2008 Nissan Dualis Reviews

The 'dual' in Nissan Dualis signifies its dual-purpose nature, a vehicle that's a crossover between a family hatchback and a compact 4WD.

If you can come to terms with the quirky CVT, this may be the car to move your people. New When car companies quizzed SUV fans about the importance of four-wheel drive the response was: not important at all. Potential buyers wanted a high-riding wagon with the space to carry kids and their kit. Nissan had an each-way

Nissan's compact Dualis — the one backed by that left-field, two-faced television campaign — is more crossover vehicle than sports utility vehicle.The hatchback with all-wheel-drive capability is a handsome machine, maybe even pretty in parts such as around the rear. The body, more svelte than Nissan's boxy X-Trail, does not scream SUV or four-wheel drive; this is important in areas which do not understand the abilities and flexibility of the SUV.Even so the Dualis has a reasonable road presence. There's a sense of purpose to the high-riding style. For beneath the Dualis is a fair amount of X-Trail. Nissan is looking to have an each-way bet on this SUV business. The Dualis is the more sporting of the duo, more like a European hatchback than mud-plugging or gung-ho camping machine.The Dualis is the more cosmopolitan of the pair, a car to take to the local football game without concern about parking on a grassed slope. It is an “urban nomad” according to Nissan stylists.It feels smaller, snugger inside than the X-Trail. And it drives smaller.There is more sharpness to steering inputs and more zest to the driving. The trade-off is a little less ride comfort in pot-holed roads compared with the X-Trail.The other trade-off is a little less luggage space in the rear.Front seats are firm and supportive, occupants (four adults is best) sit a little higher than in a conventional hatch; instrumentation and dashboard layout are all tidy, well-organised and legible (though that strange “Olympic wreath” for fuel and temperature gauges may puzzle some).Standard gear in the ST (from $28,990) includes airconditioning, power windows and mirrors, cruise control and CD audio, plus the all-wheel-drive system to switch the front-drive car to all-wheel drive.The Ti models gain leather seats, alloy wheels, automatic headlights and wipers and trip computer. Also stability and traction controls plus side and curtain airbags.Both have 188mm worth of ground clearance, both run a 2-litre engine with 102kW and 198Nm of torque. There is the choice of six-speed manual or a continuously variable transmission with six steps.And despite that ride height, despite just those 102kW and 198Nm, the Nissan Dualis defies the numbers and provides a sporting, entertaining drive.There is less body movement and hint of understeer than in the X-Trail, there is sharper steering. Perhaps helped, too, by the sports-style interior, the Dualis driver is encouraged to press on with confidence.It does, however, need a firm foot and some working of the gearbox to make best use of the power and torque.It has some character this Nissan. Easy to use as a city runabout, easy and pretty refined down the highway and happy to wander down a dirt road.The only question will be whether the motorist understands the duality of that character; that is the Dualis's ability to attack both a tarred mountain road with some panache as well as head off to a private picnic spot down a sandy track.

