The updated 2010 Qashqai and its seven-seater sibling, the Qashqai+2, will go on sale in Britain next March with prices starting from £15,395 and £16,695 respectively. Both the standard and long-wheel base models benefit from a new nose job, revised LED tail lamps, improved aerodynamics, a new instrument cluster and a retuned suspension to further improve ride comfort and responsiveness.

What's more, ESP (electronic stability program) is now fitted as standard across the compact crossover's range. From the Acenta grade and above, Nissan has added a standard Speed Limiter while the Tekna trim-level gains a Bose speaker system. All equipment upgrades apply to both the Qashqai and Qashqai+2.

The 2010 model year also sees the addition of a new Pure Drive variant that is motivated by a 1.5-litre dCi diesel engine.

A weight reduction program and the adoption of aerodynamic wheel covers, combined with the blanking of the fog lamp sockets, the fitment of low rolling resistance tyres and the lengthening of the final drive ratio all work to reduce CO2 emissions from 137 to 129g/km. The Qashqai Visia Pure Drive is priced at £16,795.