THE Nissan Qashqai is getting a major upgrade as the British-built top seller receives a significant mid-life makeover.

It's more than three years since the third generation Qashqai was launched and it has sold more than 350,000 units in Europe with 43,321 sales in Britain last year alone.

That placed the Sunderland-made Qashqai second in the UK new car league and just some 6,000 units off the top spot.

With bold changes to the exterior styling and updates to the infotainment and connected services on-board, the new model comes with a cleaner and more streamlined look.

The front grille has been comprehensively updated and is inspired by the patterns of ancient Japanese armour scales.

It now consists of dozens of high gloss, three dimensional comma-shaped elements painted in high gloss black paint which appear to float in the space between the lip of the bonnet and the numberplate holder.

To the sides of the central portion, they form a triangular shape from the new headlights down to a point to the side of the numberplate and they are finished in a satin chrome hot foil stamp, on the top grade model.

The flanks of the bumper are body coloured and a strip of black in a high-gloss finish runs below the numberplate to the lower corners of the bumper.

Underneath the cooling aperture, there is a thin body-coloured chin strap.

New headlights now feature an adaptive high beam module complemented by a smaller unit for wider beam distribution which Nissan says is useful for increased visibility in low-light conditions and fog.

Below the main lens the daytime running lights consist of five small lenses which are the same shape as the commas of the main grille. The upper daytime running light element becomes the turn indicator when activated and, for the first time, features sequential turning lights according to the trim grade.

At the rear, the shape of the lights remains unchanged but the composition of the lights within the unit has been redesigned.

The red lighting elements now consist of four individual elements which echo the shape of the front grille commas and appear to float.

The bumper has been reshaped and now features harmonised colour - either gloss black on the higher grade versions or body coloured on a new N-Design grade. When viewed in profile, higher grades benefit from a new gloss black finish on the body beneath the doors and wheel arches.

Inside, on N-Design and Tekna+ specifications, there is a new application of Alcantara on the dashboard, door inserts, door armrests, centre storage console lid and in the knee pads.

There's also new trim in the centre console around the gear selector and the decoration insert between the upper dashboard and glovebox as well as updated seat trims.

The seats on the N-Design grade feature black leather with quilting, and Alcantara inserts, with an embossed Qashqai wordmark on the section just below the headrest.

Another new dimension is the addition of ambient lighting on N-Connecta, N-Design grades and above with red/green/blue LEDs located to allow the driver or passenger to personalise the interior lighting according to their own mood.

On the two top grades, the LEDs are also located in the rear so all occupants can enjoy the effect.

The ambient lighting settings can be controlled via the central infotainment screen.

There are technological changes to the car's Around View Monitor and when reverse is selected, the view of four external cameras is combined to give a bird's-eye view of the vehicle for parking manoeuvres.

The updgraded AVM uses four cameras to deliver a super clear view in all light conditions and now features a 3D function allowing the driver to see the car not only from above but alsoselect one of eight different external camera viewpoints to visualise the car from the front, rear, sides or corners to potentially identify any unseen exterior hazards.

It works in tandem with Nissan's Moving Object Detection system, which sounds an alert when it perceives a moving object in the proximity of the vehicle while a feature known as "invisible hood view" allows the driver to see the position of the front wheels as if looking at them from just behind, which enables them to manoeuvre in tight locations, such as multi-story car park where there are concrete curbs which would damage a wheel.

Another new smart AVM feature is Parking Spot Location Memory which allows the driver to save frequently visited parking locations so the car will automatically recognise the location using GPS. When this happens, the car will remember the precise position to allow parking each time - particularly useful when the available space is a tight fit.

The AVM tech can be used to help drivers make a safe entry from a difficult exit onto a road where visibility is limited. It uses a wide-angle front camera to show the view from the front of the bonnet, projected onto the central screen. Like the parking memory function, locations with limited visibility can be stored in AVM's GPS memory, so it will automatically activate close tothe junction.

Design changes have been made to the visuals that are displayed on the TFT driver information screen behind the steering wheel. The design of the dials on display changes to red in Sport mode, to green in Eco mode or to pale grey in standard mode - in both normal or ‘enhanced' view mode.

There is now a ‘minimal' mode which reduces the potential distraction for drivers by displaying only the selected gear, drive mode and speed. For e-POWER equipped Qashqais, the energy flow display is now available in normal view mode.

On the driver assist front the autonomous emergency braking functions have been recalibrated to sharpen its risk detection and to react more quickly in case of possible collision. This applies to front emergency brake, pedestrian front emergency brake, front emergency brake cyclist, and intelligent emergency brake functions.

The emergency lane keep system is now automatically activated on starting the car and it triggers the operation of both lane departure warning and lane departure prevention systems at speeds above 37mph. It consists of a haptic warning via a vibration through the steering wheel when the system detects the car is too close to either the central lines or the side of the road.

The intelligent speed assistance system which helps the driver to adapt the vehicle system to the prevailing speed limit has been upgraded and it will now sound an alarm if speed is not reduced.

A Driver Assist Custom Mode allows drivers to tailor the precise level of intervention from the different assistance technologies according to their preferences.

The refreshed Qashqai is the first vehicle in Nissan's European range with Google built-in and the updated Qashqai is available with Google Maps and, once signed-in, with a personal Google Account drivers can access their favourite locations and points of interest. Over the air updates ensure the map information is always current.

As before two powertrain options will be available - a mild-hybrid and Nissan's e-POWER variant - and with the dropping of the entry-level Visia trim it is likely that starting prices for the new Qashqai will be closer to £30,000.