Being 22 and legally single certainly doesn’t qualify me to chop my balls off and end my life buy a minivan. And yet, I’ve always thought that, of all the minivans out there, the Nissan Quest was the most interesting. But why?

When I finally had the opportunity to take a ride in the passenger seat of a Quest a couple weeks ago, it hit me. The Quest is interesting, intriguing, and attractive to me because it’s quirky. No, better than quirky, it’s French!

I started putting the puzzle pieces together when I noticed the huge expanses of glass, the pentagonally-sculpted side mirrors, the frankly bizarre centre console/shifter, the downward-sloping profile line combined with the unsettling visual proportions, and the same VQ35 engine that lives under the hood of my 350Z.

 

It all started to make sense! Nissan and Renault merged in 1999 and Carlos Ghosn took the helm of both companies at the same time. Top priorities for Nissan were the 350Z and the Murano, both of which came out in 2003. The next year, in 2004, came the Quest. The Quest wreaks of French influence. Being someone who appreciates unique cars, the Nissan minivan was destined to find a place in my heart. And that’s why I’m attracted to the Nissan Quest.