The new Nissan Qashqai will be a very different hybrid | FOS Future Lab

The secret is what Nissan calls e-Power. It’s a petrol-electric hybrid but of the range-extender type – so the petrol motor is there only to charge up the batteries and is not connected to the wheels.

While it is a “self-charging” system it is quite different from the Toyota/Lexus hybrid drivetrain, with the promise of being more electric for more of the time and with a distinct electric-car feel in the driving. Think of it as less Toyota Prius and more Nissan Leaf, but with nothing to plug in.

The news, revealed today, represents a major technology step for one of the most significant British-built cars of the past two decades. More than three million Qashqais have been sold in Europe (and five million globally) since the first one came out in 2007. Like previous models, this new third-generation Qashqai has been largely designed and developed (and will be built) in Britain.

“The new Qashqai is going to change what customers can expect from a family car,” says Nissan Europe chairman Gianluca de Ficchy. “Comfort, refinement and technology will be from higher categories of car, while we feel that customers will fall in love with the feeling of an electric powertrain, without the range concerns.”

Going the range-extender route is something of a surprise. We have had them before – remember the Vauxhall Ampera? – but the latest Nissan e-Power system brings the idea up to date, so much so that Nissan doesn’t use the expression. e-Power Nissans have been offered in Japan before but this is the first time we are getting one here.

How does e-Power work? Drive to the wheels – either just the two front ones or all four – is by way of an electric motor (or two, for the four-wheel-drive version) of the power and size typical of today’s pure electric cars. The motor is powered by a high-output lithium-ion battery, likely to be larger than a mild hybrid’s battery but far smaller (and lighter) than that of a car powered solely by batteries.

That is possible because rather than having to be plugged in, charging up occurs automatically onboard thanks to a generator that’s driven by the petrol motor. This motor only cuts in as and when needed and automatically runs at optimum rpm for best efficiency.

It all sounds very different but the great likelihood is you will never know it to look at the car. The engine will be under the bonnet as usual and Nissan is promising the same proportions and cabin layout and space as the current model, along with the chunky high-riding look that has defined the Qashqai since it first introduced the idea of a compact crossover in 2007. Expect design niceties such as intelligent LED headlights and active shutters in the front grille.

 While the look promises to be very familiar the e-Power model should offer a completely different Qashqai driving experience, with the instant torque and linear acceleration of a pure electric car. Nissan says that during hard acceleration the petrol motor has been “tuned to provide a natural, connected feel”.

As well as the e-Power, Nissan says it will offer a mild hybrid version. That’s where the petrol engine – which for this model is connected to the wheels – gets a mild electric helping hand. Expected to be the entry model, it uses an updated version of the carryover 1.3-litre engine with an integrated starter-generator to support stop-start and coasting functions, as well as providing a small torque boost. Systems like this are now common but usually 48-volt, not the 12-volt that Nissan is using. Nissan says the 1.3-litre will be available in two power outputs, though full spec details for this, and the e-Power version, are yet to be confirmed.

Whatever the version, the new Qashqai sits on a platform, dubbed CMF-C, being used for a European model for the first time. Over the outgoing model, it is stiffer (by 41 per cent), lighter (by 60kg) and has a flat floor, true electric car style, as well as being able to support the duality of hybrid powertrains. Aluminium is used for doors, bonnet and bumpers, saving 21kg, and for the first time the tailgate is composite.

Nissan is promising the new Qashqai will have a smoother, quieter ride and be just as good to drive. Steering and suspension updates include a new multi-link rear end and 20-inch wheels on the four-wheel-drive versions; Nissan says this model will have a best-in-segment balance between ride comfort and dynamic response. Two-wheel drivers get 19-inch rims and a torsion beam rear axle as before, but with new springs and dampers to improve the ride.

The Qashqai has always been in the forefront of driver assistance systems and the new one gets the next generation of Nissan’s ProPilot, this time linking to the navigation so it can read the road ahead and including features like autonomous braking in stop-start traffic among a wide range of safety-assists.

From the day it first appeared 14 years ago, the Qashqai has always been something of a pioneer. The Toyota RAV4 might have been the first compact “recreational” SUV but the Sunderland-built Qashqai took the idea into a whole new crossover area. It was an instant hit and from being in a class of one Nissan now says it has 26 direct competitors.

In such a crowded field, Nissan is pulling out all the stops to ensure its new baby really stands out. We will know for sure when the newcomer arrives next spring.

Welcome to FOS Future Lab where we report on the latest visions of future technology. We'll be boldly covering flying cars, hoverboards, jetpacks and spaceships with plenty of down to earth topics in between.