NISSAN STILL A BIG MANUFACTURER IN AUSTRALIA

Nissan started assembling cars in Sydney over 50 years ago, in 1966. Then began full-line local production in 1972, eventually not only making Nissans here, but also Holdens for a while (some Astras were based on Nissan Pulsars). Though Nissan pulled out of full-scale manufacturing here in 1992, it continues to make car components to this day, and plans to do so well into the next decade. The Nissan Casting Plant (NCAP) in Clayton, Victoria employs 192 skilled workers, runs three shifts a day, seven days a week making approximately… Read more

2018 NISSAN X-TRAIL REVIEW

Nissan has given its midsize X-Trail SUV a solid makeover in appearance both inside and out, as well as a major performance boost, added technology and improved overall refinement. The Nissan X-Trail is offered with five or seven-seat versions, though the seven-seater is only available if you chose the 2WD model with the 2.5-litre petrol engine. Our test Nissan for the past week was a five-seat diesel X-Trail Ti. STYLING Three new paint colours: Marine Blue, Copper Blaze and Ruby Red lift it away from the various shades of silver… Read more

NISSAN ADDS UPMARKET X-TRAIL TO RANGE

The Nissan X-Trail range has been expanded to include the topline TL model with a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine. This four-cylinder engine produces up to130 kW of power with maximum torque of 380 Nm at a relatively high 2000 rpm. There should be good torque below the peak figure, something we will comment on when we can get ourselves behind the wheel of one. The powerplant is also offered in the entry X-Trail TS. It drives to all four wheels through a CVT automatic transmission. Nissan Australia managing director Stephen Lester,… Read more

NISSAN PATROL UPGRADED FOR 2018

Nissan Patrol has a new look and a variety of enhancements to make it even more attractive to large 4WD / SUV buyers. The Patrol’s front has a new grille with horizontal metallic bars, and revised foglamp housings. A new design of 18-inch alloy wheels is aimed at giving it a more premium look. Inside, the Patrol range gets an updated infotainment system with a multi-touch panel that’s now more intuitive. There are now two USB charging points at the rear of the centre console. The range-topping Patrol Ti-L has… Read more

2017 NISSAN PATHFINDER TI REVIEW

Of late, the Nissan Pathfinder has proved something of an enigma for the Japanese manufacturer. This model, released here in 2014, has not found as much favour amongst families as they expected, so a little bit of jouging was needed to pique the interest. Nissan has tweaked the ride and design, adjusted a few of the functions and made it even quieter than before. We took the range-topping Ti home with us for the week. STYLING This Pathfinder now sports Nissan’s V Motion grille and new headlights and a few… Read more

2018 NISSAN NAVARA ST REVIEW

Two years into its lifecycle, the Nissan Navara has found itself on the right end of a few twerks and tweaks. It is unusual, yes, but also gives a strong indication of how important this ute is to the motoring giant. Complaints of ride quality have followed the 2016 model and Nissan has worked hard to revise the suspension, made changes to the front and rear shock absorbers and stiffened the rebound dampers. Nissan has also taken this opportunity to add a further variant to the range, the SL, a… Read more

2017 NISSAN X-TRAIL ST-L REVIEW

The X-Trail is a more than able soldier for Nissan accounting for most of the manufacturer’s sales in this country last year and the latest nip and tuck is likely to keep that momentum going. The updated model is offered with two petrol engines, with a diesel on its way, in manual or automatic, five or seven seats and two-wheel or four-wheel drive. You clearly won’t be short on choice then. Nissan X-Trail now also boasts a raft of new features without Nissan tinkering with the price. The ST-L we… Read more

NISSAN 370Z NISMO IS LOW, SPORTY AND WELL-PRICED

Nissan has introduced a low-cost competitor into the high-performance sportscar scene. The bargain priced Nissan 370Z Nismo will sell from only $61,490 for the six-speed manual and $63,990 for the seven-speed paddle-shift automatic. This is around $8000 less than had been anticipated when Nissan Australia confirmed to us Nismo would definitely be coming here a few months back. Based on the standard Nissan 370Z, which is already astonishingly cheap for this class with a tag starting at just $49,990. The Nismo edition has added power, revised suspension, wider tyres, bigger… Read more

PATHFINDER TRACKS ONWARD AND UPWARD

From memory, late last century the Nissan Pathfinder became the first four-wheel-drive wagon to be offered with a two-wheel drive option, in this case for the American market. Thus, the mid-size 4×4 perhaps became the vanguard of the present sports utility vehicle tsunami around the world, which sees an SUV on almost every street corner. The Pathfinder still plays a leading role, with the MY17 version, at more than five metres long, hopping into bed with the big SUV boys, in 2WD and 4WD versions, with petrol or petrol /… Read more

NISSAN X-TRAIL MAKEOVER

Nissan has given its midsize X-Trail SUV a big performance boost, a solid makeover in appearance both inside and out, added significant technology and improved its overall refinement. Now in its 17th year, over four generations, with total sales downunder approaching 200,000, the X-Trail is an important vehicle in the sales armament of the Australian arm of the Japanese giant that has operated in Australia since the mid 1960s (beginning as Datsun). Though the appearance changes to the body are restricted to the ‘soft’ areas, that is plastic and glass… Read more