2021 Nissan NV Passenger

Nissan offers the NV Passenger Van only in NV3500 HD trim, it’s the topmost model in the NV Van series. The van comes with two engines and two transmission options, the least powerful engine is the 4.0-liter naturally aspirated V6 which powers the lower two trims “S & SV”, while the upper trim “SL” is being powered by a more powerful 5.6-liter naturally aspirated V8. The V6 comes mated to a 5-speed automatic transmission and Nissan has integrated the NV passenger van with a better 7-speed automatic on the SL trim. Other than that, there are usual features differences just like every vehicle currently on sale and these differences can be seen in the table given below.

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We recommend either going with the base trim “S” or with the top-level trim “SL”. The base trim has all the features that one uses regularly like power-adjustable ORVMs, day-night IRVM, decent audio, and an infotainment system to keep you occupied on long trips. While the top SL trim has greater convenience like dual-zone automatic climate control, leather/Metal-look steering wheel, and leather upholstery, plus some upgrades like chrome front/rear bumpers and chrome grille. Whereas the mid-level trim just adds some infotainment features and for those features, it wouldn’t be wise to spend $40,805. Now it depends on your budget, if you are on the lower side then choose S else SL is the best trim on sale.

The 2021 Nissan NV Passenger van has two engine options for the entire NV Van lineup. Although the Passenger Van only comes as a 3500 HD model and for this model the base & mid-level trim are powered by a smaller 4.0-liter naturally aspirated V6 gas engine which produces around 261 hp of maximum power and 281 lb-ft of peak torque. Whereas a more powerful naturally aspirated 5.6-L DOHC 32-valve V8 gas engine powers the top SL trim and it sends a total of 375 hp of power and 387 lb-ft of torque.

With two engine options, Nissan also offers two transmission options too. The less powerful 4.0-L V6 sends power to the RWD of the van with the aid of a 5-speed automatic gearbox while the more powerful 5.6-L V8 does the same thing but with the aid of a 7-speed automatic gearbox. Both transmissions are best with respect to the engine that they come with and they are quite responsive while offering a smooth ride quality without any lag.

The Chevrolet Express 2500 and Ford Transit T-150 are the most Passenger Vans on the list and that too can be observed by their performance figures. Chevrolet is slightly more powerful than the ford but Ford takes the lead in terms of 0 to 60 mph acceleration and quarter-mile timing. Whereas, Nissan NV Passenger Van has approximately 15 hp less power than both top contenders but its acceleration is not that worst but the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter does have some worst acceleration timings in the competition.

How does the 2021 Nissan NV Passenger Van handle?

The Nissan NV Passenger Van is a shell placed on a ladder frame chassis, although its overall structure is much more solid than its rivals its old-school styling might bother some people. The body roll and uneasy handling are the main characteristics of the ladder-frame chassis but due to the double-wishbone suspension setup, the handle becomes decent on high-speed curves but it’s not easy to maneuver this van in tight conditions.

The base 4.0-L V6 engine has more than enough power to move around towns and its performance is also quite decent when driven on highways too, the 5.6-L V8 engine has a kick to it but that slight punch and fun come with a price of low fuel economy. Steering feedback is decent but not as refined and responsive as the other vans in the competition, Nissan NV will definitely remind you of old-school vans from its cabin design too. The seats are comfortable and the quality of the material used inside the cabin seems reasonable with respect to the price point that it comes with.

2021 Nissan NV Passenger Van Braking Performance

The Nissan NV Passenger Van is not that much hi-tech in terms of the braking system, it uses old-school technology to stop itself. It weighs around 5,817 pounds and that much weight gains so much momentum on high speeds, that’s why Nissan NV gets the big 14.2 inches and 14.4 inches of rotors on the front and rear side respectively. Although these rotors could have been bigger at least they stop this van within 137 feet of distance, while it’s cruising at 60mph speed.

The Nissan NV Passenger Van has the biggest rotors on the list but it’s also the one with the heaviest 5,817 pounds of body weight, these rotors do their job perfectly and grant this vehicle the best braking performance than other Vans in the competition. Ford Transit follows the footstep of Nissan and takes the second position on the list in terms of braking performance, Chevrolet here takes a long leap to stop itself, even the braking performance of Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is acceptable. 

The 2021 Nissan NV Passenger Van has a decent-sized engine and the heaviest body in the competition and with that, it claims somewhat better fuel economy. It claims around 17 mpg in the tight city driving, 21 mpg while cruising on straight highways, and 19 mpg under the combined conditions. These numbers are on the average side and to back it up, Nissan has given this van 28 gallons of the fuel tank which takes this vehicle’s range to 532 miles under combined driving situations.

