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If you’re in the market for a new van, start with this explanation of why we got rid of our Sprinter.

An update to our review can be found here.

We’ve been a Nissan family since our pre-marriage days, when Andrew sported around in a five-speed Maxima. It was very hard to let go of our Quest when we needed more room. That’s why we were really excited to test drive the Nissan NV 3500 as soon as it came out. It did not disappoint. And it went home with us that very day.

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The van is eye-catching without being an eyesore. When we rode around town in our Sprinter, we couldn’t help but be noticed as we roared into the parking lot. With the NV we stand out, but it has less to do with looking like the FedEx truck and more to do with driving a spiffy-looking van that no one has seen before.

To me, the van looks like the Nissan Titan truck and the Nissan Cube had a gigantic baby. The front of the van looks like a Titan. The back is more like a box. I feel like I’m driving an extra large SUV rather than a van. And what red-blooded American can’t appreciate a good SUV?

One of the first things we noticed about the van was how quiet it was. Now, we were coming from a Sprinter, where we sat on top of the engine, so just about anything would seem quieter. But when you’ve got a bunch of people in the car, it’s important to be able to hear each other. Driving in the car is part of “family togetherness” but it’s useless if we can’t understand what anyone has to say. In the NV, as long as the music isn’t turned up too loud, I can hear the requests/demands/complaints/jokes/stories from the child in the very back seat.

Speaking of seats, there are a lot of seating options. Nissan claims there are 324 ways to configure the seats. It took Andrew and I two hours of pondering to figure out the best way to arrange our people, so, yea, there are several choices. The reason for this is that all three back rows have split seating and each section of seats can be removed. And the first back row can actually face backwards if you feel so inspired.

It’s like the Baskin Robbins’ 31 Flavors of the transportation world.

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We chose to remove one of the seats to create a sort of aisle for the kids to get to their spot. When we take big trips, we’ll move everyone around a bit so that we can remove half of the very back seat for cargo storage. The good news is: even if we remove seats for cargo, we will still have an extra seat to take a helper with us wherever we go. Hooray!

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Cargo space… We gave up some cargo space when we sold our Sprinter. But we have more cargo space than some of the Chevy Express vans I’ve been in. And the option to remove part of the back seat means we have much more flexibility to haul all our stuff. We can also put a trailer hitch on the back and use one of those back end attachments for more trunk space. The fact that I can get my double stroller in the back of the van means the cargo space is definitely adequate.

Here’s a list of the other things we like:

  • Good driving experience. It feels really wide when you get behind the wheel. And it is. But you quickly realize you will fit between the parking space lines and you don’t have to swing as wide as you think you do. It’s like driving a truck, not a top-heavy van.
  • Comfort in the front seat. A non-contraction-inducing ride for the grown-ups and lots of room. Lovely. Plus, we can hear each other now, so it’s like a date!
  • Great mirrors. With the headrests and such, you can’t really see out the back but you don’t need to because Nissan put big and small sideview mirrors in all the right places. I can see everything I need to for safe driving.
  • Lots of storage in the front. We haven’t tried, but I’m pretty sure we could store baby Finn in the center console. It was designed to hold a laptop and hanging file folders… or small children, apparently.
  • Power, power, everywhere! There’s a plug-in outlet on every row to accommodate our geeky selves with our laptops and iPads. There are even two 120-volt plugs that you can plug things directly into.
  • Shoulder belts and headrests for all twelve passengers. This has never been available in a van before to those of us who exceed the mini-vans. This is HUGE. The headrests are removable if you prefer.
  • Side air-bags all the way to the back. Good for our insurance. Even better for our kids.
  • The side door can be opened by the kids. There’s no fancy button that opens and closes it, but the door glides easily enough that my eight year olds can handle it.
  • Rear sonar. It helps to have some notice if there’s something behind me.
  • The back doors swing all the way open and then magnetize to the side of the van so no one will get hit by the doors. When we’re packing our van for a long trip, it’s nice to know we don’t have to worry about somebody getting the back door slammed on them while we’re trying to decide where to put the sleeping bags.

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Things that gave us pause:

  • Driver’s side headrest. We had this problem in our Quest, too. The front seat headrests pitch your head forward, which can be awkward on a long drive. I asked our dealership about it and they said it’s considered a safety feature, so it can’t be changed. However, adjusting the tilt of the driver’s seat seemed to help. It would be nice if Nissan would add just one more “click” so the headrest can go just a tick higher to accommodate my hubby’s handsome head.
  • We got the V6 engine and coming from having a turbo diesel engine that literally ROARED, the V6 took some time to get used to. Even though I have to press harder to get the van to respond in a hurry, the van WILL respond and I have the power when I need it. In terms of gas mileage, we’re satisfied with about 15-18 mpg, and we live in a town with lots of hills. If we got the V8 we’d just spend more on gas so the V6 was the right choice for us.
  • The back row seats are definitely narrow. Any vehicle that holds twelve people will have narrow seats. For those of you with lots of carseats, you’ll probably still only be able to get three carseats in that back row of four seats, unless you have all Radian carseats. However, the foot room on that very back row is excellent. Andrew and I can sit back there comfortably. The van definitely feels very roomy and Nissan made the most of the space.

Bottom Line: The Nissan NV 3500 is a great option for families. And I don’t think you have to be a family of “unusually large size” to like it. If we took out the back row of seats, we’d have a great eight passenger SUV type vehicle with more cargo space than any mini-van ever dreamed of having. We trust the Nissan brand to get us where we need to go for many years. And the incredible seating flexibility means that we’ve got options, no matter what our family looks like.

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If you’re still with me after all of those words I can only assume you’re really interested in the Nissan. So I must tell you about the dealership where we bought our van. If you’re located in the southeastern region of the US, listen up!

There are only three dealerships in Alablama that carry this van. I called all three. Only ONE consistently returned my calls and emails: Larry Richardson of Landers/McLarty Nissan. He met us halfway between our cities with the van so we could test drive it. And then he deftly handled our crew for the many hours we took at the dealership signing paperwork. Andrew actually left the dealership smiling and my husband LOATHES the car buying process.

Even though there are dozens of dealerships closer to us, we will definitely call Larry again when our small car needs to be replaced because our experience with him was THAT good.

And if you call Larry (256-837-5753 ext. 315), make sure you tell him the Vitafam sent you. I want him to know that all his efforts with us were worthwhile!

*Nobody paid me or gave me a free car for this review. They should have, but they didn’t. 😉