The Qashqai scored 37 points, which is almost 100%, giving it the highest marks ever for adultoccupant protection. The five-star rating covers front, side and pole impact assessments. It scored four stars for child-occupant protection and two stars in the pedestrian safety test.

The newest Nissan has been a huge sales success and has sold out here. Orders are now stockpiling for the next arrivals which will come from the September schedule.

To widen the Qashqai appeal Nissan has decided to add a longwheelbase version with seven seats.

A spoksman said: "We are looking at a few things with the Qashqai and the long-wheelbase is the most likely to go into production."

The bigger version will allow Nissan to compete in the compact MPV market and the hope is that it may tempt motorists out of bigger seven-seater rivals.

It is understood that Nissan is also considering re-introducing the Navara as a flat-bed as some customer feedback indicates that the current model is too luxurious and does not look rugged enough.