European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 31, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday october 31, 1985 the stars and stripes Page 13 Nissan stanza Van has 2 sliding doors room for 7 adults Tiik m1nivan Market. Or the soon Cater Utility Wagon Market if Dii prefer  been a booming one in the United slates during the past two be irs. With Maiman offerings from the big three in Detroit plus vans from several of the japanese . The latest Van Wagon to arrive on inc american Market is the Nissan Stan a Wagon a neat package that seats seven passengers when the optional jump seats Are included. While it s Only logical to think that most vans Are purchased by Oung people with three or four kids and at least one dog. That is not necessarily the Casesa a a  military sales director from whom we received our test  Wagon or Multi purpose Ginnivan the subject of Toda s report. Three buyer types surprisingly we be found three differ ent Buver types for this Van the Nissan official said at his Frankfurt Headquarters and these ire the family with children then couples without children who arc interested in travelling Here in Europe As much As possible and then the single Guy who just likes i in looks of the Van. The design and Shap of t in body. Regardless he Stan a Van is proving extremely popular among americans on the military Market he said. We received 250 Model in late july and after we began advertising in mid August we sold 140 in 45 Days. It s the first passenger car that Nissan has produced that will scat More than five people and that has obviously created a great Deal of  known As the Prairie on the japanese Market the Van has retained that name for Europe where it has also gone on Sale Fol lowing its introduction at the recent Frank furl Auto show. Where the american Market is concerned the proper name is Nissan stanza Wagon Well Call it Van anyway and it shares Many of the same features of the Nissan stanza Sedan including front wheel drive and a fuel injected two liter four Cyl Inder engine of 97 horsepower. In Structure it is the Only minivan to feature pillar less design meaning that you can open both rear sliding doors other vans have Only one sliding door and the Interior becomes wide open no obstructive Side pillars whatsoever. Obviously that also makes for easy entry and exit. The Large rear Hatch door meanwhile closes at the bumper level to facilitate Load ing and unloading so the five door stanza Van is designed to make life Cafor its owner. No rattles or squeaks the body of course has been reinforced to accommodate the pillar less design and the Nissan engineers have done a Good Job Here with no squeaks rattles or flexing that we could detect even with seven adults on Board. And sneaking of seven on Board the scat ing setup goes like this two in front comfortable bucket scat three in the Middle Bench scat and two in the Back jump scats. The jump scats can be removed in seconds and the Middle Bench scat flipped Forward and out of the Way to make for cavernous cargo space 42.6 cubic feet when Only one or two persons arc aboard. The jump scats by the Way arc optional on the Basic Model and we would include them if buying the stanza Van. But while these jump scats make the Van a seven sealer their occupants would not want to be perched on them for journeys of any great length. They Are exactly As described jump seals of the taxicab variety. On the Road performance is quite Ade quate with a cruising Speed of 80 Miles an hour about right. When pressed. Inc Van k Good for 95 Miles an hour but top Speed with this Type of vehicle is anything but vital. The brakes Power assist ventilated discs at front and Drums at rear provide for easy straight line stops with minimal fade. The Power assist rack and Pinion steering re quires Little Effort when parking. When under Way the Power disappears As the Speed increases leaving the Driver with Strong feel for the Road. Our Best time in the Zcro-to-60-Rnilcs per hour department was a Flat 13 seconds and we found the Van quite Quick and responsive in heavy traffic conditions. Suspension is Independent All around providing for a comfortable ride even when occupied by seven adults. Tor a minivan. This is an important Factor. The body de sign meanwhile employs a More than Arne la use of Glass the Field of vision Excel Lent for both Driver and All of his Passen Gers. Driver scaling is quite Good and one can sit