How many types of Nissan cars are there?

You’ll find four main types of Nissan cars available – hatchbacks, SUVs, sports cars and electric cars. That’s not including its commercial vehicle division, which offers the Navara pickup truck and several vans. However, Nissan no longer sells the Micra hatchback or its sports cars in the UK, so now it’s SUVs or electric cars only.

What is Nissan’s midsize car?

The evergreen Qashqai is Nissan’s midsize car, sitting right between the smaller Juke and the larger X-Trail. It’s just the right size for a family or for four adults, yet is compact enough that it’s easy to park and manoeuvre.

What is the smallest Nissan model?

In the UK, the smallest Nissan model is the Micra – although this is no longer in production. Now, the brand’s smallest model is the Juke, which measures in at 4.2 metres long.

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Nissan SUV and car model range explained

• 3 min read

Ben Custard

Content Editor

Ben is a Content Editor at Motorpoint. He's written for Top Gear and Auto Express, and has written a book. He likes hot hatches, estates and weird Japanese cars

Nissan might be a Japanese company, but its cars are perfectly suited to life on UK roads. Its core models are built here, up in Sunderland, and the model range has been designed and honed in Europe.

The company has huge bandwidth – it can create big-selling superminis like the Micra, enduringly popular SUVs, electric cars and vans, pickup trucks and thrilling sports cars. If you’re not sure which Nissan is best for you, our handy guide will make it easy to pick your next car.

Nissan hatchback range
Nissan SUV range
Nissan electric car range

Hatchbacks

Nissan Micra

The Nissan Micra is a grown-up, refined supermini with sharp styling and a smart interior. It offers fantastic value for money, with used examples often undercutting equivalent rivals like the Ford Fiesta or Volkswagen Polo. There are a whole host of trim levels, most with desirables like a reversing camera and Apple CarPlay, plus an efficient 1.0-litre engine. Look out for the 71hp version of this engine for group 1 insurance and low premiums.

Shop used Nissan Micra cars for sale or read our Nissan Micra review

SUVs

Nissan Juke

A household name for its out-there styling, the latest Juke still looks the part but is now more practical and sophisticated. It’s a better car, in other words, and is certainly worth considering against rival small SUVs like the Peugeot 2008 and Renault Captur. The Juke boasts an intuitive interior and plenty of standard equipment, and now there’s a hybrid engine that promises almost 60mpg.

Shop used Nissan Juke cars for sale or read our Nissan Juke review

Nissan Qashqai

The British-built family SUV that every family SUV wants to beat. If you don’t own a Qashqai yourself, you probably know someone who does. The Qashqai gets a similarly thoughtful interior to the Juke but more space for people and stuff, and a pair of hybrid engines to save fuel. Nissan’s clever E-Power engine is particularly impressive, as it feels like an electric car to drive but doesn’t need to be plugged in.

Shop used Nissan Qashqai cars for sale or read our Nissan Qashqai review

Nissan X-Trail

Nissan’s largest SUV has the option of seven seats for extra family car credentials, but the same easy driving experience and quality as the Qashqai. We like how efficient the X-Trail is for a big and capable car, and that Nissan has kept a few buttons in the cabin so it’s easy to adjust things like the climate control on the move.

Shop used Nissan X-Trail cars for sale or read our Nissan X-Trail review

Electric cars

New Nissan Micra

The Nissan Micra has never shied away from drastic changes between generations, and this latest Micra model is no different. Yes, it's a Renault 5 in most mechanical respects, but that's no bad thing. The battery options give you maximum range figures of 198 and 260 miles, and most versions get clever Google navigation goodness that considers where you'll need to charge on a long journey.

Nissan Leaf

Nissan’s pioneering electric car might not be class-leading nowadays, but it’s the best-value used electric car around. It costs buttons to buy and run, but has the interior space of a Ford Focus with punchy performance and a usable real-world electric range. Most trim levels come with an accompanying phone app that lets you preheat the cabin to avoid getting into a freezing car on frosty mornings.

Shop used Nissan Leaf cars for sale or read our Nissan Leaf review

New Nissan Leaf SUV

Between its pointy headlights and its brake lights inspired by the 300ZX sports car from the 1990s, the new Nissan Leaf is as slippery as an eel covered in baby lotion. The 52kWh battery gets you more miles here than it does in the smaller Micra, while the bigger 75kWh battery promises a whopping 386 miles to a charge. You can have bold purple accents in the classy, high-tech interior, and there's a treasure chest of standard equipment on three of the four trim levels offered.

Nissan Ariya

Nissan took its time creating an electric SUV, but the Ariya was worth the wait. It’s not cheap but it’s very appealing, and has an interior that would’ve seemed like pure sci-fi just a few years ago. There are buttons integrated into the wooden trim that become invisible when the car’s off. There’s shag pile carpet, and stitching that pays homage to traditional Japanese craftsmanship. It’s not just a Qashqai without an engine. The Ariya can manage up to 329 miles on a full charge, while rapid charging can add over 200 miles in just half an hour.

Shop used Nissan Ariya cars for sale or read our Nissan Ariya review

New Nissan Juke – coming in 2027

Revealing a car that looks like it's already been crashed into is guaranteed to divide opinion – but that's exactly what the Juke has always done. Again set to be built in the UK, the new Juke will be fully electric and should use the same batteries as the Leaf SUV.