Nissan NV!!! (Pics!)

Chex

New member
Couldn't get pics to show up in the thread, so here's the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26817610@N02/sets/72157629887617549/

The guy from the dealership called DH to let him know that the NV that his neighbor ordered was in and we could come take a quick peek if we wanted. We were in a hurry because he was about to call the owner to let him know it was there and he was sure they'd come right away to pick it up. So I didn't get a ton of pics, but we got to take it for a short test-drive around a couple of blocks. DH and I both drove it. He thought it was a WAY better drive than our Chevy Express. I thought it was great, but I'm not nearly as picky as DH is in that regard. (He says it is "tighter," has a smoother ride, and is much quieter than our van. He said it still feels big, but that's because it is. ;)) The turning radius is absolutely amazing for a van that size. I thought our Chevy had a great turning radius, but I couldn't believe the small circle I was able to make in the NV!

Because we were in a hurry, we just took DS2 and a Radian to try out in it. With the angle adjuster, we have the Radian RF behind the driver in our current set-up, and I was hoping we'd be able to do the same in the NV. And we were! I was worried because of that post in the other thread talking about the part that sticks out into that position. And it's true. It's the column there that's between the driver seat and the seat behind it. And it is a LARGE column. I'm not sure if you could get a much wider seat in there RF.

I also tried the RN RF in the 3rd row to see if there was enough space between the benches. It felt like a good install, but I didn't remove the headrest in the seat in front of it to see if it was a TRULY good install. The angle adjuster was most definitely needed. (So glad they came out with those!)

The seats are comfortable! Way more comfy than the bench seats in our van (obviously). But even the 2 captain's chairs up front were way more comfy.

LATCH: There are 3 full sets of LATCH. They are all in the same position in each row. For the 2 3-person benches, it's the middle seat. For the back row, it's the 2nd from the driver's side. There are also 2 more TAs on each of the 1-person seats on the 3-person benches. (So the passenger side seats on the first 2 benches.)

DH and I each got in one of the back rows and had a good amount of legroom (again, more than our Chevy). I'm 5'10" and there's a pic of me in the 3rd row. I also got a pic of me on the side of the van by the engine so that you can see how long the engine portion is. It's definitely longer than the Chevy, but I was worried it'd be similar to an Expedition or Suburban, but I don't think it was. There's also a pic of the back all the way open. (The back doors fold nearly all the way back.) There's less cargo room than in our Chevy. That was honestly one of the only "negatives." But it probably has a similar amount of space in the back, if not more, than the 15-passenger vans.

I'm attaching 4 pics. That's all we got. And they're not great because they were just taken on DH's iPhone.


BUT!!! The dealership is getting another NV in in the next few days and the salesman said he'd call us to let us come see it as well. DH told him he wanted to take it on the freeway and have one of us sit in the back to see how the ride is back there. So let me know if you have any other questions or if there are any other pics you want me to take. I'll take our good camera (not that I know how to use it well :p) and try to get shots of whatever you want to see. I also got a detailed brochure about them with all of the specs and features and the breakdown of each package. So I can answer some of those questions as well.




Sooooooooo......DH was so impressed that we actually ordered one!:eek: I thought DH would be a totally tough sell! But he was very happy with what he saw! And he's quite happy that it will tow our trailer much easier than our Chevy, lol. I was kind of leaning toward the brown (java), but DH and the kids all voted red, so I guess we're going with red. (It was my 2nd pick anyway...I was having a hard time deciding which I liked best.) The van coming into the dealership later this week will be red, so I'm excited to see the color in person.
The salesman can't actually order ours until the first week of May and then it won't come in until the beginning of July! Ack! I don't know how I'll stand waiting that long!
 
ADS

An Aurora

Senior Community Member
Wow there really isn't much cargo room is there!

I can't wait out to try the limo seating and see how much knee/RF room there is.

:love: :love: :love: the leather. I'm so glad that's an option.
 

robbertbobbert

New member
Oooh awesome!

I was definitely expecting more cargo room than that :(

I'm looking forward to more pics, though! I don't have anything specific in mind, but it seems like a really cool van.
 

Brigala

CPST Instructor
What is the towing capacity of that thing?

I probably would never convince DH to trade in our 3/4 ton Suburban, but... wow. Now that we have 3 kids (working on trying to find a 4th), two grand kids, two of the kids are getting to the age where they'll be having kids of their own soon...

*drool*

I want to win the lottery so I can buy a couple of these things for our church to use as church vans. :)
 

Brigala

CPST Instructor
That's just awesome. DH could still tow his tractor. ;)

Of course until they start showing up on the used market in coming years, there's absolutely no possible way. I can dream though, right?
 

