nissan axxess?

[dlb]

is anyone here familiar with the nissan axxess? i've recently become fascinated by them.



they were a true minivan in that they were pretty small but still had tons more room than a station wagon. i just learned that they were available in 4wd. i figured they would have some sort of cult following but i can't find any online forums for them.

i have had a few minor brushes with them: my good friend learned to drive on the prior generation of nissan minivan, the multi (canada)/stanza (US)/prairie (japan), which also came in 4wd. it looked a lot like a 2nd gen tercel wagon but even taller, boxier, uglier. then when i was first looking for a 4wd tercel or corolla wagon, a used car salesman tried to sell me an axxess they had on the lot at the time. i was like "that's a f_ing minivan, no thanks." then just recently, a friend told me of his love affair with the following generation of nissan minivan, the liberty, and that lead us to discussing the multi/stanza/prairie, and the axxess. and then just yesterday, what did i see in victoria but a 4wd axxess!

from what i see on the wikipedia page, they were only available in the US in 1990. they were available here in canada from 90-95. it looks like they came with the KA24E engine here in north america, which seems like it was in a lot of nissan's stuff. it's a pretty big engine, 2.4L, same as the 22RE. so i'm going to guess i would not be satisfied with the fuel economy...but still, i think they're kind of cool.

if anyone has any info on them or the KA24E engine, talk at me.

[irowiki]

It looks almost tercel sized... but taller!

[dlb]

found some good info here, especially anecdotal stuff in the comments.

http://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside ... year-only/

[Petros]

Interesting find, I may have seen a few in the past. There is also another odd mini van that I see in my town, the Isuzu Oasis, looks very similar. Canada often has cars or vans we can not get in the USA, or versions of similar models we can not get here.

I always liked the 4wd version of the Stanza wagon, it was kind of van-like, but had sliding doors on both sides that really opened up nicely. I knew someone that had one. Nissan had always made a solid and reliable vehicle, at least until about 1990. Though unfortunately the Stanza wagon have not held up as well as the similar age Tercel4wd. There was a brief trend in the '80 where every import car maker had a small 4wd: Mitzubish, Honda, Toyota, and Subaru of course. Most abandoned the 4wd cars by 1990 and surrendered that market to Subaru. It is a shame, the early Subarus were not particularly durable nor well made.

[Mark]

The Multi (Stanza wagon) was actually the vehicle I was looking for when I found my Tercel wagon and bought it instead. It came in 4WD as well, but they're very rare here. I only see 2wd versions. I see quite a few Axxess around. I assumed they were the next generation of the Multi. If I needed a new vehicle and I had the opportunity to buy a Multi, I think I would go for it, but the biggest downside in my opinion is the bigger engine (2l I think) compared to the Tercel and the resultant lower fuel economy. From the kind of people I've seen driving the Multis around here, the Multi has a similar "retro cool" factor as the Tercel wagon. I don't think the Axxess is old enough yet to turn hipster's heads.

[dlb]

I always liked the 4wd version of the Stanza wagon, it was kind of van-like, but had sliding doors on both sides that really opened up nicely.

yes, the multi/stanza wagon had no b-pillar, which is so weird and unsafe but allows for excellent access. another friend had one as her first car and used to joke about the 'ampitheater seating' in the back. i always liked that.

was the multi/stanza wagon carb'd or FI'd?

[Mark]

I think it was a fuel-injected 2.0l engine in Canada, although there was a carbeurated version of the same engine (maybe for the sedans?). The same car had all kinds of different engine options around the world from a 1.5l in Japan and a 1.8l in Europe. It seems like a strange array of engines for a car that only had one generation.

[marlinh]

A friend of mine had an Axxess that she loved. It was fuel injected. Easy to do the fuel pump, just a panel behind the rear seat and voila! The engine had a timing chain. It IS an interference engine. Not too bad to work on. The earlier model, Multi, I never really took to. We had one or two in the area that always seemed to be in the shop. So, that jaded my overall opinion of them.

Are you thinking of changing brands of car David?

[dlb]

Are you thinking of changing brands of car David?

nah, not seriously anyway. if i found one nearby that had everything i wanted, i would consider getting it just to try it out but i don't need the extra space or lower fuel economy. i find i get excited about different cars that i really have no use for. i'd probably be like jay leno if i had the money and space, except they'd all be ugly old station wagons.

[Jarf]

My sister had one back when they were new, loved it to death.
The only complaint I ever heard about it was the transition between 2 & 4WD.
It was all computer controlled and wasn't as smooth as she would have liked.

[lannvouivre]

The Stanza was a vehicle he looked at in addition to the Tercel, but it was in Arizona and he was trying to figure out if it was too vanlike (big).