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Nissan 360: the Elgrand
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.
Gallery: Nissan 360: the Elgrand
Our travel and lodging for this media event was provided by the manufacturer.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2004m3driver 5:40PM (4/29/2008)
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.
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A&W 5:48PM (4/29/2008)
Is it rear wheel drive? Either way a nice looking van.
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Torrent 6:00PM (4/29/2008)
It looks great... For a great big honking van.
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Victor 6:26PM (4/29/2008)
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."
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havoc 6:28PM (4/29/2008)
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.
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Everett 7:20PM (4/29/2008)
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.
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alphabeta777 7:39PM (4/29/2008)
These are rather popular in Hong Kong, but not as popular as its direct competitor, the Toyota Alphard.
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UhHello11 7:49PM (4/29/2008)
This thing is so stupid, its cool! I love the big grin. Its adorable. Beats that stupid minivan they sell here now.
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imoore 9:18PM (4/29/2008)
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.
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Bubba Bo Bub 11:37PM (4/29/2008)
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.
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psarhjinian 12:36AM (4/30/2008)
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?
why not the LS2LS7? 11:14PM (4/29/2008)
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.
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alphabeta777 11:15PM (4/29/2008)
There's some more wacky versions too, like the 'Highway Star' package.
http://www.hiraobus.com/061012%20%20f%20%20elgrand.jpg
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Philip 3:23AM (4/30/2008)
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.
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66coronet 5:01AM (4/30/2008)
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.
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