Nissan Prairie
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The Nissan Prairie was introduced in Japan in 1981 and Europe in 1982 and was the first production multi-purpose vehicle, if the Fiat Multipla of the 1950s is not counted. It was also known as the Multi in Canada and the Stanza Wagon in the United States. The Prairie and the 1983 Mitsubishi Chariot predated current European compact MPVs by some 15 years.
The Prairie was one of the first "crossover" cars, resembling a tall station wagon with sliding doors. It was commonly ordered with five seats, though seven were available. It was the size of one of today's compact SUV.
The concept was inspired by the Lancia Megagamma show car from Giorgetto Giugiaro and ItalDesign, shown in 1979. Italian design arguably also inspired the Nissan March, which is considered by some to be too close to the Fiat Uno in its "tall" concept and execution. Nissan, at the time, was very keen to have "European" styling for its cars.
It was originally launched with a 1.5 L I4 engine and a 1.8 L engine followed later in the car's life, as did a four wheel drive version.
The first generation Prairies, while innovative, had very poor handling, due to the removal of the B-pillar.
[edit] Nissan Multi
| Nissan Multi / Nissan Stanza | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Manufacturer | Nissan |
| Production | 1986-1988 |
| Successor | Nissan Axxess |
| Class | Compact MPV |
| Body style | 4-door minivan |
| Engine | 2.0 L ca20E I4 |
| Transmission | 4-Speed Automatic Overdrive 5-Speed Manual |
| Wheelbase | 102.80 in. |
| Length | 4.37 m (171.9 in) |
| Width | 1.69 m (66.5 in) |
| Height | 1.64 m (64.6 in) |
| Related | Nissan Stanza |
| Similar | Dodge Caravan Chevrolet Lumina APV Mazda MPV Ford Aerostar |
The 1986 thru 1988 Nissan Multi (Canada) / Stanza Wagon (U.S.A.) was equipped with a 2.0 Litre in-line 4 cylinder engine, with available Manual or Automatic Transmission. Available as a Front wheel drive, or Four wheel drive .The vehicle had rear passenger sliding doors on both sides of the vehicle, and a "fold down" rear seat, designed to increase the carrying capacity of the passenger compartment. The rear tailgate opened "upwards" as one complete unit, in a similar fashion to a hatchback.
[edit] Nissan Axxess
| Nissan Axxess | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Manufacturer | Nissan |
| Production | 1990-1995 |
| Predecessor | Nissan Multi |
| Successor | Nissan Quest, Nissan Serena |
| Class | Compact MPV |
| Body style | 4-door minivan |
| Engine | 2.4 L KA24E I4 |
| Transmission | 4-Speed Automatic Overdrive 5-Speed Manual |
| Wheelbase | 102.80 in. |
| Length | 4.37 m (171.9 in) |
| Width | 1.69 m (66.5 in) |
| Height | 1.64 m (64.6 in) |
| Related | Nissan Stanza |
| Similar | Dodge Caravan Chevrolet Lumina APV Mazda MPV Ford Aerostar |
The second generation of the Prairie was called the Nissan Axxess when sold in North America. The vehicle sold for six years (1990-1995) in Canada and the United States.
The Axxess was not the export success that Nissan had expected. As such, Nissan would not market another Minivan until the Nissan Quest in 1993, and the Nissan Serena in Europe. Even then, the first generation of the Quest was manufactured by Ford Motor Company in the United States.
The band Songs: Ohia named an album Axxess and Ace, a reference to the car.
| Nissan light truck timeline, North American market, 1980s-present - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
| Compact SUV | X-Trail | Rogue | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Xterra | Xterra | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crossover SUV | Murano | Murano | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mid-size SUV | Pathfinder | Pathfinder | Pathfinder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full-size SUV | Armada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Compact MPV | Stanza Wagon/Multi | Axxess | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minivan | Vanette | Quest | Quest | Quest | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pickup | Datsun 720 | Hardbody Truck | Frontier | Frontier | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Titan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
