The current Quest, like the Subaru Baja, a rather useless car-based pickup truck based on the Legacy Outback wagon, and previous Toyota Avalon, which had the right packaging but unfortunately was not blessed with any
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| Its sleeker than average exterior panels probably haven't caused as much discontent among potential buyers as its rather bizarre interior. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
attractive qualities and was also hampered by a particularly high sticker price, has been a sales dud. Introduced for the 2004 model year, it sold barely half of what Nissan projected throughout its first year and up until June of this year, at which time 22,673 examples had been sold.
What's wrong with it? First and foremost, its sleeker than average exterior panels probably haven't caused as much discontent among potential buyers as its rather bizarre interior. A decision to force traditionally conservative minivan drivers to look up to the centre of the dash for all primary gauges, and then complicating issues by making these gauges digital instead of analog, and rather small and difficult to read in certain lighting conditions, hasn't helped.
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| There's the rather odd, tall, cylindrical centre stack that houses the HVAC system and audio controls, as well as a conventional automatic shift lever on top. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
Then there's the rather odd, tall, cylindrical centre stack that houses the HVAC system and audio controls, as well as a conventional automatic shift lever on top, which unfortunately doesn't include any manual-mode shift mechanism, which would have matched the vehicles superior acceleration and road-holding capabilities.
Amazingly out of place is the DVD entertainment system, easily the most uninspired example of an afterthought among this type of option, positioned between the front seats at floor level, and causing parents to flip upside down to see, and then read it upside down when doing so. What a nightmare!