Keeanh

Well-known member
Thanks for the pics!

Now come on Nissan!! 15-passenger version, please, please, please! 12 just isn't enough for us, LOL.
 

careynj

New member
Thanks for pictures!! Do you feel that the benches are wider than in your express? Looks to be a good headrest height. I'm really looking forward to getting in one of these with some seats and a camera
 

Chex

New member
They did feel wider. I'm not sure if it's because they were more like 3 separate seats or whether it's because the whole thing just feels roomier, but yeah, they felt wider.

I'm hoping to try out some more seats next time they call us. :)

And Keeanh, Ford is also coming out with a new passenger van in 2013 or 2014. Apparently it's already been out for a while in Europe and is very popular over there. Maybe they'll have a 15-passenger version?
 

Chex

New member
Ok! I'm hoping to try out most of the seats I have and see what will fit 3-across. I probably won't even have to do 3-across, though, as I'm fairly certain that my 2 oldest will pass the 5-step test in this. :thumbsup:
 

careynj

New member
Trying seats would be awesome! We're hoping to get 2 Frontiers and a MA65 in the front row and a PWSG and monterey backless in the back. I just with there were more latch points for boosters :( I hope it's wider. The express seats are a bit of a joke.
 

careynj

New member
Yeah? Better for 5 step than the express? I love that you've got the van I'm working with. Gives me a good idea of sizes. I'm looking for my brother and SIL. they've got 5.
 

Starlight

Senior Community Member
If we had one, my preference would be to have a row of 3, then a row of 4, and the rest as cargo room. Do you know if this is as possible? Dh says we should just take out the row of 4, but I think that minimizes the safety when we're carting a stroller and groceries and stuff. :/
 

An Aurora

Senior Community Member
I remember reading somewhere that you can't move the 4-seater bench up, maybe due to the wheel wells? I would love to be wrong though, as that would be the perfect setup.
 

Chex

New member
Trying seats would be awesome! We're hoping to get 2 Frontiers and a MA65 in the front row and a PWSG and monterey backless in the back. I just with there were more latch points for boosters :( I hope it's wider. The express seats are a bit of a joke.

Yeah? Better for 5 step than the express? I love that you've got the van I'm working with. Gives me a good idea of sizes. I'm looking for my brother and SIL. they've got 5.

I only have 1 Frontier and no MAs, but I have a PWSG and a Monterey (with the back), so I'll definitely try those. As far as 5-stepping, I don't know for sure that my kids will. But they do in almost every other vehicle they've been in. But in the Express, the lap belt is just such a poor fit (even on me) and because of the lack of headrest, I've left them in their boosters. I know they'd both love to at least move to backless, but we'll see.

If we had one, my preference would be to have a row of 3, then a row of 4, and the rest as cargo room. Do you know if this is as possible? Dh says we should just take out the row of 4, but I think that minimizes the safety when we're carting a stroller and groceries and stuff. :/

I remember reading somewhere that you can't move the 4-seater bench up, maybe due to the wheel wells? I would love to be wrong though, as that would be the perfect setup.

I was SOOOO hoping they'd be able to do that as that would allow me to have all the kids back there and still leave a seat for me if they need me on a trip or whatever. But no such luck. :( I was quite bummed about that. The wheel wells don't seem to be in the way because the 4th bench is over the wheel wells as it is. But there aren't tracks on the passenger side for the 4th row to move up. You can see where the tracks are for the "limo" mode, which would leave a LOT of space in the rear, but I agree that it seems less safe to put things back there that way. :(
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Wow, excellent job Nissan! I am so excited about the headrests, shoulder belts from the seats, 3 LATCH and 7 total TAs! Can't wait to hear how the Frontier does in it... I'm now envisioning filling that sucker with Coccoros for littles followed by Foonfs followed by Frontiers followed by boosters... Drool. It's like car seat porn. ;)

It looks really comfy, can't wait to hear how it is to ride in back there! And is that hook in the window for a shade or what? I'm having a hard time seeing it well.

Cargo space could be improved, yeah, but that I can probably live with. If necessary I guess groceries could be belted in in totes... :ROTFLMAO:
 

Chex

New member
Anne, it ha 5 TAs, not 7.

And are you talking about the little hook you can see by the ceiling with DS2 RF? I think it's just a garment hanger, but I also thought it might work well to hang a soft toy there. :)
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
I must have misread; I thought you said outboard seats had them. Five is still plenty for seating flexibility (I doubt I'd ever have more than 2 ffers at a time, and that still leaves room for a few RF seats or boosters to use LATCH!)
 

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