The compact hybrid SUV segment sees the addition of two new entries this year, the Honda ZR-V e:HEV and the Nissan Qashqai e-Power. If our previous impression of the new generation Honda and Nissan hybrid drive systems in our CR-V vs X-Trail vs RAV4 comparison review was of any indication, both Honda and Nissan now have some of the best hybrid systems in the business, and capable of giving long-time hybrid maestro Toyota a run for its money.
Both hybrid variants of the ZR-V and Qashqai sit at the top of their respective line-ups, which include regular non-electrified petrol-powered models. Honda has recently gone with a hassle-free fixed pricing strategy for all their models and the ZR-V e:HEV is priced at $55,400 drive-away. The Qashqai e-Power is retailed at $52,090 which will bring it around the ZR-V’s drive-away pricing once on-road costs are factored in. In other words, these two can’t be any more closely matched in terms of pricing and specification. So, let’s get down to it.
Honda has upped their game big time in the styling department lately, as evident by the new Civic and CR-V. The ZR-V is no exception, blending bold design with understated elegance. Being a completely new nameplate and opening up a new category of SUV for Honda, the ZR-V brings about some never before seen styling elements to the table like the vertically slotted grille that is positioned low in the front bumper. The rear styling is more derivative but there’re nice touches such as those integrated exhaust outlets. Rolling on 18-inch polished alloy wheels the car looks classy and quite premium.
Nissan has taken a different approach with the Qashqai styling, focusing on sportiness instead. And it shows in every angle. The Qashqai looks sharp and confident, with Nissan’s ‘V-motion’ grille dominating the front fascia and lending to the rest of the design. From those angular headlights and the cuts in the front bumper to the floating roof design and large 19-inch alloy wheels, the Qashqai is one of the sportiest looking crossovers on the market.
On the inside, again the difference in design philosophy is evident. The ZR-V’s interior has a genuinely upmarket vibe to it, with sophistication and quality to boast. Indeed the switchgear are tactile and refined, the contrast stitching is neat and the leather is soft. This is one of the best Honda cabins we have seen in recent years and it really elevates the ZR-V’s status as one of the few semi premium offerings in the segment along with the Mazda CX-30.
The Qashqai’s cabin is more contemporary than that of the ZR-V but it too feels premium. There’s some really nice upholsteries around the upper dashboard and door trim, along with high quality textured trim pieces in the centre console and dashboard.
Both cabins have comfortable seating for five but the ZR-V’s seats are better contoured to the body and offer just slightly better comfort over longer trips. While the front seats in both cars are heated, the Qashqai goes a step further by offering massage function for both the front seats which is a really nice thing to have if you’re spending considerable time on the road. That said the ZR-V caters for rear passengers better with seat heating for the rear outboard seats. Both cars have heated steering wheel which is handy in those cooler months.
Being a slightly longer vehicle inherently means the ZR-V is more spacious on the inside than the Qashqai, especially in the rear where there’s noticeably more legroom. The Honda’s rear passenger floor is flatter as well thanks to a low centre hump. The rear windows are also larger which let in more natural light and further increase the sense of space.
Further back it’s the Qashqai that has the upper hand with a bigger boot at 452 litres compared to the ZR-V’s 370 litres of capacity. The Nissan also has further storage space under the boot floor which is handy to keep odd things out of sight. The Honda also has a small tub beneath the boot floor but it’s much smaller in size. With the rear seats folded the Qashqai again boasts more cargo space with 1376 litres of capacity at your disposal compared to the ZR-V’s 1302 litres.
Back in the cabin though the ZR-V is more practical as it has a storage tray under the drive selector which the Qashqai lacks. We like how shape of the centre console is pinched in the middle to allow easier access to the tray underneath. Both cars have good size cup holders at the front and behind the rear drop-down arm rest, as well as thick bottle holders in the doors.
In terms of tech, both cars are comprehensively equipped with key features expected of a range-topping grade but the Qashqai is a step ahead in specification. For instance, the Nissan’s digital driving instrumentation display is larger at 12.3-inch against the Honda’s 10.2-inch display. The Nissan display is also higher in clarity and more customisable.
It’s the same story with the centre infotainment touchscreen where the Qashqai’s 12.3-inch wide display triumphs over the ZR-V’s 9-inch screen. Both systems have built-in sat-nav, Bluetooth pairing and support wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto connectivity. Some of us in the evaluation team think the Qashqai’s interface is more intuitive while some others prefer the ZR-V’s simpler menu structure. It’s personal preference, but one thing we did notice on test was that the Qashqai’s wireless Apple CarPlay had a tendency to drop off momentarily when driving under electronic toll booths. It wasn’t the case with the ZR-V.
The Qashqai is further fitted with a 10.8-inch head-up display which the ZR-V lacks. It’s not something essential but very nice to have. Both top-spec cars gain punchy Bose premium surround sound systems though in this instance the ZR-V offers a more superior 12-speaker setup including subwoofer, 2 speakers more than the Qashqai’s 10-speaker arrangement.
Safety wise, it’s a close match with both models featuring essential driving aids including forward collision warning and mitigation, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, surround view camera and traffic sign recognition. Additionally, the Qashqai features reverse collision warning and mitigation, a feature lacking in the ZR-V which limits it to a 4-star ANCAP rating compared to the Qashqai’s full 5-star rating.
That said, when it comes to passive safety the ZR-V is the safer car with a total of 11 airbags including a front centre airbag, front knee airbags and front and rear side airbags. In comparison the Qashqai has 7 airbags including a front centre airbag.
