Overview & Reviews

The Nissan Quest has typically had a supporting role in the minivan market. The first two generations, in particular, were rather anonymous and subpar. The more recent third-generation Quest made a huge leap ahead in terms of styling and performance, though it, too, never really caught on with the public.

The newest and latest fourth-generation Nissan Quest, however, is the most competitive model yet. Its bold styling, interior refinement and smooth V6/continuously variable transmission (CVT) place it firmly in the discussion among the leaders of the pack: the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna.

Current Nissan Quest
The Nissan Quest minivan is powered by a 3.5-liter V6 making 260 horsepower, put to the ground through a CVT. There are four trim levels: S, SV, SL and LE.

The base S is sparsely equipped for a minivan, but still offers an auxiliary audio jack and a few other niceties. The SV adds a wealth of other items such as alloy wheels, power-sliding doors and high-tech items like Bluetooth and an iPod interface. The SL trim is more luxurious thanks to its leather upholstery and one-touch folding third-row seats, while the top-trim LE gains a navigation system and an advanced "Around View" parking camera, while offering an optional panoramic moonroof spanning nearly the length of the roof. The kids will be thankful that a DVD entertainment system is available on all but the base S.

Inside, the Quest's controls are logically grouped on the center stack and easily navigable. Interior materials are the best you'll find in a minivan, with the leather-appointed cabins in the range-topping trims feeling especially premium and luxurious. On the downside, the Quest's standard second-row captain's chairs eliminate the option for an eighth passenger. And although the Quest's seats fold neatly into the floor, this design results in about 40 cubic feet less cargo capacity than other mainstream minivans.

Overall, though, the Quest is a legitimate, if commonly overlooked, choice for a minivan. Thanks to its compliant ride, composed handling and smooth power delivery, it should serve families quite well.

Used Nissan Quest Models
The current, fourth-generation Nissan Quest was introduced for 2011. There have been no significant changes since then.

The third-generation Nissan Quest was produced from 2004-'09 (there was no Quest for the 2010 model year). At its debut, it shook up the minivan world with its avant-garde body styling, unique cabin design and a marketing campaign that did its best to disassociate the van from its soccer mom image. The Quest's pillar-style center stack was certainly distinctive, but the multitude of similar buttons made operating often-used functions a hassle. Thankfully, the busy center stack was replaced by a much more user-friendly layout in a 2007 refresh.

All Quests of this generation were powered by a 3.5-liter V6 that produces 235 hp, and power was sent to the front wheels through a five-speed automatic transmission. Four trim levels were available -- the base 3.5, 3.5 S, 3.5 SL and 3.5 SE -- each with an increasing number of features and conveniences. Oddly enough, none of these trim levels included rear seats -- forcing customers to pay extra for a seat package that included second-row captain's chairs and a flat-folding rear bench.

This Quest had a few things in its favor, including a roomy interior and handling that was a cut above most other minivan competitors. However, downsides were numerous, including a third-row seat that wasn't split, a relative lack of cargo capacity and limited availability of stability control. Overall, minivan shoppers would be better served by other top choices in this segment.

The second generation of the Nissan Quest debuted for 1999. Offered in base GXE, midlevel SE and leather-lined GLE trims, this Quest featured a 3.3-liter V6 with 170 hp, as well as a unique sliding (but not removable) third-row seat that could be stowed right behind the front seats -- after the second-row seats were taken out. The van's questionable ergonomics, iffy build quality and poor crash test scores, however, made for a last-place finish in an Edmunds minivan comparison test. The model run continued through the 2002 model year, but there was no Quest sold for the 2003 model year.

Introduced in 1993 and sold through 1998, the first-generation Nissan Quest had a 151-hp 3.0-liter V6. Base XE and uplevel GXE trims were offered and seven-passenger seating was standard. The biggest change for this generation occurred in 1996 when a minor face-lift yielded a new grille, bumpers, headlights, taillights and dashboard.

The first two generations of the Quest were rather anonymous and subpar. It might also be helpful during the shopping process to know that these Quests were also nearly identical to the Mercury Villager from the same time period. With either variant, however, minivan shoppers are still advised to consider better-ranking minivans first.

