Apologies if this is a case of statin’ the bleedin’ obvious but the Nissan Qashqai+2 is so-called because it has two extra seats over the standard five-seat car.

Ordinarily, they double as the boot floor, but occasionally they’re raised for ferrying kids+friends between various homes, saving on a second trip. Once you’ve removed the boot cover, pulling the seatbacks up is straightforward, and involves simply inserting an index finger into the cloth tab and yanking up and back.

Getting into and out of the rearmost seats if you’re an adult, however, isn’t quite so easy. Both of the seats in the second row slide and tilt forward, allowing entry to the fixed third row, but you’ll need to have a certain amount of flexibility to clamber in and out. If you’re over about 5ft 10in tall you’ll probably knock your head on the roof, too, and will have to travel with your knees up around chest height. Saying that, though, the third row is comfortable (at least it was when I tried it when the car was parked up) and kids think sitting right at the back is a lot of fun. There’s even a power point for portable DVD players etc.

Nissan Qashqai 2 2.0 dCi Tekna
Mileage 8275
Claimed combined
consumption
35.7mpg
Our average consumption 36.1mpg
P11D price £22,970
Model price range £15,395-£25,630
CO2 (tax) 177g/km (26%)
BIK 20/40% per month £100/£199
Service interval 12,500mls
Insurance group 10
Warranty 3yrs/60,000mls
Boot space (min/max) 130/1520 litres
Engine size/power 1995cc/150PS
Top speed/0-62mph 118mph/10.9secs
Why we’re running it To be part of Nissan’s
Intelligent Driver Project
Positive Seating arrangement flexibility
Negative Alarm sounds mysteriously
after locking