Nissan has given us a sneak preview of the new Qashqai with a teaser.

The computer-generated image shows the new car hidden beneath a cover, with a series of markings picked out in light over the top to suggest some of the new car’s lines.

While such an image obviously doesn’t give much away, it does suggest that the new car will be rather more angular than the outgoing model.

The looks of the new Qashqai are said to have been heavily influenced by the Nissan Hi-Cross concept that was shown at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year. 

In other words, it’ll get a Murano-like aesthetic with sharper, narrower headlamps and a jutting grille, along with a more prominent shoulder line and bolder wheelarches.

It’s all part of an attempt to make the Qashqai more stylish, pitching it not just at mainstream rivals like the Skoda Yeti and Ford Kuga, but also further upmarket at the BMW X1, Audi Q3, and upcoming Mercedes-Benz GLA.

Nissan has, however, suggested that the car’s size will remain virtually unchanged over the outgoing model, which measures 4.3 metres in length. 

The company is also promising improved build and materials quality inside the new car, claiming that it hopes not just to match its German rivals in this regard, but to surpass them. 

Nissan has already confirmed that the new car will be built in the UK, at its plant in Sunderland, where the outgoing car has been produced since 2006. 

2012 saw 510,572 cars produced at the Sunderland plant, which Nissan says is a plant record. 

The new Qashqai is expected to go on sale in 2014.