The Nissan Quest is more of a driver's car than most minivans. It feels natural and is very easy to drive.The Quest's suspension is taut. Compared with other minivans, its handling is more responsive. The Quest leans less in corners, the nose dives less under braking and the rear squats less under acceleration. The steering is crisp, with just the right amount of feedback to let the driver feel connected to the road. Yet it's not too tight for around-town use.
Quest shares chassis components with the Nissan Murano crossover utility and Altima and Maxima sedans. Its suspension provides good handling for a big vehicle. No, the Quest doesn't handle as well as the Maxima, but it certainly feels far more stable in corners than a sport-utility and it handles better than a Toyota Sienna.
Quest's 3.5-liter engine is one of the best V6 engines on the market. It's essentially the same engine used in the 350Z and Infiniti G35. Retuned, it produces 240 horsepower with a decent torque curve, peaking at 242 pound-feet. Nissan's variable valve-timing system helps optimize efficiency at a wide range of engine speeds. We found it delivered enough power to let the Quest accelerate onto on-ramps and pass slower vehicles on two-lane highways at a respectable rate. The throttle seemed a bit sensitive at tip-in, however.
The available five-speed automatic transmission delivers the smooth shifts of a luxury sedan. Quest rates an EPA-estimated 19/26 mpg City/Highway with the standard four-speed automatic and 18/25 mpg with the five-speed automatic. We checked the overall gear ratios and noticed that, even though the five-speed provides slightly more relaxed top-gear cruising, the five-speed's three lowest gears are significantly more aggressive than in the four-speed. We suspect that's how that 1 mpg gets lost on all but the straightest, flattest roads. By the same token, the five-speed automatic should offer better acceleration performance than the four-speed automatic, better response around town and smoother shifting. Our preference is, of course, for the five-speed automatic.
You'll have to spring for premium fuel to extract the maximum amount of power from the engine. Quest will run on regular unleaded, but its engine controller knows you've bought the cheap stuff and dials back the ignition timing to protect the engine from damage. As a result, power sags to 230 horsepower and 238 pound-feet of torque on regular. Speed costs money.
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