Split personality
Filed Under Curt Hennig | Posted on March 29, 2008
Nissan’s Dualis is a soft-roader but not as we know it.
IT’S not every day a revolt affects how a car is designed but
that is how the Nissan Dualis was created.
When Nissan stylists were drawing up the company’s
next-generation soft-roader almost four years ago, green groups
were calling for four-wheel-drives to be banned from the streets of
Paris.
Denis Baupin, the deputy mayor of Paris and a Green Party
councillor who tabled the resolution in the city council, said at
the time: “They’re polluters, they’re space-occupiers, they’re
dangerous for pedestrians and other road users. They’re a
caricature of a car.”
It turns out Baupin wasn’t successful with his proposed ban but
he subsequently wrote a book, All Cars, No Future, and last year
put 10,000 free bicycles on the streets of the City of Light.
But his comments in 2004 had an impact on at least one car
maker. His message was heard by Nissan, because the Dualis was
being designed a short train ride away in Nissan’s styling studio
across the English Channel. At the time there was a fear other
European cities could follow Paris’s lead.
Nissan had a dilemma: sales of 4WDs and soft-roaders around the
world were increasing - despite an apparent public backlash - and
small-car sales were stagnant.
So it designed two cars based on the same underpinnings: the
boxy-looking new series Nissan X-Trail soft-roader and the
hatchback-style Dualis. Both models went on sale locally late last
year.
The distance between the front and rear wheels of both models is
identical and they share similar off-road systems but overall the
Dualis is shorter, so it can squeeze into smaller parking
spaces.
Most significant, however, is that it is designed not to look
like a four-wheel-drive. The result is a hatchback that looks as if
it has the bottoms of its jeans rolled up.
This appears to have created a dilemma because, as with many
segment-busting models, customers aren’t quite sure what to make of
it.
Nissan promotes the Dualis as “two cars in one”, as if a compact
soft-roader has been morphed with a small car.
But dealers have found customers are cross-shopping the Dualis
with slightly more expensive soft-roaders rather than similarly
priced small cars.
The Dualis has been slow to win acceptance in its first few
months on sale locally, selling about one-tenth the rate of the
larger and more expensive X-Trail.
The Dualis range starts at $28,990 and stretches to $36,385 for
the luxury model with the works (the X-Trail range goes from
$31,990 to $41,385).
The base ST Dualis comes with the usual standard fare such as
air-conditioning, remote entry and a CD player but the standard
safety equipment is quite basic: dual airbags and anti-lock
brakes.
When Nissan’s product planners were putting together the final
equipment list for the Dualis 18 months ago (the lead times in the
car industry are incredibly long), they weren’t to know how much
the customer focus on safety would increase.
This possibly explains why Nissan has sandwiched a model called
ST Option between the ST and the top-line Ti that gets the
works.
The ST Option is $2000 more than the cheapest model (it works
out at $30,990, with the automatic another $2000) and comes with
side airbags for the front occupants, curtain airbag protection
from front to rear, stability control (which can prevent a skid),
alloy wheels and a heavy-duty differential for off-road driving.
This is the model we tested.
The Dualis (sold as the Qashqai in Europe) scored a five-star
safety rating in independent crash tests by the European New Car
Assessment Program but it is worth noting that score was for a car
equipped with front, side and curtain airbags. The Australian NCAP
website says the Dualis earns a four-star rating with only dual
front airbags.
In Australia, the three Dualis models are powered by the same
2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and are available with a
six-speed manual or a six-step continuously variable automatic
transmission or CVT.
Such transmissions use a series of belts that, as the name
implies, continuously adjust to find the engine’s optimum power
band. It can sound odd as the revs are constant during
acceleration, giving the impression the gears are slipping.
Nissan’s CVT has six preset steps or points for drivers who wish
to select a ratio manually. Manual mode can be a handy feature on
hills or winding roads but, in our experience, it’s generally best
to leave the CVT auto in D for “der”.
