If there's one thing to be thankful for
it's that Nissan Australia did not opt to stick with the European
branding when it introduced the crossover Dualis early in 2008. In
Europe the car is known as the Qashqai and is a runaway best-seller.
Even with the more acceptable Dualis moniker this cross between a
hatch and a soft-roader SUV has struggled to make an impact down
under.
Qashqai, by the way, is pronounced
`cash-kye'. Nissan was hoping to emulate the Qashqai success in
Australia, but unfortunately the Dualis is no cash-cow either. Which
is the reason mid-year it changed tactics and introduced Australia to
a 2WD variant of the vehicle, cutting the weight by 73 kg – the
Biggest Loser would be proud – at the expense of the no-doubt
little-used AWD system, and more importantly slashed the price. And,
as part of that strategy it's called the Dualis Hatch.
If price was an issue with the Dualis,
along with the heavy competition in the light SUV segment, then this
also explains why there's no diesel variant available in Australia.
An oil-burner usually adds a couple of big ones to the bottom line,
and right now Dualis needs sales and they are sticking with the 2.0
petrol engine. In Europe Qashqai – Gee, I dislike that name –
comes with two diesels a 2.0 litre and a 1.5 litre. The vehicle is
built in England.
There are now four variants in a simple
Australian line-up. The entry-level 2WD Dualis ST starts at $24,990,
the Ti takes that to $27,990 while the AWD versions are $26,990 for
the ST and $29,990 for the Ti. At launch in March 2008 the AWD Dualis
ST was $28,990 and the Ti $33,990. These prices do not include taxes
and dealer delivery charges. Our test car this week was the 2WD
version in Ti garb and fitted with the optional CVT auto transmission
which adds $2500 to the ticket for all variants, meaning our Ti was
$29,490. So for those looking at the bargain basement, the new ST
variant with an also new six-speed manual is the go at $24,990, plus
on-roads.
In recent months we have tested a lot
of cars with the latest incarnations of CVT (continuously variable
transmission) and have come to the opinion they bear little
resemblance to the original units of a decade ago. Thank goodness.
The CVT in the Dualis is smooth to the point of seamless in normal
driving conditions and offers a manual shifter which operates, as far
as the driver is concerned, like a manual option in most autos. The
benefit of CVT is that is optimises economy. Nissan claim 8.3
litres/100 km from the Ti CVT and with normal around-town commuting
we managed 8.1 litres/100 km. On our normal test run which involves a
little more enthusiastic driving and some steep hills we returned 8.9
litres/100.
There is no real difference in
appearance between the 2WD and 4WD variants of Dualis. It is a fairly
benign design. Nothing to really like and nothing to really dislike.
Nissan's concept was to take a hatch-back – the modern equivalent
of the old station-wagon – and give it some of the benefits of a
soft-roader: ie – some height to the driving position for a better
outlook and all-wheel-drive.
While the safety benefits of all wheel
drive are real, they are now less relevant with the widespread
introduction of dynamic stability control systems and the case of the
Dualis it uses Vehicle Dynamic Control. So the loss of AWD in our
test car was no great loss at all for a car that will in most cases
be bought and used as a city-dweller. We suspect most people will
rarely take this car off-road, and if they do, it will probably be a
well-made gravel road. Both the 2WD and AWD have good ground
clearance, a major factor for any car that MAY happen to scrub the
wax off the tyres in a yearly visit to a National Park picnic spot.
Inside the Dualis Ti is much like the
external appearance. Functional but bland. Lots of black upholstery,
round air-con vents and instruments, leather trim for the seats and
steering wheel. Other Ti add-ons include heated front seats, 6 CD in
dash changer, steering wheel audio controls, Bluetooth hands free
integration with steering wheel controls, auto headlights, rain
sensing wipers, front fog lamps, front passenger under seat strorage,
rear seat armrest, sliding front armrest and drive computer.
Dualis is easy to live with and has
good driver ergonomics. The driver's pew has height adjustment and
we really liked the driving position from the point of both
instrument and control logistics and the external view. The front
seats are comfortable, but we found the rear seats a little firm and
the rear seat cannot be inclined without compromising leg space.
There are front and rear bottle holders, storage space in the doors
and for rear seat passengers, storage in the back of the front seats.
The rear seats have a 60/40 split fold
and when in the stored position increase the cargo area from a
healthy 410 litres to a mini-ballroom of 1513 litres. Enough room, as
we found out, to carry a double sofa bed, albeit a smallish one. With
a host of safety gear the Dualis has a five star ANCAP safety rating
which gives assurance to those most likely to park one in the
driveway: couples with young families.
Like the car's appearance, the driving
experience is fairly benign. Which means it has no bad habits other
than the usual amount of understeer for a front wheel drive when
heading fast into sharp turns. We took the Dualis over our usual
series of test roads and were rather impressed with the car's turn-in
at speed on no-so-sharp bends. Not even a sign of tyre squeal and the
body roll was minimal for a vehicle that sits as high as Dualis. In
fact, the ride and comfort levels are more car-like than soft-roader
which underscores Nissan's choice of calling the 2WD a hatch. Dualis
shares it's architecture with X-Trail off-roader, but the handling is
quite different and more attune to a family-friendly car.
As mentioned the CVT is quite a
revelation and is basically seamless apart from when you put the foot
to the floor. You then get some engine noise intrusion in the cabin,
but without the experience of feeling the clutch is slipping while
the engine revs it's way to a coronary. The car is nippy, assisted no
doubt by the reduced weight, after all 73 kg is the same as carrying
around another adult. We also liked the manual shifter. This works by
simply shifting the lever across and pushing back to go down a cog
and forward to upshift. The engine seems far more nimble in this
mode, and of course there are the benefits of engine/transmission
braking when descending steep hills.
MODEL
RANGE
Hatch 2.0 Ti $27,990
AWD 2.0 ST $26,990
(Add $2500 for CVT transmission)
FEATURES
ABS
Brakes: standard
Air
Conditioning: standard
Automatic
Transmission: optional
CD
Player: standard
Central
Locking: standard
Cruise
Control: standard
Dual
Front Airbags: standard
Front
Side Airbags: standard
Stability
Control: standard
traction
control: standard
SPECIFICATIONS
ENGINE:
petrol
Capacity:
2.0 litres
Configuration:
4 in line
Head
Design: DOHC 24 valve
Compression
Ratio: 10.1:1
Bore/Stroke:
84 mm x 90.1 mm
Maximum
Power: 102 kW @ 5200 rpm
Maximum
Torque: 198 Nm @ 4400 rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven
Wheels: front
Manual
Transmission: Six speed
Automatic
Transmission: CVT 6 speed
Final
Drive Ratio: 4.687 (m) 6.466 (CVT)
DIMENSIONS,
WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length:
4315 mm
Wheelbase:
2630 mm
Width:
1783 mm
Height:
1606 mm
Turning
Circle: 10.6 metres
Kerb
Mass: 1465 kg
Fuel
Tank Capacity: 65 litres
Towing
Ability: 1200 kg (kg with braked trailer)
SUSPENSION
AND BRAKES:
Front
Suspension: MacPherson strut
Rear
Suspension: Independent multi-link
Front
Brakes: Disc
Rear
Brakes: Disc
PERFORMANCE:
0-100
km/h Acceleration: n/a
FUEL
CONSUMPTION:
Type:
RON 91
Combined
Cycle (ADR 81/01): 8.3 L/100km
GREEN
VEHICLE GUIDE RATINGS:
Greenhouse
Rating: 6.5 /10
Air
Pollution Rating: 6.5 /10
STANDARD
WARRANTY:
3
years/ 100,000 km
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