Since its introduction last July, the 2004 Nissan Quest has been turning heads, changing attitudes and destroying stereotypes about compact vans and their drivers.
"In fact," says Ian Forsyth, Nissan Canada director of marketing, "the new Quest has redefined the compact van, adding emotional elements with its contemporary styling and fun-to-drive personality. This is a compact van you could fall in love with."
At the same time, says Forsyth, the revolutionary 2004 Quest's design innovation and advanced technology have elevated the traditional compact van virtues of functionality, safety and utility.
The 2004 Quest has grown up to be among the roomiest in the front-wheel-drive compact van class. It provides such user-focused enhancements as folding second- and third-row seats and the widest opening sliding doors in its segment.
New safety features include application of the Nissan Advanced Air Bag System, and standard head curtain supplemental air bags to help protect first-, second- and third-row outboard occupants in side-impact collisions.
But it's style that sets the new Quest apart from other compact vans. Its dramatic, flowing exterior and distinctive interior were specifically designed to address consumer concerns about traditional compact vans' conservative image.
As might be expected from the company behind the popular Nissan 350Z sports car, the new Quest offers responsive acceleration and handling from its standard 3.5-litre V6 engine and new four-wheel independent suspension.
The new Quest went on sale at Nissan dealerships across Canada in July, 2003 as a 2004 model.
The new Quest offers one of the largest interior volumes of any front-wheel-drive compact van (6,000 litres or 211.9 cubic feet) as well as ample cargo space behind the second-row and third-row seats. Special attention was also paid to front-seat dimensions, with first-row shoulder room among the best in class.
Quest's sliding door openings measure 858 mm (33.8 in), more than 101 mm (four inches) longer than the nearest competitor (2003 models) and more than 152 mm (six inches) longer than the previous generation Quest. The wide doors combine with a second-row seat "tip up" feature to address one of consumers most frequent complaints regarding current compact van designs - getting in and out of the third row.
Another innovation that seeks to address owner dissatisfaction with current compact van designs is the Quest's new Fold-Away (TM) seats. Quest advances the folding-seat concept by applying this feature to both the second- and third-row seats, with the third row folding flat.
The unique folding operation does not require the owner to remove the second- and third-row seats in order to create a fully usable storage area. The second-row seats fold down and drop forward to the floor. The third row easily folds and rotates into a storage well in the floor behind it.
The new Quest's ample length and width allows it to carry standard 4x8 plywood sheets on the floor with the rear door closed.
Another Quest innovation is SkyView (TM), a series of four glass roof windows for the second and third rows that (along with the front sunroof) help enhance the use of natural light throughout the vehicle (3.5 SE and available on 3.5 SL)
A full-length rear overhead console, comes with the SkyView, houses lamps and air vents. The rear overhead console includes heating and cooling vents, reading lamps and also houses the Quest's available DVD Entertainment System's dual colour display screens. (dual screens optional on 3.5 SE)
True to the design originated on Nissan's boldly original Next Generation Quest Concept, which was shown at North American auto shows in 2002, the new production Nissan Quest offers a highly expressive and distinctive appearance.
"It is a stunning vehicle that is already causing quite a stir among potential buyers of compact vans," Forsyth says.
The Quest interior, again following the theme set out by the Next Generation Quest Concept, creates a sense of a modern, "urban loft" - a comfortable, open and inviting space for family and friends.
Adding to the interior's sense of openness is Quest's unique, low-height instrument panel that uses a centre-mounted instrument cluster with a standard 6.3-inch information display screen, an instrument panel-mounted transmission shifter lever and numerous storage compartments – including driver and passenger side lower instrument panel storage.
The designers also rethought the traditional compact van interior architecture, shaping the centralized control area to look and feel like a desk or table, and leaving ample legroom for front occupants to turn toward the rear of the Quest.
Quest offers a standard eight-way adjustable driver's seat with adjustable lumbar support (available eight-way power with driver's seat memory system). Front seats are heated.
Also offered are available leather-appointed interior, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, dual zone automatic temperature control for driver and front passenger, standard rear heating and air conditioning system, standard power front windows with one-touch auto up/down, standard front overhead console with sunglasses holder and dual map lights, available rear sonar 3.5SL system.
Eight cupholders, along with bottle holders/map pockets on each sliding door, offer flexibility and convenience for all passengers and also numerous storage bins and area.
A 150-watt AM/FM/CD audio system with eight speakers is standard, while an upgraded 265-watt, 10-speaker Bose® audio system is standard on the 3.5 SE - the first-ever developed by Bose for a compact van. All audio systems also feature "dual media" capability (when equipped with rear audio controls), allowing rear passengers to use wireless or wired headphones for a different media source than what is played through the speakers.
Safety is a particularly important part of the compact van purchase decision and the new 2004 Quest was developed with a strong focus on both active safety - through the responsive engine, suspension and braking technologies - and passive safety through a comprehensive set of passive restraint systems.
Standard safety equipment includes Zone Body construction with front and rear crushable zones and occupant zone, the Nissan Advanced Air Bag System (which uses crash zone sensor and advanced occupant weight sensing capability to control front passenger air bag deployment).
Also standard are head curtain supplemental air bags to help protect first - second- and third-row outboard occupants in side-impact collisions and three-point seatbelts and height-adjustable head restraints for all seating positions. Available front seat side – impact airbags. Every new Quest also includes the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tether for CHildren) child-seat anchorage system and child safety rear door locks.
The 2004 Nissan Quest is offered in three well-equipped models - Quest 3.5 S, 3.5 SL and 3.5 SE.
All three models are powered by a standard 3.5-litre DOHC 24-valve V6 engine based on Nissan's VQ engine series, which was recently named one of Ward's Auto World magazine "10 Best Engines" for the 10th consecutive year. For use in the new Quest, the V6 is tuned to produce 240 horsepower and 242 ft-lbs of torque.
The engine includes state-of-the-art features such as Continuous Variable Valve Timing Control System (CVVTS), microfinished crankshaft and camshaft, molybdenum-coated pistons and sequential multi-point electronic fuel injection.
The Quest engine is matched with either a four-speed (3.5 S, 3.5 SL) or a five-speed (3.5 SE) electronically controlled automatic transmission with overdrive.
A Traction Control System (TCS) is standard on all Quests and Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) is standard on the 3.5 SE.
Another element that is often overlooked in the compact van segment is responsive handling and ride comfort. Using Nissan's advanced FF-L (for Front engine, Front-wheel drive, Large) platform, also found on the Nissan Altima, new 2003 Murano crossover SUV and the all-new 2004 Maxima, the new Quest features a four-wheel independent suspension with an advanced rear multi-link suspension and front and rear stabilizer bars.
The Quest is offered with 16-inch steel wheels on 3.5 S, 16-inch alloy wheels on 3.5 SL or 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels with H-speed-rated tires and on the 3.5 SE model.
A sensor-type Tire Pressure Monitor System is standard on all 2004 Quests.
Power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering is standard, along with four-wheel vented disc brakes with Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Brake Assist (BA) and Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD).
A number of options and packages are available on Quest, including a DVD Entertainment System (dual or single screen) with seven-inch colour display screen and two combined DVD Entertainment and Navi (navigation) packages.
Also offered on the 3.5 SL is a Leather Package with leather-trimmed interior and four-way power front passenger seat, and a combined Leather, Skyview Entertainment and Navi package.
Quest was the first of four new vehicles to be assembled at Nissan's new $1.43-billion (U.S.) manufacturing facility in Canton, Miss.