behind the wheel of the Stan a for Long distances Wilhour tiring. In fact the Van was easy to drive under All of the conditions that we encountered. The instrumentation is adequate with the various gauges easy to read both in inc daytime and at night. The Van Tillion setup is first Rale the dash flanked by fresh air vents with two other vents located in the Center Section. The Heater warms up i Asi and the Blower clears inc Windshield quickly on cold mornings. A lot of thought has gone into the stanza Van and Here is just one example when one is filling the fuel tank his hand will not be hit by the sliding rear door even if occupants should though Lessly open in and slide the door Back. Should thai happen the door will be stopped by inc fuel filler Flap which is held rigidly open by a supportive lever. When the filler Hap is closed the support Ive lever closes with it. While the sliding doors work Well in deed Iacre is one problem and Hal involves the absence of armrests on the Middle Bench scat. This occurs because of the slide Back necessities on the rear doors. Still there s a pullout Type armrest in the Middle of the Scarback. Where fuel Economy is concerned inc test Van did Well returning 23 Miles to the gallon even with some relatively High Speed autobahn workouts. All in All it s a neat Van with no major drawbacks that we could spot and it should offer excellent value for the Money. Nissan military sales with 35 locations in Germany offers the  stanza Van in three equipment Levels inc Basic Model with optional air conditioning optional Power Sunroof and jump scats the intermediate Model with jump scats and Sunroof As Standard and the fully equipped Model with air conditioning Sunroof cruise control and jump scats As Standard. All stanza vans Are offered with a five Speed manual Gearbox As Standard with automatic transmission a s400 option. Prices Range from $10,299 for the Basic m Jel with five Speed manual transmission to $12,399 for a fully equipped Van with an automatic transmission. Randy Barnett new minivan on the Market powered by a fuel injected two liter four seats seven adults when the optional jump Cylinder engine of 97 horsepower the scats Are installed. A five Speed manual front wheel Dree Nissan stanza Wagon transmission is Standard. A wide open design the rite door Nissan Wagon feature a pillar less body design hat allows for dual sliding doors he Only Van on the Market with this arrangement. Inc setup provides for easy entry and exit As Well As cargo loading from the Side. Chevrolet s sprinter a swing est in Tuel usage autumn is the Lime for the annual Miles per gallon re porn from inc environmental Protection Agency Epa in Washington and Here is a listing of the Epa s Overall Best and worst Auto mobiles in the mpg Dupan Mcnol among the models for 1986. The Best or  arc Chevrolet sprinter 55 mpg in City driving 60 mpg on inc Highway. Honda civic Coupe ii with feed Back fuel system 52 mpg cily 57 mpg Highway. Honda civic Coupe he. And Nis san sentry i Csc both 45 mpg City and 50 mpg Highway. Chevrolet sprint and us Uki Forsa both 44 mpg City and 50 mpg Highway. Ford escort i s i csc41 mpg City. 49 mpg Highway. Chevrolet sprint plus and Suzuki Forsa a both 41 mpg City and 43 mpg Highway. The worst or thirst inst Are Rolls Royce Silver Spur limousine 8 mpg cily 10 mpg Highway. Rolls Royce Camar Guc and Rolls Royce corniche 11-Contincnlal, both 8 mpg City and 11 mpg Highway. Rolls Royce Silver spirit Spur Tulsa inc 9 mpg City 10 mpg Highway. Jaguar xes 13 mpg City 17 mpg Highway. Mercedes Benz. 560sf.c, and Mer cedes Benz 560sel, both 14 mpg City and 16 Highway. Mercedes Benz 560sl, 14 mpg City 17 mpg Highway. Mercedes Benz 420sel. 15 mpg City in mpg Highway. Jaguar xj6, 15 mpg City 19 mpg Highway. Against Speed limits on another subject the German Auto organization i us what k raft fait r Rug  Verein id Krai has conducted a poll of More than 30.000 Drivers asking opinions on the possible imposition of a 100 Kph 62 Mph Speed limits on German Autu Bahns. The result 75.5 percent of those questioned were against any shrinking of Speed limits 24.1 percent were in favor of a 100 Kph limit while Only 0.4 percent had no opinion on the subject. And on inc question of Speed limit compliance by Drivers if a 100 Kph limit is eventually imposed on the Aulo Bahns 79.3 percent of the germans a Etc of the opinion Hal the majority of Drivers would not obey such limits anyway.