Another Look

2005 Nissan Quest SE: A journey to the new

Like Paul on the road to Damascus, I had my personal conversion on the road to Maine. It was nothing quite as momentous as that of the early Christian apostle, but I’ll tell you about it anyway.

Long road trips, unless the road is Washington to Baghdad, give you time for reappraisal. The monotony of our arterial highways almost forces our thoughts inwards, our bodies focused on the road as our minds go floating on a tidal wave, drifting into outer space. It was somewhere around New Hampshire and the 14^th listen that I decided I’d changed my mind – the new Coldplay CD was worthy, not just some overly mannered wannabe rock milestone.

That it may still be, but, as the reviewer on CBS Sunday Morning (as good a show as there is on television) commented, on the CD X and Y, Coldplay dares to try to be great. I agree. I like that. And if they don’t always succeed, there can be honor in failure when your goals are lofty. In the immortal slogan of Britain’s elite SAS, “Who dares, wins.”

At a time when we have grown so uncomfortable with thinking great thoughts, building great things, taking great risks, at a time when the Harvard MBA mentality of segment and conquer, be satisfied with incremental change, tinker with the edges, be risk averse, permeates the national psyche so completely it’s expressed in everything from radio programming to car design, it’s nice to see someone with the balls to want to be big. It’s invigorating to see someone lay it on the line as completely as Chris Martin and Coldplay does.

Much respect.

Too bad they’re Brits. That sense of daring is what America used to stand for. It went a long way towards building this country and inspiring the world. Now America’s signature is an overgrowth of warning labels. Yes, hot coffee can burn you, and if you spill it in your lap while you drive, shouldn’t you have the decency to shut up about your stupidity rather than running out to find a lawyer and make money off it? Auto reviewers aren’t perfect and neither are doctors. Don’t like it? Sue God. So there!

By now, you’re probably driven to distraction, wondering when will the meds kick in and this idiot start writing an auto review? Don’t worry; this is all part of the plan. We’re getting to the review and then you’ll see the connection. Or not! I’m not really sure how this is working. Ever since Tom Cruise talked me off my meds I’ve been a little distracted. But where were we? Oh yeah, my ever-changing mind!

Rethinking one’s initial impressions can be a good thing. Perhaps those weren’t flowers the Iraqis greeted us with. Perhaps being married to Halle Berry isn’t all a bed of roses. Perhaps my near $40K 2005 Nissan Quest SE minivan wasn’t the godawful garish design nightmare it seemed at first glance.

I can vouch for one of those. Kinda. My 2005 Nissan Quest SE did turn heads. The first time I looked in it, my head turned like Linda Blair’s in The Exorcist. The experience is hard to explain to someone who wasn’t there. I remember being in a faded Catskills resort a couple years ago for a convention. They had a wing called Futurama, which apparently was based on the early 50s idea of a plastic-dominated future and had not been upgraded since. That was the same feeling I got on my first look at the SE.

The huge, curved dash stands out. Mine came in this textured orange leather stuff that looked like nothing so much as a chunk of a giant basketball fallen to earth. This is the essence of the Quest SE. It just looks different – all ostentatious curves and Tomorrowland feel.

It didn’t help that one of those curves was in my driver’s seat. The curve of the seat was very convex towards the passenger. It looked interesting. It felt horrible.

I’m particularly sensitive to seat comfort because I have a bad back, but I don’t think such sensitivity is required in order to understand this was one huge failure of form over function. I never did get comfortable on that seat, and would gladly switch it out in a second if I could.

You probably don’t need Karl Rove to leak it to you in order to get the feeling that my initial impression of the 2005 Nissan Quest SE wasn’t exactly positive. I was so happy. At last, I’d found a Nissan I was unhappy with. Misery thrills me so.

That didn’t last. While I’m not thrilled with the Quest, I give Nissan props for daring to dream. They took the traditional minivan and tried to do something different with it, make it more interesting. Again, if it doesn’t achieve greatness, at least it never bores you, and there is an awful lot aside from the seats and the décor to like.

Start with the exterior styling. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, and therein lies its attraction. Minivans are very efficient space users, but don’t lend themselves to much design variation. Nissan tried to do something interesting with the basic shape and succeeded. This minivan is a lot edgier than one is used to seeing.

It moves faster too. Minivans are not supposed to move at the speed of sound and the Quest is no exception, but Nissan’s 240 horsepower (with premium fuel, drops to 230 with regular gas, which is all that’s actually required), 3.5-liter V6 provides excellent power, well handled by the 5-speed automatic transmission – shifter located on the dash in another nod to futurism. The performance of this front-wheel-drive minivan fulfills the implied promise of its sporty external design. Payment comes due at the pump. EPA mileage is 18 city, 25 highway.

The long wheelbase allows for the widest sliding door in its segment, meaning easy entry and exit for passengers and cargo. Seats are easy to stow and storage is plentiful.

My Quest SE, coming in at almost $40K, came with everything. You can get one for much less, less than $24K, with the same strong engine, but I love my leather and my great navigation system and satellite radio and premium stereo and all the other stuff my SE came with. The passengers loved the SkyView glass roof panel system that essentially gives each passenger a sunroof. They adored the dual DVD entertainment system that gives each row of seats a DVD screen. Everyone appreciated the power sliding doors and liftgate.

All in all, the 2005 Nissan Quest SE may not be the kind of car you’ll wait for till kingdom come, but its memory stays with you. Its designers reached beyond the ordinary, and where, as with the seats, they fell short, you find it easy to forgive them. It’s hard to explain, but if you could see it, then you’d understand.

posted by Andy Mais @ 2:58 PM