Perseverance is a quality that many car manufacturers encompass, especially those who build and sell minivans. Spacious, practical yet unloved and ridiculed, the minivan also has a name that betrays almost all of them (save for the Mazda5). After all, they aren't exactly "mini" anymore.
The Nissan Quest is a good example. This momma's long, tall and wide. It boasts styling that heads in a completely different direction than its competitors, including the segment sales leader by a significant margin, the Dodge Grand Caravan. While others are trying to look sporty, streamlined and dynamic, the Quest's square body looks like a toaster on wheels, especially with the dual-tinted sunroofs.
Is being different a good strategy? Well, in this case, it certainly doesn't hurt.
Muscular powertrain
Like many Nissan products, the Quest gets a mean-sounding, 3.5-litre V6 that develops 260 hp and 240 lb.-ft of torque. Combined with an automatic CVT, which works well in this application, this minivan hauls butt. Zero to 100 km is achieved in 7.7 seconds, while the quarter mile is clobbered in 15.7 seconds at 149 km/h.
That's quick, but not as quick as the 283 hp Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country cousins, or the 271 hp Kia Sedona. Still, the aggressive throttle tip-in and racy underhood sounds make the Quest feel like it wants to take on sports cars at traffic lights. It even boasts very effective brakes.
In addition, the CVT keeps the V6 revving low. At a steady 100 km/h, the tachometer shows 1,700 rpm and our overall fuel economy average of 11.8 L/100km is a reasonable result.
Nissan's minivan may offer a sporty driving experience from a mechanical standpoint, but the sheer size of the Quest negates that point somewhat. Parking this vehicle at the shopping mall takes some getting used to, although the good turning radius helps. The LE trim comes standard with a backup camera which, to a certain degree, makes backing out of a tight spot safer.
The Nissan Quest is a good example. This momma's long, tall and wide. It boasts styling that heads in a completely different direction than its competitors, including the segment sales leader by a significant margin, the Dodge Grand Caravan. While others are trying to look sporty, streamlined and dynamic, the Quest's square body looks like a toaster on wheels, especially with the dual-tinted sunroofs.
Is being different a good strategy? Well, in this case, it certainly doesn't hurt.
Muscular powertrain
Like many Nissan products, the Quest gets a mean-sounding, 3.5-litre V6 that develops 260 hp and 240 lb.-ft of torque. Combined with an automatic CVT, which works well in this application, this minivan hauls butt. Zero to 100 km is achieved in 7.7 seconds, while the quarter mile is clobbered in 15.7 seconds at 149 km/h.
That's quick, but not as quick as the 283 hp Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country cousins, or the 271 hp Kia Sedona. Still, the aggressive throttle tip-in and racy underhood sounds make the Quest feel like it wants to take on sports cars at traffic lights. It even boasts very effective brakes.
In addition, the CVT keeps the V6 revving low. At a steady 100 km/h, the tachometer shows 1,700 rpm and our overall fuel economy average of 11.8 L/100km is a reasonable result.
Nissan's minivan may offer a sporty driving experience from a mechanical standpoint, but the sheer size of the Quest negates that point somewhat. Parking this vehicle at the shopping mall takes some getting used to, although the good turning radius helps. The LE trim comes standard with a backup camera which, to a certain degree, makes backing out of a tight spot safer.
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| Power comes from Nissan's ubiquitous 3.5L V6, developing 260 horses. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour/Auto123.com) |