It has to be said, The Nissan Passenger is amazing! I’m here to tell you what I love, what works, and what you will miss from your previous van/truck when making the switch. I was really worried to leave behind my Honda Odyssey, because I’ve never had a problem. In fact, two of my 5 kids cried when we left Coco Obby at the dealership. Yes, we name our vehicles and yes my kids were attached (many issues over here). Who wants to get rid of a van that’s been wonderful? Well I didn’t, but 5 kids in our van about put me over the edge. Plus, I take my nephew and niece a lot and that meant there was absolutely no room. However, I didn’t want to drive a huge van. I needed to look semi cool, people. The Nissan is a beauty. I know, I know vanity is ugly, I’m a work in progress.
We bought a 2016 Nissan Passenger (black) V8 with leather interior. We named her Mufasa. The leather was worth it to me with kids. Malachi smeared chocolate on his seat the first day. Thank you leather for being so good to me. The V8 was important to my husband. He wanted to pull our boat or a rented pop up camper once in awhile. I didn’t think it was a big deal, but the V8 is great. Mufasa is fast and can beat the best of them when merging onto the highway.
I’m not the best driver. For example, I hit my garage 3 times in 2 months. The men fixing it wanted to paint a bullseye on it for fun. So the thought of a 12 passenger van created all sorts of panic for me. I was nervous the first drive, but then Mufasa grew on me. I’ve never driven a Suburban, so I imagine it’s just like that. You can park in just about any space. Well once upon a time, we lived in Chicago and New York City, so I take that back. I don’t parallel park, ever. I can park Mufasa perfectly in parking lots, there that’s better. I saw one brave mama park her Nissan Passenger right up front near Target. I tried to get near her on the count that Mufasa could be near family, but I could use a little more practice. I make a 50 point turn at least once a week, but the back up camera is my jam! The camera is huge and so helpful with sounds and markers.
My husband is 6’5. He loves the room. We just drove to Great Wolf, and he loved the drive. There is a ton of room up front, and the seat fits him well. I love the large compartment between the driver’s seat and the passenger. I figure I could fit another kid in there if I needed….kidding, but it is big enough. I was worried I would be losing too many cool options from Coco Obby (my Honda Odyssey if I’m losing you). The automatic doors were a plus with Coco. The Nissan Passenger has one big door. Kids can close it! My older girls (8 & 6) can shut the door from the inside and the outside. I do the shutting when it’s just the boys. I just tell them girls are stronger, hehe.
Now I need to speak with the genius who came up with the seat belt configurations. The seat belt buckles each have their own seat. Does that make sense? So I can put 3 boosters next to each other if I want, because my kids can buckle up and not bump into the other buckle. I added a picture below for you. It’s genius. Also, the seat belts start from the actual seat and not the ceiling so you’re not strangling your kids. That’s important… sometimes.
I’ll update you in a couple of months. We are driving 22 hours to Florida soon, so that will be a good test. For now, I love the Nissan NV. If you have any questions, ask away and I’ll answer. And by all means, name your van.
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