Nissan Prairie

The Nissan Prairie (Japanese: 日産・プレーリー, Hepburn: Nissan Purērī) is an automobile manufactured and marketed by Nissan from 1981 to 2004. Considered a mini MPV or a compact MPV. It was also marketed as the Multi in Canada and the Stanza Wagon in the United States. In Japan, it was exclusive to Nissan Bluebird Store locations, then later at Nissan Blue Stage sales channels. The Prairie had a very flexible seating capability and sliding rear doors on both sides of the vehicle, with a liftgate in the back. The name "prairie" was derived from French which means an extensive area of relatively flat grassland, similar to "steppe" or "savanna".

The second generation was marketed as the Nissan Axxess in North America, and replaced there by the larger Nissan/Ford joint venture called the Nissan Quest, and in Europe it was partially replaced by the Nissan Serena.

When the third generation of this vehicle was introduced in Japan, it was renamed initially Prairie Liberty, with the "Prairie" name eventually dropped in November 1998. This vehicle was replaced with the Nissan Lafesta in 2004.

The Nissan Prairie, known in Canada as the Multi and the United States as the Stanza Wagon, was equipped with a four-cylinder engine, with either a manual or automatic transmission. Available with front wheel drive or optional four wheel drive, the vehicle had rear passenger sliding doors on both sides of the vehicle, and a folding rear seat, designed to increase the carrying capacity of the passenger compartment. The rear tailgate opened upwards as one complete unit, in a similar fashion to a hatchback or station wagon. The Prairie competed with the Toyota Sprinter Carib with a similar wagon approach, Mitsubishi Chariot, and the Honda Shuttle.

The Prairie resembled a tall station wagon / estate with the addition of sliding side doors. It was available with five seats, though seven and eight were also available in some markets. It was developed from the Nissan Sunny platform, while using the powertrain from the Nissan Stanza. It was a companion model to the more traditional cabover Nissan Vanette, offering buyers a choice of appearance and flexibility. The trailing arm torsion beam rear suspension was borrowed from the Pulsar Van (VN10; sold as the Cherry Wagon in Europe). Some reviewers commented that when driven hard, undesirable body characteristics were exhibited, possibly due to the combination of missing B-pillar and torsion beam rear suspension. Strong understeering characteristics were also typical.

During the early stages of development, the Prairie was internally known as "The Nissan 1.6m High Multipurpose Sedan." The design was strongly inspired by the Lancia Megagamma concept by Giorgetto Giugiaro and ItalDesign, shown in 1979, and offered Japanese buyers a spacious, flexible passenger/cargo arrangement that complied with Japanese Government dimension regulations and used small displacement engines that offered Japanese buyers options with regards to annual road tax obligations. Due to the design, the Prairie initially had a Cd of 0.40. In Japan, there was also a van version intended for commercial use, called the Prairie NV (also referred to as the Prairie Estate). This only came with the smallest engine, bare-bones equipment, fender mirrors, and was available with either three or six seats.

The first generation Prairies were innovative vehicles - featuring no B-pillar between the front and rear doors (instead the interlocking front and sliding rear doors locked onto both the floor and roof of the vehicle); front seatbelts mounted on the doors (excluding the US versions) that facilitated a totally unimpeded side entrance; front seats that could be slid all the way to the front of the passenger compartment and fully reclined; rear seats that could not only be folded away conventionally, but could also be reclined fully to make a double bed (in combination with the front seats); rear window winders that folded into themselves (to prevent catching when the doors were slid open); tailgate that opened past the floor of the very low and flat luggage compartment (the center section of the rear bumper was mounted on the tailgate); optional front-facing third row of seats. This type of entry was later introduced on the Toyota Isis, but only on the passenger side.

It was originally launched in Japan with a 1.5- or 1.8-litre inline-four engine mated to a five-speed gearbox. Another notable addition to the Japanese market's models was an optional column shifted manual, which allowed for an additional seat in front. This seat had no belt until November 1986, when revised safety rules forced the addition of a waist belt for the middle occupant. A four-wheel drive version followed later in the car's life. An extensive accessories and options list was available in the Japanese Domestic Market, including a kit that effectively turned the vehicle into a campervan. In January 1985 a facelifted version was introduced, with slightly modified engines. These later cars received a new grille treatment and an entirely redesigned rear end: the bumper was now mounted separately to provide more stability after earlier versions had come under criticism for being much too flexible. This redesign also included taller, flush-fit rear side windows. In September 1985 the 4WD model finally appeared, using a larger 2-litre engine and the rear axle from the Nissan Sunny 4WD (B12). A 4WD model had been planned from the beginning, but the original bodyshell's lack of rigidity made Nissan rethink the concept.