DO YOU remember the Suzuki X90? For the benefit of readers who missed it, the X90 was Japan's first attempt to offer a conventional car that looked like a 4x4 without any of the costly drawbacks.

That car was way ahead of its time.

When the X90 went on sale ten years ago, the British love affair with offroaders was in full swing. No-one wanted a pseudo-4x4 that only seated two people and couldn't have looked more effeminate if it had been painted Barbie pink and offered a free set of gold plated curling tongs for all the hairdressers who would want one.

It sank without a trace.

The success of off-road vehicles in this country has been based partly on their cool image -- once upon a time thousands of motorists bought into the macho 4x4 ideal despite never venturing further than the grass verge.

Being fashionable left off-roaders curiously exposed to the motoring public's changing tastes. Now global warming is a big issue, 4x4 drivers are leaving a trail of carbon footprints for car companies selling more ecofriendly vehicles.

Which leaves Nissan in a bit of a hole.

Apart from trad 4x4 specialists like Land Rover and Jeep, no other firm has adopted the 4x4 more than Nissan.

Just look at the range, Nissan offers an off-roader in just about every sector, from the X-Trail, to the workhorse Navara, pointless Patrol, beefy Pathfinder and the super luxury Murano.

More tellingly, these vehicles have replaced the Almera and the Primera in the company's mid-range portfolio and the QX at the luxury end of the market.

If the bottom falls out of 4x4s, Nissan had better have a plan B.

And this is it. The Qashqai looks like an off-roader (albeit of the softroader variety) but in reality most are poor on the slippery stuff.

I say most because Nissan, being Nissan, still couldn't resist the temptation to offer at least one full blown four-wheel drive variation on the theme sitting at the top of the range.

But what of the cheaper variations like the 1.5-litre dCi tested here? Is it still good enough to offer a real alternative to families downsizing in the name of saving the earth?

Interestingly, Nissan insists the Qashqai isn't meant to be taken seriously as an off-road vehicle. Company bosses have the VW Golf in mind when they talk about rivals.

To beat VW's icon the Qashqai will need to offer car-like driving dynamics and an excellent cabin that has been designed with maximum family functionality in mind.

It's in the latter area where the Nissan should come up trumps.

The tide may have turned against gas-guzzling 4x4s but owners still love them.

And with good reason. Mums can't get enough of the lofty driving position that sits them above the traffic and gives kids a great view out, or the big well-shaped boot that can swallow prams, pushchairs and a weekly shop without breaking into a sweat.

To drive a 4x4 is to feel safe and secure - two of the biggest features modern families look for when they buy a new car.

Externally the Qashqai has the pseudo off-roader thing licked. From some angles it looks a bit like a scaled down version of the VW Touraeg luxury off-roader.

For a range starting at less than £14,000, that's a good thing.

But the cabin is a different matter. First impressions aren't good.

Even before I'd started the engine I found myself staring aghast at the brown plastic chosen for the fascia top and the doors.

Brown? Who thought that a brown interior would be a good idea on a car like this? I thought the Qashqai was aimed at younger, trendier drivers. Precisely the sort of people who don't do brown in any shade.

Nissan refers to it as chocolate and orange trim.

Throughout this test it kept giving me Vietnam-style flashbacks to my dad's Austin Princess, the last car I can remember that had a brown interior colour scheme.

Thankfully other colours are available.

Otherwise the cabin is well made from decent quality materials and the layout is exemplary.

The big analogue clocks are easy to see and the chunky steering feels good. A smaller digital clock sits between them with read-outs for the fuel/temperature and trip.

There are buttons for the audio and Bluetooth telephone connection on the steering as well.

Off-roaders with their big, boxy dimensions always offer plenty of room. The Qashqai has generous headroom but legroom in the back is merely average. The roomy boot swallows 410-litres, comprehensively outclassing the VW Golf (350) and the Ford Focus (385) in the process.

The glovebox is linked to the air conditioning so it can act as a canned drinks cooler in summer.

