the flagship hybrid car to the world with the Toyota Prius .

The rest is history, as they say. Hybrid cars snowballed in availability over the following years until today, where modern hybrid cars are more commonplace than they've ever been due to being increasingly advantageous to drivers, as well as the environment.

Looking to lease your next car but don't know how? Find thousands of leasing deals and lease types that cater to your needs - including breakdown cover - today.

Benefits of hybrid cars

It may go without saying that the main benefit - and indeed the main draw - of hybrid vehicles is that the electric components reduce harmful emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases that cars release whilst running.

Cars - for all their helpful uses in our busy, modern lives - do have a notable impact on the environment. In 2019, transport accounted for over a quarter (27%) of the UK's total emissions, most of which came from cars.

By splitting the work of running the car between the combustion engine and the electric motor, the hybrid car reduces the amount of greenhouse gases that the former burns over the course of your drive.

Hybrid cars are cheaper to run

A core benefit of electric and hybrid cars is that they are cheaper to run than their traditional counterparts. Especially as fuel costs soar , the switch to electric has never been more appealing.

On top of this, hybrids like the Nissan Qashqai hybrid E-Power have an excellent track record for upkeep. With a hybrid car, you can expect fewer faults and breakdowns, meaning less time and money at the gas pump and at the garage.

And, what’s more, hybrid and electric cars are taxed at a much lower rate than traditional cars are. This is because road tax is measured by the amount of emissions a car releases. As you’d expect, electric and hybrid cars typically have significantly reduced emissions , meaning you can bank on cheaper tax.

If you're ready to make the switch to electric, consider leasing the Nissan Qashqai hybrid E-Power with LeaseCar - starting with a stress-free, no-obligation quote.

A smoother driving experience

If you've ever driven an electrically powered car, one of the first things you'll have noticed is how different an experience the electric motor provides when it comes to braking and accelerating. With an electric motor, you can expect maximum torque during acceleration.

So, what does this mean for those in the car?

Well, you'd feel it immediately because this increased torque accelerates the car at a significantly quicker rate than a typical combustion engine that requires slower mechanical components to get the wheels moving.

This isn't to say that traditional cars are generally more sluggish than hybrids. Internal combustion cars have enjoyed decades of iteration over the many decades, and many of them have bigger, more powerful engines than seen in years prior meaning they provide an enjoyable rate of acceleration for many drivers.

Despite this, the smoothness of an electrically powered vehicle compared to that of traditional petrol or diesel engines is undeniable for many.

Get ahead of the curve by leasing your Nissan Qashqai hybrid with us

Are hybrid vehicles the car of the future? Well, it certainly makes for a good headline, but the truth of the matter is that hybrid cars like the Nissan Qashqai hybrid E-Power are arguably a car of the present! We have them here, now! And they're only getting better with every iteration.

Speaking in more broad strokes, however, hybrid cars are indeed the car of the future. Within a decade or two, the UK will have banned the production of new cars whose sole means of power is an internal combustion engine, leaving only hybrids and electric vehicles to rule the roads.

Want to get ahead of the curve with your next car without the commitment and hassle of owning one? LeaseCar offers thousands of leasing deals for cars of all kinds and fuel types.

Get in touch today to get the wheels of your Nissan Qashqai hybrid lease in motion