Hadn't seen a Quest taxi until this one appeared on my way to work today. If you're a fleet owner who needs a minivan, the Quest seems like an odd choice. Given its seat arrangement and load floor height I would think any of the other current offerings might be better suited to this task.
Also, the relative unknown long-term durability of a CVT in this application seems like it should work against choosing the Quest as a taxi. Still, there it was on the 110 freeway.
And what do I know? After all, I'm not a fleet owner.
Josh Jacquot, Senior editor
adamb1 says:
12:12 PM, 02/ 6/12
There's a Pontiac Aztec taxi in my home town. I giggle every time I see it.
misterfusion says:
02:35 PM, 02/ 6/12
I would think that the biggest strike against Quest for fleet use would be sheer cost. Assuming that the taxi service statistically is transporting people more often than cargo, then the load floor height is a non-issue. And even then, you're not losing THAT much capability. I can see why the super-flexible Grand Caravan might be the safest choice, however.
As for the CVT: Nissan's global "fleet" of millions of vehicles sold should be ample testimony for the tech. Hell, with a magnitude fewer breakable parts than a conventional A/T, I might be more inclined to trust the CVT...
chrisb16 says:
03:22 PM, 02/ 6/12
Quest seems like a good choice for fleet given the alternatives. Odyssey has transmission issues and eats oil and sienna and newer toyotas no longer have a repuation for good build quality and reliability. Had a 09 corolla that ate a quart of oil every 1000 miles and the dealer said that was normal (even after showing them the TSB). I wonder why all these new cars eat oil.
adavis2493 says:
03:34 PM, 02/ 6/12
I actually had a Nissan Quest Taxi in Maui a few years back. I was literally like the taxi's 10th passenger ever, as it was brand new (I felt pretty bad, because I brought a lot of sand in the car from the beach). I have no clue why in hell any taxi driver would get the most unreliable minivan (excluding Mercedes R).
On a different note, my local Maryland car company insists on using Toyota Corolla's and Buick LeSabre's as cabs.
billt9 says:
03:42 PM, 02/ 6/12
The VQ35DE's been paired with the JF010E since 2003.
The Murano AWD weighs 4200 lb, compared to the Quest's 4600 lb, not a huge difference.
The Murano's transmission broke from 2003-2005, and has been reliable 2006+.
I trust the CVT, as long as you don't buy a pre-2006 model.
My 2007 Murano has been problem free.
jl30 says:
04:36 PM, 02/ 6/12
It makes sense when you can get a brand new 2012 base Quest for less than $25k (Price obtained from carmax), I am pretty sure this "Made in Japan" minivan is a better choice for taxi service than any other minivan within the same price range.