You would have thought over the years that Nissan would have decided to play it cool and claim sort of inspired genius in foreseeing the success of the Qashqai, but one look at the rest of the range tells you that it wasn't expected because the company hasn't replicated that success nearly as well elsewhere.
Fortunately the Qashqai's success continues apace, although Nissan must have been quite nervous doing the obligatory mid-life facelift for the car. So many competitors have now muscled their way into Nissan's SUV niche - the Skoda Yeti, the Peugeot 3008, the Ford Kuga - and do bits of the lifestyle crossover thing better than Nissan managed with the Qashqai that the pressure is on.
The Japanese manufacturer has played it safe, however, giving the car a subtle refresh rather than a comprehensive overhaul. The changes maintain the Qashqai's good looks and beef up the front end somewhat, to positive effect.
The focus for the facelift has really been in improving the Qashqai's comfort levels - the suspension is much better at soothing out bumps in the road and there is better sound-proofing throughout the car which gives a much more refined impression than the pre-facelift version.
Handling remains taut, which will continue to attract drivers less keen on the vague steering of rivals. The key to the crossover experience is that the cars aren't the same size as the normal 4x4-aping SUVs but still provide a vantage point over normal-sized cars. It makes it much easier to achieve more car-like handling. Even so, Nissan has done great things with the Qashqai, the tight body control belying the car's height and weight.
You have to constantly keep bearing in mind, however, those virtues of the smaller crossover - the Qashqai certainly doesn't provide the same amount of room as one of its full-size SUV rivals. The Qashqai was designed as a rival to family hatchbacks like the Ford Focus and VW Golf. It's not as well-finished as those cars, but certainly is as roomy. There's the long wheelbase version too, if you need room for a couple of extra kids.
The competition is priced very keenly, but the Qashqai does represent good value and comes quite well-equipped with air con, Bluetooth and MP3 connectivity and Isofix points as standard. The 1.5-litre dCI diesel unit is still the choice engine, with usable torque and excellent economy.