Nissan completely redesigns the Quest for 2011.
Minivans just don’t get no respect, as Rodney Dangerfield might have expressed it. Not only do the people movers take their regular hits from the likes of Letterman and Leno, but they’ve seem demand steadily shrink, in recent years. Yet, in an auto industry where diminished expectations have become the rule the minivan still musters enough volume – nearly 600,000 units annually – to convince a fair number of manufacturers to keep pumping them out.
Nissan, for one, which will be launching an all-new version of the Quest for 2011, the well-equipped, comfortable, and functional remake set to reach U.S. showrooms right at the beginning of the New Year.
Coming up with a way to add a little sex appeal to the exterior design of any minivan has been a chore for industry stylists for the better part of three decades. The problem is that the van’s classic boxy shape is dictated by the vehicle’s functionality. Complicating matters is the sliding door, which has vexed more than one talented design team.
But with the 2011 Nissan Quest, designers have given it the old college try. Head on, they have succeeded in giving the front of the new Quest a distinctive face and an overall appealing shape in front of the A-pillar.
The gash along the side for the sliding door, seemingly a defining minivan characteristic, has been offset with character lines, and the rear hatch — another black hole for traditional minivan design — has been given some distinctive sculpting thanks to a rounded spoiler that serves as an eye-catching detail when when the rear liftgate is raised. Another notable detail is the wraparound rear window panel.
Nissan put an emphasis on styling with the 2011 Quest - though still made functionality a top priority.
Moreover, Nissan’s designers have done yeoman work on the interior, which is very comfortable and very functional. The mix of soft materials and alternating textures brightens up the interior of the 2011
Quest. They also help make the interior more interesting for both driver and passengers. Older versions of the Quest had suffered from a ‘sea of plastic” syndrome that left occupants either drowning in hardened petroleum products or expiring from boredom from the monotony imposed by the drab interior bits.
Both the second and third-row seats can fold flat to create a massive, flat load floor.
Instead, the Quest offers the driver and passenger a chance to rest their weary arms on generously padded arm rests during an endless commute or on a long round trip. In addition, the visibility from the driver’s seat is excellent. The controls are within easy reach on the steering wheel or the center stack, while the instrument cluster is both informative and easy to read.
In addition, a useful storage compartment and cupholders are also placed within easy reach of the driver, and the entertainment system, while not exactly state of the art, certainly provides excellent sound quality.
One of the most notable improvements with the 2011 Nissan Quest is the way the interior has been upgraded, with the use of richer materials and a better integration of the navi screen, gauges and other details.
The other pleasant surprise by the 2011 Nissan Quest is power. For years, a major knock on minivans is that they have tended to be moderately to severely underpowered. But Quest, with its 260-horsepower V6, has ample muscle and torque to handle maneuvers such as climbing a freeway on ramp or passing at highway speeds.
Nissan has been making CVT transmissions seemingly forever and the continuous improvement is quite evident in the package mated to the Quest VF6.
The trade off, however, is fuel economy, while the numbers have been improved for 2011, at 18 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway, the Nissan Quest’s mileage is only adequate.
Nissan offers a good look at the sky for both front and back passengers with the 2011 Quest.
The 2011 Nissan Quest is being built in Japan, rather than the U.S., and it shares a platform with the maker’s sport sedan, the Maxima. That means a van with a solid chassis and suspension that has been tweaked to handle the additional weight. The Quest also comes equipped with electric power steering assist, which makes the vehicle easier to maneuver and, I suspect, will be welcomed by the female drivers who will likely chalk up most of the seat time behind the Quest steering wheel.
Four-wheel disc brakes, 16-inch steel wheels, seven-passenger seating and other details such as the leather-wrapped steering wheel are base items. Features on the LE add a 9.3GB music box hard drive, navigation, memory seat blind spot warning system, xenon headlights . Dual panel moonroof and a Bose sound system.
More and more minivan buyers are empty-nesters looking for a comfortable ride for a long drive.
Quest also comes with a long line of comfort and convenience features, including quick-release fold-flat second and third row seats that turn into a flat cargo floor as well as permanent storage behind the third row of seats.
One issue that might concern parents – or empty nesters who’ll use the van for lengthy travels – is that the rear seat entertainment system on the 2011 Nissan Quest has only one screen. The remote control device also could get lost. However, it could be Nissan’s product planners are on to something.
Maybe children, the primary residents of the second and third row seats, should learn to compromise and take better care of the equipment. Maybe when they stop asking if we’re there yet.
Are we there yet?
The 2011 Nissan Quest arrives in a market segment undergoing some significant changes. Toyota had an early 2011 launch with its all-new Sienna, with Honda following in a short while later with the revised Odyssey. Now comes Quest, which strikes a middle ground between Toyota’s relatively conventional design, and Honda’s attempt to push the design envelope as far as possible without losing the basic functionality of the minivan.
the 2011 Nissan Quest has plenty of competition in the minivan segment, including the recent update of the Honda Odyssey.
(We’re also getting a modest 2011 update of Chrysler’s two minvans, though a serious remake is still a year-and-some away.)
The minivan segment is crowded, which is good news for potential buyers – and its competitive, which means even better news for the pocketbook. The 2011 Nissan Quest will have a tough challenge in this downsized, but still significant segment. It’s a substantial offering and one that a buyer could feel good about driving – even if it means having to laugh out the late-night jabs from Letterman and Leno.