Nissan Replaces 150HP 2.0L Diesel with New 130HP 1.6L Diesel in Qashqai

A new and more fuel-efficient but also less powerful 1.6-liter turbo diesel engine is taking the place of the 2.0-liter diesel in the European lineup of the Qashqai and its longer, seven-seat sibling, the Qashqai+2.

The new 1.6-liter diesel delivers 130-horsepower and 320Nm (236 lb-ft) of torque from 2,000rpm to only 1,750rpm, compared to 150HP and 320Nm at 2,000 rpm of the outgoing 2.0 dCi engine.

Nissan says the downsized engine delivers better fuel economy and lower emissions but has the same levels of torque and top speed as the 2.0-litre dCi engine it replaces.

However, aside from announcing a 6.29-second time for the acceleration from 30 to 50mph (50-80km/h) which is faster than the 2.0 dCi, the Japanese company did not release any other performance figures.

In the combined cycle, the Qashqai 1.6 dCi returns 4.9lt/100km (57.7mpg UK or 48mpg US), an improvement of 1.0lt or +9.8mpg UK over the 2.0 dCi (2WD, manual) with CO2 emissions of 129g/km (2.0 dCi: 155 g/km).

Early next year, Nissan will launch a version of the model fitted with a Stop / Start System, which will help further reduce CO2 emissions to 119 g/km and reduce fuel consumption to or 4.5lt/100km (62.8mpg UK).

"This is a remarkable engine, best in class in so many respects. It provides the dynamic driving performance which matches that of the outgoing 2.0-litre dCi yet produces fuel consumption and emission figures equal to or better than our existing 1.5-litre dCi unit," said Paul Willcox, Senior Vice President, Nissan Europe.

Sales of the new Qashqai and Qashqai+2 1.6 dCi will start in October.

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Carlos Ghosn Hints at a GT-R Based Infiniti…Sort Of

Nissan’s luxury offspring, Infiniti, already has a sports car, the G37 coupe. But lately there has been a lot of talk about cooperating with Red Bull now that the latter is considering entering the car-making business.

In addition, Nissan’s boss, Carlos Ghosn, is teasing us with a rather exciting prospect: an Infiniti version of the amazing Nissan GT-R. At least that’s what he hinted at during an interview in CAR magazine.

The two companies belong to the same group, so platform and parts sharing is common practice these days and Infiniti could definitely use a halo model to combat the M’s and AMG’s of this world. The Essence concept would be a great idea for coating the GT-R's hardware with a sexier outfit.

Like all CEOs, Ghosn was being coy: “If you ask me ‘are we going to do that’, I would say ‘no, I don’t think so’. But if your question is ‘could we do that, I would say ‘yes’. The idea of using existing technologies on the body of an Infiniti… All technologies developed for Nissan are available to Infiniti”.

So, he didn’t say they will do it, by he didn’t deny it either. Chances are they won’t, at least not now, as Infiniti has other priorities: “I think we need to go step by step” says Ghosn. “We have the FX, the M, the G. Then we have the high-end 4x4 QX in the US. We have the electric car and a sub-G smaller car coming”.

No GT-R Infiniti dreams, then? “The idea makes sense. The technology and platform are readily available. The GT-R is a great car. Is it a project now? No. But I don’t want to give you the impression we’ll never do that. But don’t think it’s coming in the next two or three years”.

It’s okay, Mr. Ghosn. We can wait a little longer…

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Slick Thieves Ride Off with a…Dozen Brand-New Nissans in Canada!

Unless you are enjoying a Fast and Furious flick on the couch, in real life, you rarely hear about car thieves stealing a bunch of vehicles from the same owner.

Yet this happened in the Canadian city of Calgary where some very slick bandits made off with not one, not two but a dozen (!) brand new vehicles from a local Nissan dealership.

The Calgary police said that the thieves broke in the Sunridge Nissan dealership on Sunday , July 24, and stole the keys from 20 different models including sedans, SUVs and trucks, but managed to drive away with "only" 12 vehicles.

"During that break and enter we had 20 keys taken. A subsequent inventory of the vehicles on the lot revealed 12 vehicles were missing," Staff Sergeant Patrick Ochitwa told the local media.

It is estimated that value of the stolen vehicles is somewhere around CA$361,000. According to the local police, all 12 models have been flagged and cannot be registered.

If you're wondering what kind of cars the thieves managed to steal, check out the list below:

2011 Nissan Titan (White)

2011 Nissan Pathfinder (White)

2011 Nissan Titan (White)

2011 Nissan Titan (White)

2011 Nissan Titan (White)

2011 Nissan Frontier (Silver)

2012 Nissan Altima (Black)

2012 Nissan Altima (Black)

2012 Nissan Altima (Brown)

2011 Nissan Titan (Black)

2011 Nissan Rogue (Dark Grey)

2011 Nissan Rogue (White)

Story Source: CTV via VWvortex

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