Five-Point Inspection: 2013 Nissan NV200

When Nissan won the ‘Taxi of Tomorrow’ contract from New York City with its new compact passenger van, it was obvious a retail version would follow. Although the 13,000 vehicles NYC requires is no small amount, Nissan would like to sell more; a lot more. So the manufacturer created the NV200, a version of this van available to retail customers.

What’s more, this compact front-wheel drive van will also be rebadged as a Chevrolet and sold all throughout North America as the City Express. This is a winning proposition for both Manufactures as Chevrolet lacks a compact commercial vehicle to compete against the Ford Transit Connect, while Nissan can utilize Chevrolet’s far larger dealer network to sell more units.

So the question is, will this van be any good? We had the chance to take one for a quick spin recently in San Diego and here are our impressions.

At first glance the NV200 sure is an awkward looking thing. It is a pure function over form fabrication. The front-end is designed take a hit from a careless driver bumping into a loading bay. The miniscule 185/60R15 tires may be ridicule worthy, but do minimize wheelhouse intrusion in the cargo area of the NV200, thus maximizing cargo capacity.

The little Chevrolet Nissan has nice features like satellite radio and navigation when opting for the higher trim SV models. Surprising for a commercial vehicle, the stereo actually sounds good.

As mentioned, the NV200 is basic inside and out, as it is designed to take the punishment a work truck is likely to endure. The rear doors are split 60/40 instead of the conventional 50/50 and only the larger window features a built in defroster. Standard on the NV200 are dual sliding doors that should make access to the 122.7 cu-ft cargo hold easy no matter how the truck is parked.

This much cargo room is available thanks, in part, to a very low load floor. There are welded nuts inside the actual structure of the van so 3rd party outfitters can easily install various shelves and/or structures. In total, the 3,252 lb. NV is rated to carry 1,500 lbs. of payload.

The offset rear window is a nice touch for the driver as it provides better rearward vision and allows for vehicles directly behind the van to be seen. Symmetrically split windows usually block out the vehicle behind you at certain distances. The side windows on the other hand angle up too suddenly and shorter drivers may have sight-line issues. The side mirrors at least have convex portions to them to help with blind-spot vision.

The rest of the interior features a well-laid-out design, easy to use controls and comfortable front seats. If the driver is alone, the front passenger seat back can be folded completely flat producing a work table.

Powering the NV200 is a 2.0 L four-cylinder engine producing 131 hp and 139 lb-ft of torque. It paired up to a continuously variable transmission that sends power to the front wheels. This drivetrain combination is rough and noisy and feels underpowered at times – and this is with an unloaded van .It does however achieve decent fuel economy; the NV is rated at 24 mpg combined and I averaged 23.4 mpg in mixed driving.

The van handles fairly well for a commercial vehicle due to its small size. The skinny tires though have the van wandering a bit at highway speeds, especially in the wind. The NV200 does boast a very tight turning radius which we got to utilize when getting lost in the suburbs of San Diego.

Regardless of how this van looks, drives or feels, price and reliability are going to ultimately decide whether it is a winner or not. Starting at a price of $19,990, the NV200 significantly undercuts the Ford Transit Connect, but is a much more raw commercial vehicle than the Ford.

The Nissan NV200 is now on sale and you should expect to see these little vans descending on urban areas soon.

Thinking about buying a new vehicle? Interested in the NV200 for your small business?

Visit AutoGuide’s new car buying section here. If you want, you can skip to Nissan.