Among the larger vehicles offered up at the Nissan 360 event that weren't the large commercial offerings from yesterday were the Japanese and "General Overseas Market" Elgrand Van and the Euro- and Japanese-market Qashqai.
The Elgrand wasn't a bad piece of kit for a great big honking van. While massive, the 3.5-liter V6 with 241 hp gets the thing up and going -- even uphill -- with an alacrity that feels almost driftworthy... for a great big honking van. The instrument panel is good looking and nice feeling, the three rows of seats can be moved every which way but loose, and the platoon-hauling mover weighs only 4,431 pounds. Nissan calls it "a first-class minivan fulfilling the dreams and aspirations of consumers for a relaxing experience." We call it a pretty good van.
You can check out the Nissan 360 event site for more details on the vehicles and Nissan company stats. In the mean time, be sure to check out the gallery of hi-res photos below.
Our travel and lodging for this media event was provided by the manufacturer.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2004m3driver @ Apr 29th 2008 5:40PM
Damn I want one of those for work. Sick and tired of Ford/GM vans we get to choose around here. Although I do like the Dodge/benz sprinter.
A&W @ Apr 29th 2008 5:48PM
Is it rear wheel drive? Either way a nice looking van.
Torrent @ Apr 29th 2008 6:00PM
It looks great... For a great big honking van.
Victor @ Apr 29th 2008 6:26PM
I've always liked the elgrand. The car isn't HUGE, when you size it up against a USDM Honda Odyssey, but it is a nice and high car. It's pretty lux inside....sorta like a unibody rendition of a conversion van in the vein of the Chevy Astro (I'm pretty sure half of Japan cried when the Astro ended production...don't ask why, it was a popular car there)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Astro mentions "In addition to being sold in North America, the Chevrolet Astro was exported to Japan, where the van enjoys a cult following. In 2005, to celebrate the last year of Astro production, Chevrolet of Japan offered a limited edition run of the final production models. The Astro's popularity in Japan comes even though it was only offered in left-hand drive."
havoc @ Apr 29th 2008 6:28PM
looks like nissan raped their parts bin for this... and it could prob use the vq40 for the extra torque since this thing weighs as much as an xterra.
Everett @ Apr 29th 2008 7:20PM
Hasn't the stigma for the word "Van" finally faded? Why do they insist on calling them mini when they're getting bigger with each subsequent offering? It's the same with "wagon" and "SUV" (SAV? CUV? Crossover? P.R. spin to throw off our scent). This Nissan is a V-A-N.
Sorry, rant over.
alphabeta777 @ Apr 29th 2008 7:39PM
These are rather popular in Hong Kong, but not as popular as its direct competitor, the Toyota Alphard.
UhHello11 @ Apr 29th 2008 7:49PM
This thing is so stupid, its cool! I love the big grin. Its adorable. Beats that stupid minivan they sell here now.
imoore @ Apr 29th 2008 9:18PM
Remember Nissan saying it was planning to build three commercial vehicles at the Canton, Mississippi plant earlier this month? I'm pretty sure this is one of them. They will likely do some modification to the nose to make it more attractive to potential American/Mexican/Canadian customers. Should this take off, Toyota will likely try to capture some of that market.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Apr 29th 2008 11:14PM
Haha. Those wing mirrors are insane. They remind me of Oriental bus designs were the side rear-view mirrors hang out over the front of the bus like some kind of bug antlers.
alphabeta777 @ Apr 29th 2008 11:15PM
There's some more wacky versions too, like the 'Highway Star' package.
http://www.hiraobus.com/061012%20%20f%20%20elgrand.jpg
Bubba Bo Bub @ Apr 29th 2008 11:37PM
Why can't Nissan market this somehow over here rather than keep trying with the Quest? I'm not sure how large it actually is but I'm sure it's not larger than what Detroit is offering ... Seems to me this could have more legs than any of them including the Quest.
psarhjinian @ Apr 30th 2008 12:36AM
It's actually pretty small, by North American standards. The Quest is much bigger. It is, however, more endowed with useful space than the GM Lambdas or Ford's Freestyle. It wouldn't surprise me to know the Flex is smaller inside, too.
The problem is, there's no great big nose on this thing. Without a great big nose, how can it possible be cool enough to carry the egos of emasculated suburban men and uppity soccer moms?
Philip @ Apr 30th 2008 3:23AM
Come on Nissan, bring this to America, Dont change a thing.
A cargo version would be great too, we really could use a nice cargo van since GM cancelled the Astro.
66coronet @ Apr 30th 2008 5:01AM
With the stacked headlights it reminds me of the old dodges & chevy vans. I'm surprised Dodge or Chevy hasn't done this front end first.