Nissan’s Qashqai+2 is a condundrum. It looks like a 4x4 but it isn’t. It doesn’t look like a seven-seater people carrier, but it is. Designed in London and built in Sunderland, this compact family crossover proves curiouser and curiouser.

So what better way to put this diesel-powered puzzle to the test than to head off with my Scottish friend and malt whisky connoisseur Bill Sheridan to the depths of where else – but Wales. The destination was the village of Penderyn, nestling in the Brecon Beacons National Park and home, since 2004, of the only malt whisky distillery in Wales.

The route to the distillery and its gleaming £850,000 visitors’ centre, took us snaking across Gloucestershire and Herefordshire and into Wales where the A40 does its sinuous best to unsettle any vehicle, then back along the undeviating course offered by the M4 and M5.

The Qashqai+2 – that’s pronounced cash-kai by the way and +2 because of the extra two seats that nestle in the rear loadspace – took everything we threw at it and came out laughing.

What sounds like a slightly grumbly diesel engine when ticking over cold turns into an effortless cruiser which rapidly quietens down to produce lively acceleration, superb motorway ability and fuel consumption well into the 40s in day-to-day use. The test model, in upmarket leather-trimmed Tekna specification, has just about every bell and whistle you could want, including Nissan’s Connect system that delivers large-screen colour satnav, colour reversing camera and Bluetooth phone connection.

Passengers in all Qashqai+2 models get star treatment thanks to a huge fixed panoramic sunroof and standard privacy glass for all windows behind the front doors.

The extended wheelbase and overall increase in length gives added interior space and room for the clever permanent third row of seats, which are perfect for children or for occasional use by adults. Their reclining backrests – with seven adjustment settings – will fold completely flat without the need to remove the head restraints first, opening up the luggage space to give 550 litres, an increase of 140 over the Qashqai.

The range comes in a choice of four trim levels, with 1.6 and 2.0-litre petrol engines, 1.5 and 2.0-litre diesel engines and either front-wheel-drive or four-wheel drive options.

Bill enjoyed his Welsh trip, but what he doesn’t yet know is that for our next spirited adventure I have found England’s only malt whisky distillery – St George’s – alive and well in Roudham, Norfolk. As a native of Dundee he will probably have to go in disguise . . .

Auto facts Nissan Qashqai+2 Tekna dCi

Price: £23,200

Ins group: Ten

Fuel consumption (combined): 42.2mpg

Top speed: 118mph

Length: 452.5cm/178.1in

Width: 178cm/70in

Luggage space: 15.6 cu ft

Fuel tank capacity: 14.3 gallons/65 litres

CO2 emissions: 139g/km

Warranty: 3 years/60,000 miles