Help is on the way for the beleaguered Nissan Quest minivan.
A significantly revised 2007 model will begin arriving in dealerships in June.
Introduced three years ago, the second-generation Quest is a very good minivan, but it came with styling apparently just too radical for the average minivan buyer, who tends to be a conservative consumer with little interest in such things as cutting-edge styling and innovation.
Dealers say the problem has been the interior design, not the way it looks on the outside. Prospective buyers, usually women, look into the cockpit, shake their heads and exit the dealership on their way to a Dodge, Chrysler, Honda or Toyota dealer.
The big turn-off: The speedometer/instrument panel, which is mounted in the center of the dash, above a vertical "pod" that is oval-shaped.
The speedometer's placement in the middle of the dash instead of just above the steering column has been pinpointed as the most troublesome element of the interior design. Critics say they hate having to look to the right to see the vehicle's speed, taking their eyes off the road.
The speedometer's placement there was part design, part practicality. The placement in the middle allows for minimal changes to the vehicle when it puts the steering wheel on the right side for use in other countries, such as Japan, where cars drive on the left side of the road. As a result, the speedometer and instrument panel do not have to be moved. The only changes are to the steering column, shifter and pedals.
But bowing to consumers' criticism and hoping to turn the Quest into a successful product, Nissan has moved the speedometer of the 2007 model to its traditional spot in the dash above the steering column, one of many changes.
"Unchanged is Quest's position as the most distinctive and original minivan on the market today," the company said in a product announcement. With that comment, Nissan is saying that although it has made what it deems to be necessary changes, it refuses to make the Quest into just another cookie-cutter minivan.
The stylish exterior has been "refined," but not drastically altered.
The Quest remains one of the roomiest front-drive minivans on the market,
Nissan says, and it has the widest-opening doors "for easy access to the standard fold-away second and third row seats."
The headrests have been redesigned so they won't have to be removed to fold the third seat into the floor and create a flat load space. The headrests fold away automatically as the seat is lowered into the floor.
Nissan promises "an array of new available features," including a Bluetooth hands-free cell phone system, a six-disc in-dash CD player with MP3 playback capability, and a jack for an iPod or other audio player to be connected to the car's system.
The Quest's enhancements, Nissan said, "represent one of the largest mid-cycle investments" in a vehicle in the company's history.
No figure was given for Nissan's investment in the changes. But automakers usually reserve big changes for new generations of a vehicle, which usually comes about every six to 10 years; putting a large investment in a vehicle after just three years on the market is unusual.
Besides moving it to a more traditional location, the entire instrument panel has been redesigned, and the center pod, which includes the heating/air conditioning and audio systems, also has been redesigned.
New trim has been added and more attention has been paid to interior detail.
Under the hood is the same 3.5-liter V6 engine from the 2006 model, rated at 240 horsepower and 242 foot-pounds of torque. It's connected to a smooth-shifting electronically controlled five-speed automatic transmission.
The 2007 Quest will come with a choice of 16, 17 or 19-inch wheels, and Michelin PAX run-flat tires are offered with the 19-inch wheels.
A tire pressure monitoring system will be standard on all models, along with four-wheel antilock disc brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake-assist.
Other safety features include head curtain air bags for all three rows of seating. A rearview monitor system is standard on up-level models and available on other versions.
The 2007 Quest's prices will range from $24,000 to about $33,000, the company said. EPA fuel-economy ratings for 2006 are 18 miles per gallon in the city and 25 on the highway.
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