Fresh from the successful introduction of its Qashqai faux-4x4, Nissan is working on a stretched seven-seat version.

This near-production-ready car was spotted close to Nissan’s Bedfordshire engineering centre and shows the extra 200mm slotted into the wheelbase of the Qashqai to accommodate an extra row of seats which will collapse into the boot floor when not needed.

Due on sale early next year at a premium of £1,500 over the five-seater (meaning a likely starting price of £15,000), the seven-seat version will share the same petrol and diesel engines as its smaller sibling.