Updated Quest Should Prop Up Sales in Nissans One Weak Segment
Quest Photos
Nissan Designer Blames Slow Quest Sales on Unorthodox Interior
The updated 2006 Quest couldnt come any sooner for Nissan retailers, who no doubt would want a more competitive model in the hotly contested, highly profitable mid-van segment.
Yes, mid-van, a term coined by GM when it launched its Chevy Uplander, Saturn Relay, Pontiac Montana SV6 and Buick Terraza minivans last year, seems more suitable to a segment whose models have grown in size to rival the once popular full-size passenger vans of yesteryear. And the Quest is sizeable for sure, wider than most of its competitors and equally long and accommodating inside.
So why has it been the segments wallflower? Was its redesign too radical for the sporty soccer moms it was intended for? According to Shiro Nakamura, head designer for Nissan Motor Co., when the Quest is redesigned in a few years it will continue in its non-traditional nature, but just like the 2006 update there will be changes from the current model in the future van.
“I think we need a minivan,” said Nakamura. “So there will be a next Quest. The exterior is not that much different from other minivans. The interior was too radical. Thats why we did a (interior) face-lift for the (2006) model.”
Its odd for major Japanese automakers to get products wrong, and it usually happens when they attempt to do something that no-one else ever thought of in a foreign market, rather than the typical “make a good thing better” approach used in the land of the rising sun.
The current Quest, like the Subaru Baja, a rather useless car-based pickup truck based on the Legacy Outback wagon, and previous Toyota Avalon, which had the right packaging but unfortunately was not blessed with any attractive qualities and was also hampered by a particularly high sticker price, has been a sales dud. Introduced for the 2004 model year, it sold barely half of what Nissan projected throughout its first year and up until June of this year, at which time 22,673 examples had been sold.
Whats wrong with it? First and foremost, its sleeker than average exterior panels probably havent caused as much discontent among potential buyers as its rather bizarre interior. A decision to force traditionally conservative minivan drivers to look up to the center of the dash for all primary gauges, and then complicating issues by making these gauges digital instead of analog, and rather small and difficult to read in certain lighting conditions, hasnt helped.
Then theres the rather odd, tall, cylindrical center stack that houses the HVAC system and audio controls, as well as a conventional automatic shift lever on top, which unfortunately doesnt include any manual-mode shift mechanism, which would have matched the vehicles superior acceleration and road-holding capabilities.
Amazingly out of place is the DVD entertainment system, easily the most uninspired example of an afterthought among this type of option, positioned between the front seats at floor level, and causing parents to flip upside down to see, and then read it upside down when doing so. What a nightmare!
And if that wasnt enough, while Chrysler Group was preparing to introduce its best-in-class Stow n Go seating system, which drops all rear seats into lidded cubbies under the floor for a completely flat loading area, Nissan was at least smart enough to offer a flat-folding third row and a middle row that at least tumbles forward to offer more load carrying capacity than the majority of its rivals. But that third row must be the heaviest, most awkward seat in the world to pull out of its deep well when trying to restore it to seven-occupant capacity. Ford Freestars cantilevered rear seat is a dream come true in comparison, and Toyota Siennas split-rear seats are heavenly in comparison. After all, while this might not seem like much of a problem to the Sumo wrestler that designed the Quests rear seating system, to the average 5-foot something, 130-pound North American mother of 2.2 children, its near impossible to execute.
But making one of the easiest rear seats in the industry to operate hasnt exactly helped Fords traditionally penned Freestar to break any sales records lately, nor has GMs SUV-like extended nose particularly aided its minivan market share to grow substantially - although its close second to Chrysler Group shouldnt go unnoticed. So, this brings us back to Nissans sportier than average exterior styling probably not being a major factor to its slow sales.
According to Nakamura, “Were discussing the redesign now. We dont need to go so much on the conservative side. We should maintain the authenticity. We still want to be as distinct as possible, but we also have to be accepted.”
But there seems to be a fine line as to what distinctions will be acceptable to minivan buyers. Odd exterior styling might be OK, but changes to interiors that put form before function are not.
“We need to give new value to the minivan,” continued Nakamura. “People are bored with the minivan. The minivan is getting too conservative. Our direction was OK, but the execution was not.”
So it looks like, while the current Quest will soldier on with an improved interior that should allow improved sales for 2006 and most likely the 2007 model year, Nissan isnt about to modify the models unorthodox design strategy when it goes under the knife for a total redesign.
“We do not plan to go back to the traditional minivan,” Nakamura added.
Its entirely possible, that by going the less traveled path Nissan will finally hit on a successful mixture of sport and functionality that will hit home with North American buyers. For the time being, however, well just have to see if a redesigned interior can ignite Quest sales to reasonable levels.
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