The drive route begins in downtown Miami where palm trees, mural-splashed walls festooned with bougainvillea and the ever-present ocean provided a most agreeable backdrop.
Our standard roof, base S model tester for the first leg has a face only a mother could love; plain grey and devoid of any bling, there’s nothing to draw the eye away from its ungainly snout. But it’s an exercise in form following function – unlike other flat-faced cargo vans, that prominent proboscis houses the engine, freeing up interior space and allowing the designers to create a spacious and functional cabin.
There’s lots of extra legroom and cubbies that slide out from under the seats to hold flashlights, tools, clipboards etc. The lockable centre console provides space for laptops or file folders and there are available power outlets for charging tools.
Cloth seating is supportive and comfortable, with the outside edge reinforced to withstand wear from constant entering and exiting. But we did miss the ability to raise and lower the seat on our base model, short drivers may want to upgrade in order to see over the hood. Likewise, the hand-adjusted mirrors require a passenger to roll the window down (by hand) and poke at the right-side glass until the driver is satisfied.
Although we were warned that the steering in our pre-production vehicles was still being fine-tuned – we liked its heaviness. Using a heavy-duty re-circulating ball system rather than rack and pinion found in passenger cars, it provides solid control when the vehicle’s fully loaded. And you won’t need 40 acres to turn this rig around, as we discovered while executing a rapid u-turn downtown. The Nissan NV claims the tightest turning radius in its segment.
The V8 provides excellent acceleration coupled with the firm shifting transmission. We don’t notice any excessive skittering of the unloaded van’s rear end, and it handles quite well.
We arrive at a Lowe’s hardware store, where our vehicles are loaded with pallets of building supplies. Nissan has committed to donating $35,000 worth of construction materials to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Miami – an organization that builds affordable homes for low-income families.
Our standard roof, base S model tester for the first leg has a face only a mother could love; plain grey and devoid of any bling, there’s nothing to draw the eye away from its ungainly snout. But it’s an exercise in form following function – unlike other flat-faced cargo vans, that prominent proboscis houses the engine, freeing up interior space and allowing the designers to create a spacious and functional cabin.
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| Cloth seating is supportive and comfortable, with the outside edge reinforced to withstand wear from constant entering and exiting. (Photo: Lesley Wimbush/Auto123.com) |
There’s lots of extra legroom and cubbies that slide out from under the seats to hold flashlights, tools, clipboards etc. The lockable centre console provides space for laptops or file folders and there are available power outlets for charging tools.
Cloth seating is supportive and comfortable, with the outside edge reinforced to withstand wear from constant entering and exiting. But we did miss the ability to raise and lower the seat on our base model, short drivers may want to upgrade in order to see over the hood. Likewise, the hand-adjusted mirrors require a passenger to roll the window down (by hand) and poke at the right-side glass until the driver is satisfied.
Although we were warned that the steering in our pre-production vehicles was still being fine-tuned – we liked its heaviness. Using a heavy-duty re-circulating ball system rather than rack and pinion found in passenger cars, it provides solid control when the vehicle’s fully loaded. And you won’t need 40 acres to turn this rig around, as we discovered while executing a rapid u-turn downtown. The Nissan NV claims the tightest turning radius in its segment.
The V8 provides excellent acceleration coupled with the firm shifting transmission. We don’t notice any excessive skittering of the unloaded van’s rear end, and it handles quite well.
We arrive at a Lowe’s hardware store, where our vehicles are loaded with pallets of building supplies. Nissan has committed to donating $35,000 worth of construction materials to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Miami – an organization that builds affordable homes for low-income families.
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| We arrive at a Lowe’s hardware store, where our vehicles are loaded with pallets of building supplies. (Photo: Lesley Wimbush/Auto123.com) |