Large and outspoken
New MPVs of the old school are a real rarity in Europe. In Japan, the MPV is still very much alive. In various types and sizes even. This Nissan Elgrand proves that there is even plenty of demand for giga-MPVs!
During the Japan Mobility Show, Nissan gave a glimpse of the updated Ariya. For us Europeans, that was by far the most important news that Nissan brought to the show. The Japanese think differently about that. The presentation of the new Nissan Elgrand is much bigger news for the Japanese market. Both literally and figuratively.
The Nissan Elgrand is a whopper of an MPV, the model stands one step above the already quite sturdy Serena. The Elgrand operates in a segment that we haven’t known in Europe for years. It is a full-size MPV that also places a strong focus on luxury and pampering. In Japan, the Elgrand certainly doesn’t have the market to itself. For example, Toyota sells the Vellfire and Alphard in the same class, and even Lexus is making a bid for market share with the LM. The new fourth-generation Elgrand doesn’t come a day too soon. The outgoing model is already 16 years old.
Hyper Tourer
The new Nissan Elgrand is derived from the Hyper Tourer Concept that debuted two years ago at the same auto show. The production version looks far less bizarre than that design study, but influences remain. The Elgrand is certainly not a wallflower. The five-meter-long MPV has a crazy front where segmented lighting visually merges with a colorful collection of boxes and lines in the front bumper. According to Nissan, the car is designed according to the same design language as the Ariya and the Note (not available here). We see few similarities.
The Elgrand has a spacious-looking interior, complete with extensive ambient lighting, an instrument panel that visually merges with the infotainment screen and… physical buttons! Great for those who like them. Interesting is the 22-speaker audio system from Bose that even adds speakers to the headrests. There are sliding and extensively adjustable seats, screens in the rear, and so on.
e-Power
In Japan, the new Elgrand comes to market with Nissan’s latest e-Power powertrain, complete with all-wheel drive and thus two electric motors. This means it is always electrically driven, but also has a gasoline engine on board. Extensive technical specifications are not yet available.
The Elgrand will of course not come to the Netherlands. When it comes to MPVs, the offering here is meager. There are passenger car versions of various commercial vehicles, and brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz still have the 2-series Active Tourer and the B-class in their range. The Volkswagen Multivan and the Voyah Dream are virtually the only cars that still truly deserve the ‘large MPV’ label.