The Ford Transit and Chevrolet Express passenger vans are more powerful than the Nissan NV and they pay for a little bit better performance with the poor fuel economy. This segment requires a great fuel economy as these vehicles travel some great distances on a daily basis and that aspect Mercedes has covered with its Sprinter as it provides you the highest range of 22 miles in a gallon of gas but a disappointing fact about it is the least 22 gallons of tank capacity.

The NV Passenger Van feels somewhat old and outdated from the inside as well. Especially the base trim S, it has nothing but the boring-looking cabin. The cabin of the NV Passenger Van S trim is covered with hard plastic and all the seats have fabric upholstery. On the front row, the driver & passenger seats come with 4-way manual adjustability, while the upper trims receive the 8-way power-adjustable driver seat & 4-way manual passenger seat.

The seating comfort on the front row is decent but not the best, there are no such fancy features like heated & ventilated seats or a heated steering wheel but upper trims do receive a dual-zone automatic climate control, auto-dimming Day/Night-IRVM, a steering wheel in leather/metal-look and the leather upholstery. Seats with leather upholstery offer way more comfort than the fabric ones. 

The NV Passenger Van gets normal & outdated controls for manual AC while the upper trims get some decent knobs with a small digital temp & blower display for automatic climate control. All the physical buttons are easy to use and the steering wheel also comes with audio & cruise controls. The other three rows have decent space but tall passengers might find it difficult to adjust there, otherwise, three passengers can sit side-by-side easily. Nissan has also taken care of all the passengers and thus integrated the cabin with HVAC vents on the cabin’s roof for every particular row.

Every van on the list has four rows and an occupancy of 12 passengers except for Ford Transit, as it has only 10 seats. The cabin space of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Passenger Van can’t be predicted properly due to the unavailability of its data but Sprinter offers the most spacious front row seats in terms of head & shoulder room while Ford & Chevrolet have decent shoulder and legroom and Nissan NV has better headroom than Ford and 4-inch of more space for legs than Sprinter. On other rows, Ford Transit takes the lead in terms of head and shoulder room but legroom is not bad either. Some highlights of the features inside the cabin of NV Passenger Van are:

• Front bucket seats
• 4-Way Driver & passenger manual seats
• Manual tilt-only steering column
• Manual vented rear windows
• Steering mounted audio & cruise controls
• Manual air conditioning
• Dual-zone automatic climate control (on SL trim)
• Rear HVAC
• Premium fabric seats
• Leather upholstery (on SL trim)
• Urethane gear shifter 
• Leather/Metal-look gear shifter (on SL trim)
• Day-Night auto-dimming IRVM (on SL trim)

How intuitive is the infotainment system?

The base trim of the NV Passenger Van has basic infotainment features like a 7-inch color touchscreen display, 4-speaker audio system, iPod USB connection interface, AUX & Bluetooth hand-free connectivity. Whereas the upper trim levels have degraded the 5.8-inch touchscreen display but now the van gets 2 more speakers, SiriusXM satellite radio, Nissan navigation system with voice guidance, and speed-compensated volume control. It's hard to comprehend the reason behind decreasing the touchscreen display size but this makes one think about the NV Passenger van twice. Some highlights of the infotainment features are:

• 7-inch Color touchscreen display
• 5.8-inch Color touchscreen display (on SV & SL trims)
• 4-Speaker audio system
• 6-Speaker audio system (on SV & SL trims)
• AM/FM radio with seek-scan
• iPod USB connection interface 
• AUX & Bluetooth hands-free phone system
• Nissan Connect with Navigation & Mobile apps (on SV & SL trims)
• Nissan navigation system with voice guidance (on SV & SL trims)
• SiriusXM satellite radio (on SV & SL trims)
• SiriusXM traffic & SiriusXM Travel Link (on SV & SL trims)
• Speed compensated volume control (on SV & SL trims)
• Steering mounted audio controls

Although the 2021 Nissan NV Passenger Van looks a bit old, its old-school boxy has much better appeal with chrome trims than all of its competitors. The front side has a big and massive bonnet where the powerful 4.0-L, V6 gas engine resides, the base trim gets the black front & rear bumpers with a black grille which doesn’t look as attractive as the top-level trims. The top-level trims receive a massive chrome grille with front chrome bumpers and slight chrome surrounds on headlights. On the side profile, the NV Passenger Van is a long vehicle with 4 rows and a seating capacity of 12 passengers. 

