IN THE middle of the year, GoAuto took possession of its first long-term test car – a Nissan Qashqai Ti, the top-spec version of its second best-selling model behind the venerable X-Trail medium SUV.

Since that time, we have tested the Qashqai to see how it performs in an urban environment where, as a small SUV, it will likely spend most of its life.

This time around, we are trying something a little different. We have taken the Qashqai down to Lorne, a town two hours from Melbourne on Victoria’s Surf Coast, to see how it performs as a weekend getaway vehicle.

We have already seen that the Qashqai has what it takes to conquer the city, but how does it fare on the open roads?