Which Nissan Qashqai trim depreciates the fastest?
Seeing as the second-generation Nissan Qashqai has been available in South Africa since 2014, it’s probably safe to assume that an all-new model is due soon. That doesn’t render the current model obsolete, though, and its most recent update (in 2018) ensured that Nissan’s popular crossover remains competitive. But which trim depreciates the fastest in the Qashqai range?
The Qashqai has been a remarkable success for Nissan, and proved to be a very prescient product: in an era when other manufacturers were still concentrating on compact sedans and hatchbacks, Nissan realised that the future really pointed towards crossovers.
With its first generation, the Qashqai proved that there’s a strong market for “soft-roader crossovers” in preference to the traditional body styles, and its successor cemented this with a sharper suit and modern technology. As a result, the Nissan Qashqai quickly established itself as a leader in this segment, and still pulls sustained strong sales figures even in the current model’s twilight years.
How does this popularity impact on the Qashqai’s resale value, and which variant holds onto its value the best? To determine which trim depreciates the fastest, we searched AutoTrader for used, 2018 model year Nissan Qashqais, and compared their averaged current prices to what they cost when new. We also calculated the percentage of its value it retained over this period.
Related: We review the Nissan Qashqai 1.2T, and it gave us very few reasons about which we could complain.
2018 Nissan Qashqai 1.2T Visia + Alloys
| New Price: | R346 700 |
| Average Current Price: | R247 739 |
| Value Retained: | 71.6% |
This was the entry-level Qashqai after the facelift, and could be specified with alloy wheels as an added-cost option. We only have one example without alloy wheels listed on site, which means that its resale value data would have been statistically irrelevant. However, the 71.6% value retention of the mag-wheel-shod derivative is quite disappointing for a car which was quite popular when new.
Perhaps used-car buyers desire a little more in terms of creature comforts, which may explain why this relatively barren spec level isn’t very popular in the pre-owned market. This does make for great used shopping, though, and can offer families a nearly-new, comfortable, and modern-looking crossover without breaking the bank.
2018 Nissan Qashqai 1.2T Acenta (manual)
| New Price: | R367 000 |
| Average Current Price: | R267 997 |
| Value Retained: | 73.0% |
Going up one step in the Qashqai hierarchy doesn’t result in a marked change regarding resale value, because the Acenta with a manual gearbox still retains only 73% of its original value. In fact, the average price difference of used 2018 1.2T Acentas, compared to Visia derivatives, almost exactly mirrors the premium commanded by the higher trim level when new.
2018 Nissan Qashqai 1.2T Acenta Plus AT (CVT)
| New Price: | R394 000 |
| Average Current Price: | R296 950 |
| Value Retained: | 75.4% |
Acenta Plus trim added some more standard features, and was only available with a constantly variable transmission. It performs slightly better in the resale value stakes, and retain 75.4% of its new value two years down the line. This is a really nice spec level, and the CVT is ideal for smooth progress in heavy traffic, which helps to explain why this derivative hangs onto its value slightly more effectively than the lower-spec (manual) cars.
2018 Nissan Qashqai 1.5 dCI Acenta
| New Price: | R394 000 |
| Average Current Price: | R288 924 |
| Value Retained: | 73.3% |
The least-expensive diesel Qashqai (available only with a manual gearbox and an identical engine specification across the range) performs only slightly better than its manual petrol counterpart does in the resale value game. Even the oldest of these should still have more than 3 years’ worth of warranty left for peace of mind, and although their service plans will be about to expire, there’s still a decent measure of peace of mind left for a used-car buyer.
This derivative is probably the pick of the range, because its Renault-sourced K9K turbodiesel is torquey and reasonably refined, as well as impressively fuel-efficient. Just be aware that this powertrain isn’t really ideally-suited to frequent short-distance commutes, because its diesel particulate (exhaust) filter needs to warm up properly to regenerate effectively.
Related: In this review, we show that the Nissan Qashqai 1.5 dCI has a secret weapon: superb fuel efficiency!
Analysis
It’s quite strange that a popular new car in a high-demand market segment could suffer such dramatic depreciation in only slightly more than two years. In all fairness, this fact is likely also mostly due to the proliferation of appealing used alternatives in this price bracket, which would necessarily put Qashqai value retention under pressure.
Age could be another factor, as this Qashqai generation is getting pretty elderly in car terms. With that said, it still has up-to-date technology inside and under the skin, a selection of capable engines, and doesn’t really look its age. Initial depreciation is bad new-car buyers, but it also means great-value shopping for used-car buyers. This makes a low-mileage used Qashqai a very good deal: buyers can get a very nice, fairly new car for very reasonable money – and a fair lick less than a new one would cost.
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