HOME OF CARS: First Drive: 2011 Nissan Quest

Friday 17 December 2010

First Drive: 2011 Nissan Quest

Filed under: Minivan/Van, Nissan, First Drive

Nissan Emerges From The Kitchen With Something New

2011 Nissan Quest - Click above for high-res image gallery

You can get vanilla ice cream in an array of varieties. There's New York Vanilla (the classic flavor), French Vanilla, Vanilla Bean, Homestyle Vanilla, Creamy Vanilla and Country Vanilla. Regardless of the subtle differences, each frozen delight is only a mild modification of the same mixture of milk, cream, sugar and vanilla beans. While generally bland and lackluster when compared to Rocky Road, Carmel Ribbon and Mint Chip, good old-fashioned vanilla ice cream enjoys an enormous following and offends few, making it the best-selling flavor in the freezer section. If you make ice cream and want to sell in volume, get on the horn to your friends in Madagascar.

Minivans are a lot like vanilla ice cream.

No matter how hard the automakers try to differentiate their product, all of today's minivans are essentially mildly altered concoctions blending seven-passenger, front-engine, front-wheel drive, six-cylinder, highly-utilitarian ingredients. Yet, like vanilla ice cream, they are part of a segment that cannot be ignored, and they do surprisingly well at satisfying a broad degree of palates. In the case of nearly every automaker, if you're building family vehicles, you offer a minivan.

Nissan has released its all-new 2011 Quest and it's a minivan formulated with today's all-too familiar ingredients, but unlike the rest of the vanilla troop, the Quest could leave a unique taste in your mouth. Has Nissan broken new ground with its new family transport, or are they just offering consumers the same dessert with just a different label? Read on for the answer.

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Gallery: 2011 Nissan Quest: First Drive