2011 Nissan Quest

The 2011 Nissan Quest hits the market after taking 2010 off. Nissan clearly took that year off to do some serious examination of what the minivan lacked and what it could do better to be a real contender in the market. The result is a 2011 Quest with a unique exterior and an upscale interior that combine to make this a minivan that could give the outstanding Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna a run for their money.

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This is an all-new Quest, and it's not just the outside that's gotten a spicy new look; the interior has also been restyled and verges on downright fancy with its faux-wood and metal-looking accents.

Of course, nothing is perfect and driving the Quest wasn't as exciting as its new looks. While the driving experience wasn't wholly inspiring, the Quest's V-6 was quite competent in tackling the curvy, steep roads through the Rocky Mountains for a trek to Breckenridge, Colo. However, it seemed to labor more than necessary when cruising city streets.

The Quest has a starting MSRP of $27,750. The model I tested, the SV, starts at $30,900, but with the addition of roof rails, floormats and a cargo net, the price came to $32,240.

EXTERIOR

Automakers have been trying to spice up minivans recently. There isn't a whole lot one can do with the form of a minivan in order to preserve its function. That said, the 2011 Nissan Quest actually does a decent job of mixing up its exterior looks, especially compared to previous years. It looks like the love child of a Ford Flex and a previous-generation Nissan Quest. This alleged coupling produced a car whose looks may not be for everyone, but they definitely stand out in the minivan crowd.

The 2011 Quest is shorter than its predecessor, putting it at almost the same length as a Sienna and just a couple inches shy of an Odyssey. It's also got a few tweaks to give it an edgier look. The windows are now tinted, the pillars on the sides and rear are black and the roof sits atop these pillars, giving it that Flex-like floating-roof appearance. The new grille and door handles are chrome, and there is a spoiler at the rear. My test car was the midlevel SV trim. It came with standard 16-inch aluminum alloy wheels. Upper-level trims come with 18-inch wheels.

A power moonroof, power liftgate and one-touch power sliding doors are all available features to make any family's life in the Quest more pleasant. My test car did not come with any of these features, but one-touch doors that automatically unlock and slide open after you've swiped your hand over a button on the exterior door handle sound brilliant.

The rear cargo space includes a 60/40-split covered storage well that brings the total cargo space behind the third row up to 37.1 cubic feet, which is on par with that of the Sienna and Odyssey. The 2011 Quest does fall short in overall storage capacity with 108.4 cubic feet of total volume; the Sienna and the Odyssey each have almost 150 cubic feet. Of course, if you have children in child-safety seats like I do, total cargo volume isn't as important since your kids are always strapped into their car seats, and the seats are not going to be folded down anytime soon.