2011 Nissan Dualis Crossover Subtly Updated in Japan

The Nissan Dualis, which is the Japanese market version of the firm's European Qashqai, has received some modest refinements for the 2011 model year focused on the exterior, interior and improved fuel economy.

The styling enhancements to the compact crossover's exterior are limited to the reworked front grille, the chrome detailing on the door handles and a fresh design for the 18-inch alloy wheels, plus the availability of six new colors including a Brilliant White Pearl three-coat pearl paint finish.

Interior tweaks concern the revised instrument cluster that gains a new 3.6-inch vehicle information display featuring a trip computer and a maintenance function which tells the driver when to change engine oil or tires.

Nissan says it has also further improved the fuel efficiency of the Dualis 2WD models through modifications to the engine control systems and the XTRONIC CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission).

The Juke's bigger brother is on sale in Japan now with prices ranging between 2,097,900 yen to 2,514,750 yen, including consumption tax.

Nissan GT-R Official Safety Car for British Superbike Championship

The almighty Nissan GT-R will be the official safety car for the 2010 and 2011 seasons of the British Superbike Championship (BSB).

The two-year-long agreement between BSB series commercial rights holder MSVR and Nissan Motor GB will see a total of fleet of twelve Nissan vehicles comprising seven different models deployed in various roles in the championship.

Aside from the two GT-R safety cars, Nissan will also provide two Qashqai+2 as medical cars, a 370Z Coupe and a 3.5 Murano as course cars for the Race Director and other track officials whilst the winners will be paraded in a Navara.

Nissan's LCV fleet will provide trackside and logistics support utilizing the NV200 and Interstar models.

Nissan Releases UK Pricing for 2010 Qashqai and Qashqai+2 Facelift

The updated 2010 Qashqai and its seven-seater sibling, the Qashqai+2, will go on sale in Britain next March with prices starting from £15,395 and £16,695 respectively. Both the standard and long-wheel base models benefit from a new nose job, revised LED tail lamps, improved aerodynamics, a new instrument cluster and a retuned suspension to further improve ride comfort and responsiveness.

What's more, ESP (electronic stability program) is now fitted as standard across the compact crossover's range. From the Acenta grade and above, Nissan has added a standard Speed Limiter while the Tekna trim-level gains a Bose speaker system. All equipment upgrades apply to both the Qashqai and Qashqai+2.

The 2010 model year also sees the addition of a new Pure Drive variant that is motivated by a 1.5-litre dCi diesel engine.

A weight reduction program and the adoption of aerodynamic wheel covers, combined with the blanking of the fog lamp sockets, the fitment of low rolling resistance tyres and the lengthening of the final drive ratio all work to reduce CO2 emissions from 137 to 129g/km. The Qashqai Visia Pure Drive is priced at £16,795.

2010 Nissan Qashqai : First Official Photos of Facelift Model

Nissan has given its European market compact crossover, the Qashqai, a mid-life makeover for 2010 to prolong its appeal to consumers. So what's new about the Qashqai? Well, first of all, most of the cosmetic changes concern the front end as hood, bumper, fenders, grille and headlights have all been revised giving the Qashai a much more aggressive look.

There are also two new exterior colors, revised tail lights with LED technology, and newly designed 17-inch alloy wheels.

These styling changes together with a series of other improvements are said to have reduced the Qashqai's drag coefficient from 0.34 to 0.33.

Inside, Nissan is promising new trims, better quality materials, reduced noise, vibration, and harshness levels, plus a revised instrument panel cluster with a new LCD screen.

Completing the upgrades is a retuned suspension that's said to further improve handling. The engine lineup remains unchanged.

Also new for the 2010 model year, is the introduction of an eco-friendly version called 'ECO Qashqai' that is powered by Nissan's (okay, Renault's) 1.5-liter turbo diesel engine.

Nissan said that this model benefits from a series of weight saving measures, aero tweaks, low rolling-resistance tires and longer gear ratios, to achieve 129 g/km CO2.

The new Qashqai will go on sale in Europe in Spring of 2010.

New Nissan Qashqai N-Tec with Tech-Savvy Upgrades

For 2009, Nissan is adding a new trim option to its UK bound Qashqai and Qashqai+2 (that's the seven-seater model) compact crossovers. Positioned between Acenta and Tekna grades, the n-tec trim level is available across all engines and transmissions. As the name suggests, the n-tec is all about tech-savvy goodies that include Nissan's Connect infotainment system that comprises color reversing camera, bluetooth connectivity, five-inch touch screen satellite navigation with 2D/3D map, CD with MP3/WMA playback, radio, AUX socket and USB port for full iPod connection.

Large 18-inch alloy wheels, a panoramic glass roof, rear privacy glass, satin silver roof rails and satin silver door handles along with an auto-dimming rear view mirror and silver alloy pedals complete the equipment package.

Prices for the n-tec models range from £17,645 for the Qashqai 1.6 to £24,295 for the Qashqai 2.0d 4WD Auto with first deliveries expected in early May.

2010 Nissan Qazana Small Crossover: Production Model Rendered

At this month's Geneva Motor Show, Nissan took off the covers on the Qazana, an out-of-space concept study that supposedly previews the design of an all-new sub-Qashqai small crossover that is bound to enter production at the company's Sunderland factory in the UK in 2010. While we can't say how close or far the concept is from reality, the folks over at Japan's Best Car magazine attempted to give us an idea of the production Qazana with this artist's impression.

Our take? For Nissan's sake, we sincerely hope that the actual production model will look much better than both the rendering and the concept study... For more information and eye-soring photos on the Qazana Concept, click here.

Photo: Best Car

Love it or Loathe it: Nissan Qazana Small Crossover Study

Supposedly previewing Nissan's new small crossover model that's expected in 2010, the Qazana made its first ever appearance at the Geneva Motor Show. It goes without saying the production model that will be built at the firm's Sunderland plant in the UK, will feature a much less dramatic design that the concept study. That said, don't expect to see the Qazana's suicide rear-doors or 20-inch alloys making it into production.

"The Qazana concept is an intelligent, all-wheel drive crossover which is masculine, agile, lean, and designed for the tough city streets," said Atsushi Maeda, Studio Chief Designer, Nissan Design Europe. "Our team at Nissan Design Europe (NDE) in London realized this image with the motif of a modern day beach buggy and four-seat motor-bike," Atsushi added.

Mixing SUV and a few sports car styling cues like the low roofline, the design proposal for a "baby" Qashqai is quite compact measuring 4,060mm in length (110mm longer than a Ford Fiesta but 277mm shorter than a Focus), 1,570mm in height, 1,780 in width and has a wheelbase of 2530mm.

Inside, Nissan claims that the shape of the centre console and armrest have been inspired by the fuel tank and seat of a sports motocycle. "I enjoy the sensation of being at one with my bike and wanted to capture that feeling in Qazana," said Paul Ray, senior interior designer at NDE. ""The way the structure appears through the fabric of the interior also reflects motorcycle design and construction."

The Japanese automaker did not reveal any information on the concept's mechanics other than it is equipped with the firm's next generation fully electronic ALL MODE four-wheel drive with torque vectoring system.