The shift action of the six-speed manual is smooth and precise,
which is a good thing, as your left arm gets plenty of exercise.
The 2.0-litre engine seems to struggle with the weight though the
Dualis, at about 1450kg, is not exactly heavy.
It’s not supposed to be a race car but even by class standards
the engine lacks any real pull from low revs.
For example, it’s necessary to shift from fourth to third to
maintain pace up a mild hill at 80kmh. Unfortunately, the 2.5-litre
four-cylinder from the X-Trail doesn’t fit in the Dualis’s engine
bay, Nissan says.
All cabin controls are well laid out and easy to operate.
Despite coming from Nissan’s Sunderland plant in Britain, the
quality of the materials, and fit and finish, seem as good as a
Japanese-made Nissan. Cruise control (standard across the range) is
mounted on the steering wheel but this feature is best left to
flat, open roads, particularly in the manual version as the engine
is likely to labour on hills.
Storage in the door pockets is average and the centre console is
narrow but deep. The glovebox is very big (14 litres) and
air-conditioned. It could easily swallow a laptop or a meat
tray.
Leg and headroom in the rear are good but the rear view when
parking is obscured by the curved window lines. Unfortunately rear
parking sensors or a rear-view camera are not available as factory
options.
Vision while driving, however, is good, thanks to the relatively
short bonnet and the convex mirrors on both sides of the car.
The Dualis steers predictably (for the curious, its turning
circle of 10.6 metres is the same as that of the larger X-Trail)
and tyre grip is satisfactory.
Thankfully, there is a full-sized spare tyre under the cargo
floor (although mounted on a plain black steel wheel rather than a
fancy-looking alloy wheel).
The Dualis’s load area is relatively small compared with, say, a
Subaru Forester. However, the smallish load space is mainly due to
the tapered roofline rather than the fact there is a full-sized
spare under the floor.
In any case, as with most hatchbacks, the rear seats fold flat
at the flick of a lever to create a larger load space.
The Dualis drives reasonably well and, although we didn’t test
the off-road system on this model (you can switch from front-drive
to four-wheel-drive at the twist of a dial), we have sampled the
same system on other Nissans and it has been effective.
Most people, though, are unlikely to take the Dualis off the
beaten track.
It’s most likely to appeal to people who need a little extra
ground clearance for dirt road driving and appreciate the taller
driving position - or who don’t want the neighbours to know they
own a 4WD.
There are a couple of challenges for the Dualis: similarly sized
hatchbacks are cheaper and bigger soft-roaders aren’t that much
more expensive.
So the Dualis is either ahead of its time or an answer to a
question no one asked.
FAST FACTS
NISSAN DUALIS
Price $28,990 to $36,385.
Country of origin Britain.
Engine 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol.
Power 102kW at 5200rpm.
Torque 198Nm at 4400rpm.
Weight 1430kg to 1475kg.
Drivetrain Six-speed manual or six-step continuously variable
automatic transmission.
Safety The Dualis (called Qashqai in Europe) scored five stars
for occupant protection in NCAP testing but was equipped with
front, side and curtain airbags. In Australia side and curtain
airbags (and stability control) are optional on the base model
Dualis, even though these items are standard across the Nissan
X-Trail range.
Consumption and emissions 8.4L/100km, 204g/km (manual),
8.5L/100km, 206g/km (auto).
Resale value Predicting there will be a steady demand for small
4WDs in the future, independent value guide Redbook forecasts the
Dualis will retain between 48 and 58 per cent of its RRP after
three years. That’s average.
Pros Roomy cabin with quality materials, big air-conditioned
glovebox, user-friendly controls, full-sized spare wheel, wide-view
mirrors on both sides, good low and high-beams.
Cons Underpowered engine. Curtain airbags and stability control
are optional on the cheapest model. Rear parking sensors or rear
view camera not available.
Stars * * * (RATING THREE STARS)
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