Nissan Qashqai e-POWER sets 1,980km one-tank record — but don’t treat it as everyday fuel economy
The Nissan Qashqai e-POWER has just produced the kind of number that is almost guaranteed to grab attention: 1,980km in Colombia without external charging, earning a Guinness World Records title in the process.
The achievement is real, but it needs context. Nissan Colombia says the run was completed between 14 and 17 July under controlled driving and acceleration conditions. In other words, this was a record attempt designed to explore the efficiency limits of the powertrain, not a promise that every owner can expect nearly 2,000km from a tank in normal use.
A genuine record, but not a standard economy test
Nissan Colombia’s official page displays the Guinness World Records certificate and confirms the 1,980km result. Reports on the attempt say the route ran from Bogotá towards Colombia’s Caribbean coast and included highways, urban traffic, mountain roads and different weather conditions.
What Nissan has not published in full is equally important: average speed, passenger load, number of stops and final average fuel consumption. The company does state that the vehicle was driven with controlled acceleration and within permitted road speeds.
That means the 1,980km figure is best understood as an efficiency record under a specific set of conditions. It should not be compared directly with WLTP figures or with what an owner might see on a normal commute or interstate journey.
Why e-POWER is different from a conventional hybrid
e-POWER can be confusing because it has both a petrol engine and an electric motor, yet the basic layout is different from many conventional hybrids.
In Nissan’s system, the wheels are driven by the electric motor. The petrol engine’s primary job is to generate electricity for the motor and battery. That gives the car an EV-like response without requiring the driver to plug it in.
The latest third-generation e-POWER system takes that concept further with a new 5-in-1 electric-drive module that integrates the motor, reducer, inverter, increaser and generator. Nissan also uses engines designed specifically around power-generation duty, with the aim of improving efficiency, refinement and noise levels.
The less dramatic numbers are more useful to owners
For a better idea of everyday efficiency, the official standard figures are more relevant than the record. Nissan UK currently lists the latest Qashqai e-POWER at around 4.3 to 4.5L/100km on the combined WLTP cycle, depending on grade, while also warning that real-world results vary with weather, load, driving style and road conditions.
Nissan also ran a separate real-road test in Tasmania earlier this year. That Qashqai e-POWER covered more than 1,300km on one tank and averaged 4.5L/100km over steep climbs, coastal roads and highway sections.
Those figures are far less spectacular than 1,980km, but they are much more useful when judging what the technology can realistically deliver outside a record attempt.
Why this matters in Malaysia
The Qashqai itself has not been confirmed for Malaysia, but e-POWER is already part of Nissan’s local line-up. The KICKS e-POWER is currently priced from RM113,800, while the Serena e-POWER starts from RM154,800.
Nissan Malaysia is also expanding the technology further. The X-Trail e-POWER x e-4ORCE was shown at KLIMS 2026, with a Malaysian launch confirmed for the fourth quarter of this year.
The important caveat is that not every e-POWER model uses the same generation of hardware. The latest Qashqai’s third-generation system should not be treated as mechanically identical to the KICKS or Serena sold here today. What they share is the core idea: the petrol engine generates electricity while the electric motor provides the drive.
That concept has an obvious appeal in a market like Malaysia, where long-distance driving is common and the public charging network is still developing. It offers electric-motor driving characteristics without asking owners to change their refuelling habits.
The 1,980km headline is excellent marketing, but the more important story is that Nissan still sees a strong role for series-hybrid technology. For Malaysia, where buyers regularly make long interstate trips and charging access is still uneven, e-POWER may be easier to understand than a full EV transition: the car feels electric at the wheels, but the energy still comes from a fuel tank.
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