As mentioned earlier, both Honda and Nissan have drastically improved their hybrid drivetrains in recent years. Both the ZR-V and Qashqai combine a combustion engine with an electric motor which gets its energy from a lithium-ion battery pack. The ZR-V’s engine is a 2.0-litre normally aspirated four-cylinder engine while the Qashqai utilises a 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine with Nissan’s variable compression ratio technology. Combined output for the ZR-V is rated at 135kW/ 315Nm while the Qashqai is slightly more powerful at 140kW / 330Nm.
Both models are front-wheel drive only, with the ZR-V driving through an electric continuously variable transmission (e-CVT) while the Qashqai uses an EV-style reduction gear.
While the hybrid setups may look similar on paper for both cars, the way they operate is quite different. The ZR-V’s e-HEV is a series-parallel hybrid system meaning either the engine or electric motors can drive the wheels independently or both can power the wheels together. However, unlike conventional hybrid system (like the one used by Toyota) the ZR-V’s engine can generate electricity for the electric motor to drive the wheels (without drawing from the battery) or the engine can directly drive the wheels.
The Qashqai’s e-Power is a series hybrid system where only the electric motor provides the drive, the engine is used solely as a generator to charge the batteries and never drives the wheels directly.
As a result, the cars drive quite differently as well. The ZR-V relies mostly on electric power in city or suburban driving. On the freeway it switches to engine power for most of the driving which is preferred as engine power is more efficient than electric power during high speed cruising. In either scenario both engine and electric motor can work together when more power is called for.
The e-CVT in the ZR-V has stepped ‘ratio’ to mimic that of a conventional torque converter automatic. It’s activated in Sport mode or during hard acceleration to give a feeling of connectedness and eliminate the ‘rubber band’ effect so fondly known of CVT. During normal driving, the CVT operates discretely in the background to optimise efficiency.
The Qashqai delivers a distinctively EV-like driving experience given the wheels are driven only by the electric motors. It has a sharper and more linear throttle response compared to the ZR-V. During normal driving it’s more quiet and refined as well, until the engine – which is essentially a generator – kicks in from time to time or during times of high power demand to recharge the batteries. This can happen anytime, even while idling. While the low frequency hum of the engine/generator isn’t unpleasant, you know when it’s fired up and when it’s switched off. It’s not the most discreet.
Both cars have very similar ride and handling characteristics, with excellent body control and plenty of traction despite being front-wheel driven. We find the Qashqai’s steering a little too light. The ZR-V’s tiller feels a lot nicer. The Honda also weights some 150kg less which translates to slightly better turn-in at the bends.
While the pair deliver good ride quality, the ZR-V is smoother around courser bitumen, partly thanks to the slightly softer suspension damping. However, road and tyre noise is better suppressed in the Qashqai, giving it quieter ride.
Fuel use is an important factor for hybrid cars and both models have excellent fuel efficiency. On the combined average, the ZR-V e:HEV is rated at 5.0L/100km while the Qashqai e-Power is a close match at 5.2L/100km. Our real world test figures aren’t far off either, with the Honda returning 5.1L/100km and the Nissan recording 5.2L/100km. The difference is that the ZR-V is happy with just RON91 fuel while the Qashqai requires RON95 premium unleaded.
Verdict
The Honda ZR-V and Nissan Qashqai are two of the best compact SUVs available today. And in hybrid form they offer remarkable efficiency as well. Choosing between the two comes down to the tiniest of details.
The Qashqai has the upper edge in cabin tech and features but the ZR-V makes up for it with a more spacious and practical cabin, better steering and sharper dynamics. For these attributes the ZR-V presents itself as the more favourable SUV of the pair, even if it’s just marginal.
2024 Honda ZR-V LX e:HEV | 2024 Nissan Qashqai Ti e-Power | |
Design and Comfort | 8.5 | 8.0 |
Performance and Handling | 7.5 | 7.5 |
Quality | 8.5 | 8.0 |
Economy | 8.5 | 8.5 |
Equipment and Features | 8.0 | 8.0 |
Overall | 41/50 | 40/50 |
Pricing and Specification
2024 Honda ZR-V LX e:HEV | 2024 Nissan Qashqai Ti e-Power | |
Price: | $55,400 drive-away | $52,090 excl. on-roads |
Warranty: | 5 years, unlimited km | 5 years, unlimited km |
Service Intervals: | 12 months, 10,000km | 12 months, 15,000km |
Country of Origin: | Japan | Japan; manufactured in United Kingdom |
Engine: | 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol: 135kW/ 315Nm | 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol: 140kW / 330Nm |
Transmission: | CVT auto | Reduction gear |
Drivetrain: | Front-wheel drive | Front-wheel drive |
Power-to-Weight Ratio (W/kg): | 86.8 | 82.4 |
Combined Fuel Consumption (L/100km): | Claimed: 5.0/Tested: 5.1 | Claimed: 5.2/Tested: 5.2 |
Fuel Capacity (L): | 57 | 55 |
Body: | 5-door SUV, 5-seats | 5-door SUV, 5-seats |
Safety: | 4-star ANCAP, 11 airbags, ABS, BA, EBD, ESC, Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist, Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, ISOFIX, surround view camera, speed sign recognition | 5-star ANCAP, 7 airbags, ABS, BA, EBD, ESC, Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist, Forward/Reverse Collision-Avoidance Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, ISOFIX, surround view camera, speed sign recognition |
Dimensions (L/W/H/W-B): | 4,568/1,840/1,620/2,655 | 4,425/1,835/1,625/2,665 |
Kerb Weight (kg): | 1,586 | 1,729 |
Entertainment: | 9-inch colour touchscreen, satellite navigation, AM/FM/DAB+, Bluetooth, USB, AUX, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, 12 speakers Bose premium audio | 12.3-inch colour touchscreen, satellite navigation, AM/FM/DAB+, Bluetooth, USB, AUX, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, 10 speakers Bose premium audio |