Back in January, we finally confirmed a report we brought you more than a year earlier -- namely, that the Nissan Quest minivan was officially taking the 2010 model year off. At the time of both reports, it wasn't clear if the minivan would return after its hiatus, but an initial teaser release and image from Nissan today confirms its people-hauler will indeed return in 2011.
Officially, the Quest bowed out for 2010 due to congestion at the Canton, Mississippi, plant where it was built. Nissan said the Quest, Armada and Infiniti QX56 would all be phased-out at Canton to make way for the new NV line of commercial vehicles. We were told that Quest and QX56 production would shift to Japan, while the Armada was apparently left out in the cold. We couldn't help but notice that sales for all three vehicles had also taken a serious hit in 2008.
So now we know the Quest is back, but that's just about all we know so far, short of the teaser image it's displaying during a presentation in New York on the eve of the 2010 New York show. Nissan did say that the new Quest will offer more functionality and comfort without sacrificing space or driving prowess. That, and it will go on sale in early 2011. Beyond that, what we know is what we can see, and what we can see is that while the last Quest looked something like a puffed-up Versa, the new one looks to be based in part on the 2007 Nissan Forum Concept. Though more restrained than the Forum, the new Quest clearly cribs some of its front-end styling from the concept. The rest, though, will have to wait until the van officially debuts, likely sometime later this year.Thanks to: Motor Trend