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The sport utility vehicle is a genre today that is ubiquitous as the Big Mac. Their size, weight and high centre of gravity often thwarted their trendy image. The established car brands got around this with cutting edge suspension, a lower the centre of gravity and part or full time four wheel drive.
They weren't cheap.
The Dualis exists as a metropolitan being, appealing to urban dwellers who can't decide between a hairdresser hatch and a masculine off-roader. As a "sort of off-road hatchback," Nissan claims it combines the advantages both. Measuring in at 4315mm by 1780mm by 1615mm (length, width and height), it isn't nearly as gigantic as the Murano's 4770mm, 1880mm and 1685mm, but it isn't as bulky either.
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Insider impressions
Now here's an SUV with a genuine, car-like driving position. You sit low and cocooned in seats that hug and bolster behind a nicely sized tilt-reach adjustable steering wheel. It has a good amount of head and leg room while fit and finish is impressive in a car of its price range and class.
A letdown would probably be the lack of audio controls on the wheel, but that was quite alright because the empty space for where the stereo should have been was definitely within our reach.
There were no corner cup holders as found on Nissan's boxy X-Trail, and the car's English designers should also take note of poor vision through the rear view mirrors. Perhaps not an isolated occurrence, many rear windows on modern cars appear to be shrinking to the size of an aircraft's passenger window.
Part of this would be due to body strength requirements for those Euro NCAP numbers. A strong shell means a thicker behind, and that price is a moderately sized vehicle that is harder to drive backwards, but it isn't entirely unsolvable with the use of reverse sensors. On that note, you would very much like to know that this Dualis received a full, 5-star crash rating.
There wasn't much more space in the boot than in a Mark V Golf or Corolla Axio/Altis, partially due to the high floor that houses a full sized spare. Nissan claims 410 litres with the rears folded down. Rear legroom is adequate enough by European sedan standards, and the colossal moon roof more than made up for its shortcomings. You might want to keep it closed during a hot day, though.
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Driving Dynamics
The Dualis' ride and handling abilities surprised us. Much firmer than the roly-poly X-Trail, there was that undeniable, "tight" feel every time we turned a corner. There was very little pitching and floating around, as with the occasional harsh impact over fast speed strips as you might experience in a hot-hatch.
The feel was spoilt a little by a numb steering that perhaps, seems to be caused by the 65 series profile wheel combination used on your typical slew of SUVs. Aside from that, it turns in and handles pretty much like a car half its height, and it doesn't get easily upset by mid-corner bumps. Needless to say, the Dualis understeers at the limits of grip, and for such a vehicle, we can't really complain much.
The 2.0-litre MR20DE (rated 138hp @ 5200rpm and 198Nm @ 4400rpm) and continuously variable transmission combination is what you will find in the rather willing Bluebird Sylphy, but willing it has to be, because the Dualis weighs at least 1500 kilos.
Acceleration was in fact, not entirely lacking through town. The 6-speed "M" mode didn't help much, and although it enhanced our driving experience by keeping us mildly entertained, this car is best left to its own "shifting" devices. Like in the Sylphy, the CVT kept the engine in the torque band at most speeds. Overtaking around 90-120km/h was a no-brainer in normal driving situations. Cruising at these speeds also meant an extremely refined ride devoid of noticeable levels of NVH, almost comparable to that of an entry level BMW 3-series.
For those who are adventurously inclined, do take note that wading depth holds to an impressive 450mm, not like any of you buyers would want to dirty your new car.
Would you buy it?
Overseas, the Nissan Dualis has clearly found its niche. They have revealed that in the United Kingdom, over 85 percent of these buyers were new to Nissan and younger than your typical SUV demographic.
It retails for $87,380 as of the 11th April, from Fabulous International. For this price, optional extras like leather seats, fog lamps, and a quality stereo were not to be had, but it does come with Xenon high-intensity discharge headlights.
Our hunch, is that those who seek these cars were probably victims of marketing - the sort of people who believe in "Support Pillows" and other inventions sold on Sell-a-vision or TV Media.
Perhaps we exaggerate, but it must be said that Nissan has done an impressive job of trying to square two contradictory genres of cars. They've accomplished it well, and it has an excellent deposit of driver ergonomics, a balanced compromise of performance, rear seat room, luggage space and style that cannot be had in a regular SUV.
Because of this, we'll split the difference and tell you that it still makes for good value if you can't decide between a car and an SUV, and you want something that works, well.