Nissan's effort at a mixed breeding program, crossing a small hatch with a compact SUV, has resulted in the Dualis, claimed by the company to be the “first true SUV crossover.”The Dualis is a marriage of segments previously kept separate and, while it boasts attributes from both, it is class-leader in neither.A real jack of all trades but master of none. During the development of the car the designers, stylists and engineers theorised, summarised and finally compromised to get as many of what they each saw as key saleable attributes into the Dualis.Some of the main objectives have been met; the car's drive is not dissimilar to a premium hatch and the driving position is certainly reminiscent of a compact SUV.As a light-duty off-roader the Dualis certainly has the genes for the job.It is built off the X-Trail platform with only minimal changes.The look is a tad city, a tad country, but it does emphasise the Dualis is no hairdresser's car.There is enough size and purpose about the styling to make parking it among the utes at the pub less embarrassing than it could have been.Nissan says the cabin trim is “premium hatch.” Maybe, but there is plenty of X-Trail about the dash treatment, instruments and switches.The front bucket seats are a prime example of where styling has won out over practicality. In most regards the seats are large enough, comfortable enough and well-enough bolstered. However, most is not all. The seat backs have been carved away and rounded at the shoulders to the extent that anyone except an Italian suit model will find their shoulders overhanging the stylish edges.General space in the cabin is good with both front and rear passengers (two would be the optimum) having head, shoulder and knee room in the comfortable range.Instrumentation is clear and well sited, the sound system is better than expected and rear access and space is good. Boot space is slightly compromised by the height of the load floor but that's the price you pay for having a full-size spare. Under the bonnet is a single engine choice. The 102kW and 198Nm 2.0-litre petrol does its best work mated to the standard six-speed manual.The ability to keep a close eye on the revs and put the engine into the torque band on demand makes it a much more tractable unit. The optional ($2000) CVT automatic is less inspiring off the line but does make tootling around the city a more relaxed option.Even light off-roading, however, would benefit from the greater control of the manual gearbox.The base ST model starts at $28,990 for the manual but that doesn't bring stability control, side and curtain airbags or alloy rims.A $2000 'safety pack' for the ST brings back those missing bits. Without the extra airbags, Nissan says the Dualis earns a four-star crash rating, rising to five stars with stability control and the side and curtain bags.At the top of the range the manual Ti is $33,990 and adds heated leather seats, leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls, cruise control, Bluetooth phone compatibility and drive computer, aluminium trim highlights, a six-stacker CD player with six-speakers, rain-sensitive wipers, light-sensitive auto headlamps, sliding centre console armrest and a pull-out storage tray under the front passenger seat. A well-specified package that represents good value.Both models are fitted with a simplified version of the All Mode 4xs4 system from the X-Trail, which allows for dial-from-the-dash settings ranging from 2WD through an active automatic 4x4 to the lockable 50:50 torque split; which automatically disengages at 40km/h.On the move the Dualis is surprisingly quiet. Road noise is minimal and wind noise at the better end of the scale. At just under 1.5 tonnes the Dualis is no lightweight and that shows in the petrol engine's limitations. Performance is adequate and when prodded hard it is capable of getting along. Unhurried cruising is the CVT's forte but beware, when asked for an effort on the open road the combination is a reluctant partner.In the crucial 80km/h-120km/h acceleration zone (think country road overtaking) the impression is less than flattering. Lazy and flat spring to mind.Where Nissan has excelled with the Dualis is in getting the best out of the dual-purpose suspension, allowing fun and comfort to co-exist. Pushed, the car sits flat and turns in with a surety that would be the envy of most hatches and all but a special few crossovers. On flowing roads the Dualis is fun to drive.There is even better news when it comes to keeping the Dualis cruising; recommended fuel is 91 RON and it is one of the few cars on the road that gets within shouting distance of claimed fuel figures.Over a couple of weeks in both manual and automatic versions the fuel return for primarily city driving was a very creditable 9.1litres per 100km. You can please some of the folk, some of the time.