User Reviews:

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  A great car to own - 2004 Nissan Quest
  By Viviana Morales - July 21 - 2:00 am

  After much research, the Quest won our over the Odyssey and Toyota. It feels like youre driving a car not a van. The interior is great and its like they thought of everything you could ever want/need. I also love that the minivan doesnt look like a minivan. It has great style!

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  The best one Ive owned - 2004 Nissan Quest
  By gqclothier - July 10 - 10:00 am

  My wife is disaballed, and this is the 2nd Quest ive gotten for her. She loved the 1st, and her only regrets were it didnt have power doors and a power passenger seat so it would be easier for her to get in. There were concerns about the way the seat configurations had to be done and the weight of the seats. All of these concerns were met and then some. I would like to thank the design folks at Nissan for listening to those of us who buy and drive the cars they make. It was truly worth the wait.

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  Best Van Ever - 2004 Nissan Quest
  By Dianne - July 4 - 10:00 am

  its wonderful, I cant believe how wonderful it made from the inside out

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  Bought with 49,000 miles - 2004 Nissan Quest
  By Scot T. - July 1 - 4:03 am

  We bought our 2004 Quest fully aware of potential early build issues. The 04 has an extended warranty of 5 yrs/60,000 miles bumper to bumper, aiding with these minor build issues. Dealer has been very good about taking care of these minor rattle issues.

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  Great van but consider the cargo space. - 2014 Nissan Quest
  By flyingdutch1 - June 26 - 5:55 pm

  Coming from a Chrysler T&C (terrible quality!) I also looked at the similar priced models of Honda, Toyota and Kia. I picked a Nissan Quest SV because of the interior styling and best drive. The Quest drives very smoothly with a very peppy engine when you need it. Just came back from an Ohio-Florida-Ohio trip with 3 adults and 3 children on board and the van was perfect. The only "gotcha" is the cargo space. Most other vans have a system where the back seat folds into the trunk but the Quests seats all folds forward creating a somewhat flat loading floor but you lose significant space in height. The Quest has a deep compartment but not very wide so packing was a challenge.

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  Pleased so far....... - 2008 Nissan Quest
  By Samuel - June 23 - 4:36 am

  We purchased the Quest about 2 months ago and to my surprise, have had no real issues. This is our first minivan and I was leaning hard to the Sienna simply because I have owned Toyotas in the past and have had no major problems. After much research, we went with the Quest because of the incentives offered at the time. We got much more van at a lower cost than the Sienna. Happy so far, but only time will tell.

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  excellent customer service. - 2006 Nissan Quest
  By tita - June 19 - 10:06 pm

  got the nssan quest se recently and was very impressed with appearance. dash board is nice, seats are comfortable, huge space but the best is the customer service in central ave nissan. everybody was just very accomodating and helpful, very detailed about the features of the car. not like honda dealer, they just gave the key and that was it. didnt even show me how to operate cd. will definitely buy from nissan central ave in yonkers again!

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  Its awsome - 2004 Nissan Quest
  By coryell - June 15 - 10:00 am

  This is the most vehicle for the money ! We love it this is my 7th nissan

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  Excellent! - 2004 Nissan Quest
  By Patraleyeon - June 15 - 10:00 am

  I LOVE MY NEW NISSAN QUEST! ITS ROOMY, STYLISH, HUGS THE CURVES, THE COLOR IS AWESOME AND EVERYTHING IS RIGHT IN REACH. MY SON LOVES IT. MY BOYFRIEND LOVES IT TOO. AND THE PRICE WAS VERY VERY REASONABLE FOR THIS MINIVAN.

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  Too young & cute to be a soccer mom! - 2004 Nissan Quest
  By sassy - June 9 - 5:56 am

  Driving this van has been a pleasure and while its capacity is that of a soccer van, the image is simply not there. It drives smoothly, accelerates well, and handles corners. Nissan has handled the expected recalls of that of a new design quite well and our family is quite happy with it.