drive
WHEN THE Nissan
» Quest mini-van was
introduced in 11992, it
~, was arguably the most
sensibly designed, car-
“like mini-van on the
market, . :

wos.

: Feature like
-adhird ‘bench. -
seat, that could :
a

"(GXE): $30,608 .
-Base. price. (XE):

‘| $25,598
Type:

front

“SOHC

'| Horsepower: 151 @
4,800 z.p.m,
Torque: 174 ft.-Ibs.
| @ 4,400 r.p.m.
-Curb weight: 1,798
kg (3.964 Ibs.)
Fuel consumption:
City —- 12.9 1/100
km (22 m.p.g.)
Hwy,— 9.0 i/100 km
Gi mpg.)
Warranty: Basic —~.
three years or 80,000

had.one'major |‘
flaw: no driver -.
or passenger :

‘available then.
Instead, it ©
offered those
awkward motor-
ized seatbelts |
that appeared in |
some cars for a
few years bui. ‘km
which have:
sitice been unde.
versally con- |

sumers. It.-wasn’t |

until 1994 that'a driver's Ss
‘airbag was added to the.
Quest. Finally, this year, it
receives dual airbags.

’. three-door,
“T’seven-passenger

Mini-van -

Layow%: : transverse |
engine/front-
wheel-drive
| Engine: 3.0-litre V6,

Major Components
— five years or
100,000 km

demned by con- : —_

Since its introduction, i
few mini-vans hitve caught
up to the Quest and have
added new features like dri-
ver's side rear doors, But in
my opinion, the Quest
temains one of the top choic-
es if you're interested ina
front-wheel-drive mini-van
with a standard-length
wheelbase.

You might be interested to
know that the Quest was the
result of a joint project
between Nissan and Ford.

Designed and engineered by .

Nissan, the Quest is assem-
bled by Ford in Ohio along-
side Mercury’s version of the
Quest, the Villager.

The Quest i is available
with one engine and trans-

7 mission combination,a =~

“Nissan 151
horsepower 3.0-

litre V6 engine :

and four-speed’
“automatie trans-
mission With
column shifter.

” This single
overhead cam
engine, derived
from the seme
engine that
powered the
Maxima and
300ZX, is quiet,
smooth and

_ powerful. ft
averages 11.0
litres per 100
kilometres (26
m.p.g.) in com-
bined city and
highway dri-
ving.

The automatic

* transmission
performed well
in my tests too,
and has an over-
drive lockout-
button on the
end of the shift
lever which
locks out fourth
gear for hill
climbing or

low-speed driving.

Unlike the rear-wheel-
drive Mazda MPV and

‘Toyota Previa, the front-

LIMITED EDITION

THE 1996 Nissan Quest ge

front-wheel-drive Quest

Friday, May 3,

1996 — North Shore News — 21

: * Photo submitted. :

ots a mild facelift and sore interior improvements this year. The seven-passengs?,
as a standard 151 horseyewer 3.0-litre V6-engine with four-speed automatic trans-

mission. A unique rear bencit seat slides afl the way to the front seats to increase cargo space. Take the new
Quast on a test drvie at Nissan Regency, 711 W. 14th, North Vancouver.

wheel-drive Quest has supe-
rior traction in the snow and
on slippery surfaces. Thougin
much of the Quest’s weight
is over the front wheels, t
found handling to be surpris-
ingly neutral right up to its
fairly high limit.

The Quest is an easy van
tc live with: easy to drive,
easy to get in and out of, and
easy to load. It offers a low
step-in height, excellent out-
ward visibility, stable han-
dling, smooth, quiet ride, and
a handsome, ergenomically
correct interior.

And because it’s only as
iong as a mid-sized car, it's
easy to park in tight spots
and in parking garages with
low ceilings. Quests seat six
or seven passengers. in the
standard seven-passenger
version, the middle two-per-

FEATURING THE “ROCKPORT EDITION”:

Incorporatirig a $2,500.00 SAVING plus Tor-sf-ihe-Line

son bench can be “tumbled”
forwards or removed from
the van.

The third, three-person
bench can be tumbled for-
wards or slid all the way to
the front seats to create a
huge cargo area. Both bench-

"es have reclining seatbacks

with a hard back that can be
used as tables when folded
down, All outboard positions
have adjustable head
restraints and three-point
seatbelts. Buiit-in child seats
are available as an option.

In the six-passenger
Quest, centre captain's seats
replace the centre bench.
Access to the rear cargo area
is by a lift-up hatchback, or
by a glass window which
opens separately. The rear
cargo area is large enough
for a week’s worth of gro-

ceries, but it won't hold
seven person's luggage for a
long trip.

For 1996, the Quest's
front and rear styling has
been moditied, but the
changes are minor. Interior
changes include an vasicr-to-
adjust tilt steering wheel,
enlarged cupholders, illumi-
nated power-window buttons,
improved radio control
design and a redesigned
power door-lock button that
makes it more difficult to
accidentally lock the doors.
Useful Quest features include
rear radio controls with a
headphone jack, integrated
child seats in the second row,
rear air-conditioning, rear
power outlet and reading
light, and power-operated
rear side windows.

The Quest meets passen-

‘SPECIAL EDITION

ger car safety standards for
rollover and crash protection’
(not all mini-yans do) with
side-door beams, double door
latches, and reinforced centre
pillars. For safer braking,‘
four wheel anti-lock brakes ::
are an available option.

One advantage the Quest -
has over domestic .uini-vans
is a longer warranty. As well

“as the base three year/80,000

kilometre warranty, the Quest

- offers a five year/100,000

kilometre powertrain warran-
ty. (This was reduced from
six years/! 10,000 km last
year).

Manufacturer's Suggested -
Retail Prices for the Quest .
are as follows: Quest: XE, |
$25,598; GXE $30,598. A -
top-of-the-line -GXE with
leather and ‘a handling pack--

age goes for $34,398:

AS SEEN OWN TLV. “NED’S ZED"!
The Z22 VERSION with bigger wheels & tires, spoiler, tach., etc. -

TRA
Rocce dh= foe
LATE BREAKING NEWS ..

SCRAP-173

WE SUPPORT THE
MOMEY-FOR-CLUNKERS DEAL!

one of many models in stock now - including 2-deor, 4 door,
juxury series, Z24 and convertible - all with antilock brakes

& dual air bags! $14,500

1996 CAVALIER
#1 IN CANADA
6 YEARS
INA
ROW!

ulded running boards, aerodeflector, Rockport emblems
and floormats plus, exclusively, a Rockport gift kit
of shces, sweatshirt and a hat!

1996 BLAZER
MOTOR TREND'S

WE'LL GO YOU ONE BETTER
then the Government's announced scrop-it
clean air program. Drive it in or have us tow
in your old dunker ~ a0 mileage, aircare or
age restrictions - and no junk yard visitations!

VE LOOK AFTER THE PAPERWORK!
... ONE STOP ... NO HASSLE ...
(Sorry - no bus passes available}

"RE EASY TO FIND?
ONE BLOCK EAST OF CAPHANO..&
MALL (RIGHT ON MARINE DRIVE}