The base trim runs on basic 17-inch silver finish steel wheels but 17-inch chrome-clad styled steel wheels are a certain upgrade on upper trims and they do enhance the overall appeal of the vehicle especially in gloss black body paint. The passenger can go in & out of the van with the sliding door, the base trim has black door handles with manual black ORVMs but manual-folding chrome powered and extendable trailer mirrors are only available on SL trim. The rear end maintains the boxy look with a flat back and vertical taillights but chrome rear step bumpers really look awesome while split-swing out rear cargo access makes it easy to access your luggage.

The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter has a clear advantage here in terms of curb weight as it’s the lightest in the competition with a weight of 5609 pounds, whereas Nissan has a bulky body of 5817 pounds. Nissan also has the longest body and wheelbase which makes it quite clumsy while taking turns on curvy roads. Ford Transit is best in terms of body length and wheelbase while it also has relatively the same curb weight as the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. Some main highlights of the exterior features of the NV Passenger Van are:

• 17-inch Silver finish steel wheels
• All season tires
• Black front & Black rear step bumper
• Black power ORVMs with convex spotter & manual-folding
• Speed-sensitive variable intermittent wipers
• Sliding rear passenger door
• Aero-composite halogen headlights with DRLs
• Split swing-out rear cargo access
• 17-inch Chrome-clad styled steel wheels (on upper trims)
• Chrome front & Chrome rear step bumpers (on upper trims)
• Chrome grille & Chrome door handles (on upper trims)
• Manual folding chrome power ORVMs with a convex spotter (on upper trims)
• Manual folding chrome power heated ORVMs with a convex spotter (on SL trim)
• Manual extendable trailer style mirrors (on SL trim)
• Front fog lamps (on SL trim)

As stated before, The 2021 Nissan NV Passenger Van isn’t the most advanced passenger van in the market and hence it can be seen in its safety department, as it features quite elementary technology like dual-stage airbags, ABS, electronic stability control, tire pressure monitoring system & some more. Now Nissan NV may not be crash-tested by either of the crash test organizations but with all these safety techs, it secures the safety of the passengers. All the safety features of the NV Passenger Van have been mentioned below:

•  ABS with driveline traction control
• Electronic stability control
• Side impact beams
• Dual-stage driver & passenger seat-mounted side airbags
• Front & Rear parking sensors
• Tire pressure monitoring system
• Dual-stage driver & passenger front airbags
• Curtain 1st, 2nd & 3rd-row airbags
• Front fog lamps
• Rearview camera

2021 Nissan NV3500 HD Passenger Van Vs 2021 Ford Transit T-150 Passenger Van

The Ford Transit T-150 Passenger Van is a homegrown vehicle and it has been manufactured by completely taking notes on the feedback of the American audience and that makes it much more superior than the Nissan NV Passenger Van. The Nissan NV is a value for money van and it’s just an old-school van with all the necessary features and safety technology and on the other hand, Ford has a better cabin design and a better-performing engine.

2021 Nissan NV3500 HD Passenger Van Vs 2021 Chevrolet Express 2500 Passenger Van

The Chevrolet Express 2500 Passenger Van has slightly more power than the Nissan NV Passenger Van which also excels Chevrolet in terms of performance. Chevrolet also has a shorter body and shorter wheelbase as compared to Nissan NV and that gives the Chevrolet Express an upper edge while maneuvering in tight city conditions or while making high-speed turns. But Nissan has somewhat more features and a better/ clean cabin.

2021 Nissan NV3500 HD Passenger Van Vs 2021 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 1500 Passenger Van

The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is completely opposite of Nissan NV Passenger Van, even the lowest model the Sprinter 1500 Passenger Van costs approximately $11,000 more than the Nissan NV 3500HD model. The Mercedes has always been known for its luxury appeal and Sprinter follows these attributes and it has all the convenience features inside the cabin. But Nissan NV beats the Sprinter in terms of performance and it also claims a relatively better economy with respect to the power that it has.

The Nissan NV Passenger Van isn’t the most advanced passenger van on sale, it has decent features to keep drivers and passengers occupied on their long or short journey. The quality of material used inside the cabin is cheap and the functionality of the technology is primitive but the best thing about this van is its powerful engine and responsive transmission and these are the most important things that construct the basics of a vehicle. In terms of solid build, strong engine options, reliability of Japanese automakers, and best fuel economy in the competition, this passenger van stands taller than the other vehicles in the market.