Nissan Qashqai e-Power: a full lap of Tasmania on a single tank and 4.5 l/100 km

The Nissan Qashqai e-Power has covered 1,300 km around Tasmania on a single tank of fuel. The route mixed mountain stretches, coastal switchbacks, highways and rural roads, with average consumption settling at 4.5 l/100 km.

The key feature of e-Power is that the petrol engine isn’t mechanically linked to the wheels. A 1.5-litre turbo unit works purely as a generator, topping up the battery alongside regenerative braking, while the front wheels are turned only by an electric motor. The result feels close to an EV, but without the need to hunt for a charger on a long trip.

System output stands at 190 hp and 330 Nm. Acceleration to 97 km/h takes 7.5 seconds, with top speed capped at 170 km/h. The battery is small — 2.1 kWh of total capacity and around 1.8 kWh usable. That’s why the Qashqai doesn’t pretend to be a full EV: on battery alone it manages only 2–3 km at low speed before the petrol engine fires back up to generate power.

For buyers, the appeal of this layout is consistency. In town the crossover sets off and drives on electric power most of the time, and on the highway it doesn’t demand long charging stops. Compared with pure EVs it’s a less radical but calmer option for drivers who clock up plenty of miles between cities.

This is already the second long-distance test for the Qashqai e-Power. Earlier the crossover completed the Land’s End to John O’Groats route in the UK, covering 1,347 km on one tank with consumption of 3.76 l/100 km and still showing roughly 160 km of range at the finish.

The Qashqai e-Power doesn’t promise magic. It simply shows that a hybrid works not only on paper, but also on long routes with varied terrain where treating power sockets as mandatory along the way is best avoided.