Four-wheel-drive vehicles have always been big business for Nissan in Australia. Think Patrol, Pathfinder, Navara workhorse and, more recently, X-Trail.Now there is the Dualis, a compact four-wheel-drive wagon, which is more than a Tiida and less than an X-Trail.It is heavily focused on breakthrough business in Europe, where it is sold as the Qashquai — named after a nomadic Iranian tribe — but it could also do well in Australia, being priced from $28,990.“We see the Dualis as a huge opportunity,” Nissan Australia CEO and managing director Shinya Hannya says.“It is the first true compact crossover with the attributes of a small hatch and a compact SUV. They are Australia's two top growth segments and in the Dualis we have combined them.”The only real decision concerned the name. Qashquai missed out, despite being used in Europe and New Zealand.“We played around with the Qashquai name for a long time, but it just didn't seem to work here,” Nissan Australia marketing boss Ross Booth says.“There were issues with pronunciation, with not understanding where it came from . . . in the end we thought the Dualis name better suited the car's dual-purpose personality.”Whatever the badge says, the Dualis is a marriage of segments previously kept separate, a sort of cross-species breeding program, if you like.Dualis lands in Australia with a 102kW, 198Nm and 2.0-litre petrol engine running through a standard six-speed manual or the optional ($2000) CVT automatic.The base ST model starts at $28,990 for the manual, but comes without stability control, side and curtain airbags or alloy rims, though an optional safety pack brings the missing ESC, airbags and alloys for $2000.Without the extra airbags, Nissan says the Dualis earns a four-star crash rating, which rises to five stars with the safety gear.At the top of the range the manual Ti is $33,990 and adds heated leather seats, leather-wrapped steering-wheel with controls for the audio, cruise control, Bluetooth phone compatibility and drive computer, aluminium trim highlights, a six-stacker CD player with six-speakers, rain-sensitive wipers, light-sensitive auto headlamps, sliding centre-console armrest and a pull-out storage tray under the front passenger seat.Both models are fitted with a simplified version of the 4x4 system from the X-Trail, which gives dial-from-the-dash settings ranging from 2WD through an active automatic 4x4 to the lockable 50:50 torque split that automatically disengages at 40km/h.Ironically, Dualis grew from a failed small hatchback development program in Japan.“That project was cancelled, but the group was unwilling to let go of some of the ideas hatched there,” Nissan vehicle manager Peter Brown says.Brown says the most difficult part of getting approval for the Dualis was explaining a concept that had no benchmark against which it could be measured.“There were no direct competitors — there are no direct competitors — and because of that we had to consider the two segments (hatch and compact crossover wagon) at once,” Brown says.“We wanted to create two cars in one with the best attributes and as few of the vices of each as possible. Selling that concept was not easy.”The Dualis team put a premium hatch driving experience and the command drive position of a crossover wagon high on the wishlist.They then went to the X-Trail mechanical package and changed little as they wrapped a less aggressive body around the underpinnings, managing a very respectable 0.34 drag coefficient.The cabin was styled to be as premium hatch as possible with little about the trim and instrumentation, other than the 4x4 selector, hinting at the car's dual personality.The Dualis development program worked. In Europe, 100,000 cars sold in the first nine months. Some markets faced order banks of up to a year.That sort of demand, coupled with Nissan Australia's perverse reluctance to embrace diesel for its passenger cars, means Australian buyers will not get the 112kW and 320Nm 2.0-litre diesel any time soon. In fact, getting 370 petrol Dualises a month out of the company's factory in Britain is a win.“Can we sell more than that? We certainly believe so,” Booth says.“Can we get more than that? Not at the moment . . . but we will keep trying.”But the Dualis is about to go into production in Japan, and that could mean extra supplies for Australia . . . but still without a diesel. The Dualis is a marriage of segments previously kept separateAt first the Dualis looks as if some sad soul has jacked up the family hatch.It is not big but sits a little higher and plants a slightly bigger footprint, yet cleverly avoids the threatening look in which many four-wheel-drives — even small ones — revel.It is welcoming inside but not exciting or ground-breaking. There is good space and it seems well assembled.The seats, redesigned late in the development to improve side bolstering after tests proved their inadequacy, work well, though the cut-away shoulders of the backrest could be an issue for the larger driver.Instrumentation is clear and well sited, the sound system is better than you might expect, and access and space for rear-seat passengers is good.Boot space behind the rear seats is slightly compromised by the height of the load floor — the price for having a full-sized spare.On the move, the Dualis is surprisingly quiet. Road noise is minimal and wind noise is at the better end of the scale.But the Dualis weighs a tick under 1.5 tonnes, so the engine finds it a touch difficult to muster anything but adequate performance.Unhurried cruising with the optional CVT is pleasant enough, but asked for an effort on the open road — particularly in the 80-120km/h zone — the car feels flat, if not downright breathless.The manual feels better, if only because of its ability to force some attitude from the engine.Still, the development team has kicked a goal with the suspension and drive dynamics, allowing fun and comfort to co-exist.Pushed along, the car sits flat and turns with a surety that would be the envy of most hatches and all but a special few crossovers.On flowing roads the Dualis is fun to drive. There is even better news when it comes to keeping the Dualis cruising. Not only is the recommended fuel 91 RON, but it is one of the few cars that gets close to the claimed fuel figures. An enthusiastic test drive at launch saw the manual return a credible 8.7 litres for 100km — only 30ml shy of its official economy.The car sits flat and turns with a surety that could be the envy of most hatches.Road noise is minimal and wind noise is at the better end of the scale.