Nissan Quest LE

9th October 2011 Cat: Nissan

Before 2011, Nissan pledged allegiance to U.S. production of its Quest minivan. The primary two generations, offered from 1993 until 2002, were manufactured alongside the Mercury Villager at Ford’s Avon Lake, Ohio, assembly plant. As soon as the Nissan-Mercury deal dissolved, Nissan moved production to its Canton, Mississippi, facility, which churned out third-gen Quests from 2004 to 2009. But while U.S. production helped Americanize the Quest, Nissan never saw big sales returns, mostly as a result of vans which are either too small or too weird.

For Gen 4, Nissan is rewriting the formula. To try to result in the Quest more desirable to the U.S., Nissan has moved production to — somewhat ironically, really — Kyushu, Japan, where the seven-passenger van is made alongside the JDM Elgrand where it’s based. The Quest is considerably larger than its JDM sibling, and it is dimensionally comparable while using segment’s big three — longer than Sienna, narrower than Town & Country, and taller than Odyssey. The Quest now appears to be the best, sizeable selection for American soccer moms and baseball dads. Power is segment-competitive, too, because of a 3.5-liter V-6 cranking out 260 hp and 240 lb-ft.

Knowing I’d be spending the whole year using the Quest, I opted for the big-bucks $42,150 LE, which comes standard with just about everything a minivan worshipper could want: leather trim; 13-speaker Bose audio with XM satellite, USB interface, and aux inputs; Bluetooth; backup camera; six airbags; blind-spot warning; DVD entertainment with 11-inch screen; Intelligent Key with pushbutton start; one-touch power sliding doors and hatch; power, heated front-row seats; fold-flat second and third rows; 16 cupholders; one 120V and 2 12V power outlets; HID headlamps; and 18-inch alloy wheels. Whatever, the Quest’s reached it. One big option ($1350 dual glass power moonroof) and a couple small ones ($110 splash guards, $180 floormats) upped the whole price to $43,790 — a great deal of moolah for just a minivan, but nonetheless $545 a lot less than our comparably equipped Honda Odyssey Touring Elite.

Should it be as excellent because the perennially top-rated Odyssey is a thing we want to learn over the pick up.

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