UAL_Rulez

Just returned from an 8-day rental in DFW booked via Expedia for a Minivan. As Expedia bookings aren't entitled to traditional Gold service, I went to the Gold counter and asked for the largest minivan they had available. Was quickly offered a low-mileage Quest. Despite the unconventional appearance and controls, I took it.

The interior and cockpit look like something out of I, Robot. All instruments are in a binnacle centered on the dash, with nothing directly in front of the driver except a storage compartment. Other than the stalk-mounted turn signals, high beam and winshield wiper controls, everything's on the oval center pedastal - shifter, radio, climate control and trip computer/display controls. Unconventional - but after a few minutes of familiarization I thought it kind of like the Airbus flight deck design. Different paradigm, but intuitive once you're familiar.

The van has unbelievable room for the 1st and 2nd row pax, who all sit in "business class"-sized captains chairs. 3rd row has very good legroom as well and would not be uncomfortable for 2 adults or 3 kids.

The best thing about the Quest is the cabin configuration flexibility and fantastic luggage room. Even with the 3rd row seat up, there is room for 4 BIG suitcases behind the 3rd seat, thanks to a ~10" deep recess in the floor. The 3rd row seat can be folded flush into this recess giving absolutely enormous interior space while still hauling 4 pax. If one goes further and folds flat the 2nd row seats, you can (as we did) put 10 gigantic boxes in the interior.

Acceleration and handling were way above average for this class - vs. the Grand Caravan we rented in July, the car felt more like my Audi A8 than an underpowered/underbraked/undersuspended beast.

Fuel economy was decent - 17mpg average in mostly city driving. The computer said we were getting 29mpg in light highway motoring.

A/C was just adequate for the 90s-100s temps in Dallas, and features a separate control of temp and fan speed for the rear cabin.

I'm not rushing out to buy one, but if you need a vehicle that can handle 6-7 pax with luggage and don't need rugged 4WD capabilities, IMHO the Quest is a way better choice than a premium SUV. Better mileage, much better driving characteristics, and exceptional interior space with very flexible configurations.

Only downside, it had neither NeverLost nor the optional factory navigation.

SpeedRicer

Interesting that you mention this, as Nissan believes that the radical interior/exterior design of the Quest was the main factor in its lower-than-expected sales figures. With the next "refresh" on the Quest coming soon, Nissan will reportedly be toning-down the interior to a more "conventional" design.

Personally, like you, I found the controls to be fairly intuitive after a short time, but I doubt a 22 year-old wannabe-yuppie like me is in Nissan's target Quest demographic.

iainarmstrong

we drive an SE version which has all the bells and whistles...the ride, engine, space, all the mechanical stuff and interior are all great...but the central console, number of rattles and general cheap plastic feel is a definite downside. Nissan would have to make big improvements on the whole interior quality for me to buy another.

SpeedRicer

In general, Nissans of late have had interior quality issues -- mostly a product of cost-cutting after the Renault takeover. They're starting to turn around (for example, the interior refresh on the '05 Altima is much better than the original '02 model), but we probably won't see noticeable improvements until the next generation of Nissan models...

rackensack

Had a Quest as a Hertz rental for one day in San Francisco around July 4. I've owned two Mazda MPVs, so it doesn't take much to impress me in the minivan department. The Quest was just . . . funky. The whole center binnacle thing was just too much for my addled brain to take in. Maybe if I'd had the vehicle for several days I'd have adjusted and ended up liking it. On the other hand, it drove well enough and seemed to work well with the full load of colleagues I had to pick up at SFO and drive to Sunnyvale.