One of the more distinctive elements of the modern minivan is the "well" -- the empty space at the rear of the van that's created when the third row of seats is raised. It often comes in handy for placing and securing loose cargo. One of my favored uses is lining up grocery bags.
As you might have noticed, the Nissan Quest is a little different in that it has two covers for its storage well. This does bring about some positives and negatives when it comes time for grocery shopping.
On the positive side, there's a higher load floor with the covers in place, meaning it's easier to load or unload heavy bags or items that would otherwise be deeper in the well. Things seem to slide around a little more, but as long as the third row seat is raised, it's still pretty useful.
The downside is that the covers reduce the ease of actually utilizing the well. As Josh noted previously, the covers are just hinged with straps and are pretty floppy. There's also no good way to secure them in a raised position. (Actually, the owner's manual instructs you not to drive with the covers raised.) So either you don't use the well at all, or whatever you put in it has to be short enough that you can install the covers.
For me, I think I'd prefer the regular well design as found on the Odyssey and Sienna.
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor @ 5,723 miles
billt9 says:
04:23 PM, 02/13/12
Those covers should have been designed to fold sideways onto the sidewalls, like the Lexus LX seats do.
I'm a genius.
altimadude05 says:
05:22 PM, 02/13/12
A full width shelf like on the previous CR-V or Malibu Maxx would be infinitely more useful.
esoterica says:
05:46 PM, 02/13/12
Too bad Nissan spent so much time designing the dash instead of making the rest of the interior make sense for a minivan.
ed124c says:
05:50 PM, 02/13/12
You guys are really nit-picking here. If you are packing for a trip, this is the better setup. If you are grocery shopping, you won't need the third row up. If you are putting in drywall, etc., anything in the well can stay in the well.
legacygt says:
07:02 PM, 02/13/12
I understand how in other minivans these bags would be lined up inside the well. And I understand that in the Quest they are lined up on the cover that hides the well. I don't understand how having them in the well is any better. Maybe they're less likely to fall over if you completely fill the well but the same could be said if you completely fill the space in the back of the Quest.
jukiemcjuke says:
07:54 PM, 02/13/12
I think the well covers are a good idea. It creates a perfect space to store all the crap that you normally have to carry around like ice scrapers, tool kits, etc without having the back look cluttered. It also provides quite a bit of useful storage for valuables you might not want passersby to see. The 'hinges' could use some improvement or possibly be removed completely since they don't seem to serve much purpose to begin with.
DLu says:
06:31 AM, 02/14/12
You can spend an extra several hundred dollars on the Sienna to get custom-fitted bins with the Toyota logo on it, that will give you the same utility. I didn't shell out the $ for the bins, but purely based on looks it seems a little sturdier than the covers on the Quest.