Minus the chunky owners' manual it can hold 15 cans (two more than Nissan's previous recordholder, the Note) but once the manual is slid inside that capacity is more than halved. Still, there should be enough room for chilled drinks to slake all but the thirstiest of thirsts.

There are one or two cubby holders - a deep centre storage box and a sliding box beneath the passenger seat on Acenta and Tekna models - but the Qashqai doesn't go as far as a midi-MPV like the Vauxhall Zafira. The rear seats don't fold completely flat and there's no third row hidden in the boot.

The air conditioning controls sit below the audio in the fascia's central area. A dual system with separate controls for driver and passenger, the flow of air is easy to direct towards your face in warm weather. The fan is quiet, too, and it does a good job maintaining independent temperatures automatically. A vent on top of the dashboard directs a mild breeze towards the back of the cabin that's perfect for keeping kids cool.

With four engines available, two diesel and two petrol, the Qashqai seems to have all bases covered.

Unsurprisingly, Nissan expects a diesel to be the big seller, not the 1.5-litre option I tried.

A Renault design borrowed from, among others, the Clio supermini, the 1.5 dCi may be clean and frugal but where's all the power? Squeezed into a narrow band that doesn't start until 2,500rpm and ends little more than 1,000 revs later would appear to be the answer. Putting your foot down with less than 2,000rpm dialled in results in nothing more than an embarassed rattle.

It's not exactly quiet, either.

From cold there's a fearsome amount of din coming from beneath the bonnet and it never quite goes away. Cruising at 60mph is pleasant enough, though.

To be fair I think our example wasn't in the best of health. It had a persistent misfire in the mid-range that manifested itself when the Qashqai accelerated - a sign of fuel or electrical problems.

But with a maximum horsepower figure of just over 100bhp at 4,000rpm, even a healthy 1.5 would be facing an uphill struggle pulling a heavy car like the Qashqai. Acceleration to 62mph is 12.2 seconds but only if you ring the little four's neck.

The engine is then mated to a six-speed gearbox that suffers from that familiar Renault feeling of loose imprecision. You'll get used to it, but it's most assuredly not nice.

I suspect the larger 2.0-litre turbodiesel will be completely different - more power, more torque and greater refinement - and I'd be willing to save my money until I could afford one rather than make do with this weedy effort.

Still, at least it's reasonably frugal, stretching a gallon an average of 48 miles, but that's still short of even a 2.0-litre TDCi Focus, a car Nissan sees as a rival to the Qashqai. It's also shy of Nissan's claimed combined mpg of 52.3. I blame the deficit on the car's bluff aerodynamics and a heavy right foot.

How you judge the handling depends on how you see the car.

Compared to other small-ish softroaders, the Qashqai is exemplary, with well-contained body roll and decent ride comfort.

Stacked up against the Golf, though, it's a different story. The Qashqai feels softer, soggier, and the electric power steering is devoid of feel. The suspension delivers a disconcerting thump when the car goes over speed bumps too.

The Acenta trim level has a decent amount of standard kit. I like the leather steering, the ultrasonic rear parking aid, the folding door mirrors, the six-disc CD player and the cruise control.

I could, however, cheerfully live without rain-sensing wipers.

Families can be confident in the Qashqai's safety credentials.

Dual front, side and curtain airbags are all standard. Stability control is a £365 option on the 1.5 dCi. An insurance grouping of just five is a pleasant surprise, though.

SPECIFICATION

Engine: 4-cylinder 8-valve 1,461cc turbodiesel
Max power: 106PS @ 4,000rpm
Max torque: 240Nm @ 2,000rpm
Max speed: 108mph
0-62mph: 12.2 seconds
Fuel consumption on test: 48.2mpg
Insurance group: 5
Equipment: Rain sensors, parking sensors, auto lighting, cruise control, dual zone air conditioning, front fog lamps, alarm,brake assist, ISOFIX child seat fixing points, trip computer, speed sensitive auto locking.