Nissan Elgrand E52

Imagine yourself, an owner of a second-generation Toyota Alphard, trying to get inside the Alphard. Before getting inside, you might hear something strange. It is not the Cocoon AI weapon trying to attack you, but the heart and soul of a Cocoon AI weapon, in the new Nissan E52 Elgrand, trying to blow away your Alphard in pieces.







Destined as an elite luxury minivan targeted for royalty, the new Elgrand will surely blow away the aging Honda Elysion and the Toyota Alphard/Vellfire, just how the Cocoon readies its main cannon. The new Elgrand is reverted from being an RWD van into a FWD van, sacrificing this drive-train for greater riding comfort for the rich and famous Japanese tycoons, including the Diet members. That is the reason because the new Elgrand shares the platform used from the Z51 Murano and the J32 Teana.







The great fight between the Alphard and the Elgrand would be rather be set to its extreme difficulty. While the Alphard has a Vellfire twin, the Elgrand has two body styles to bring elite customers whose side are they on. The XG variant is the base variant for the Elgrand, providing a simple detail that shows its modest level, recommended as a budget-level Elgrand among families. The Highway Star variant, on the other hand, sets the E52 Elgrand's luxury to its elite level. This variant is truly a Cocoon-at-heart, even without the primary weapons that the Cocoon had such as Gatling guns, hedgehogs, missiles, and the main cannon. If both the XG and the Highway Star variant did not suit your battle-scarred potential, Autech Japan come up with the field upgrade version of the Elgrand, called the Elgrand Rider, now on its E52 basis. The Autech-upgrade Elgrand Rider is truly a force to be reckoned with, especially standing up against the Toyota Vellfire.







The new Nissan Elgrand E52 is not mostly comes with the heart of an armored vehicle but the interior is a fit for royalty status because of the premium amenities offered inside this luxury war machine. On the interior side, the E52 Elgrand offers the finest features fit for the elite Japanese tycoons to spend hospitality beyond reasons. The new Elgrand still carries seven or eight passengers, showing that this war machine can still accommodate more infantry units as for the previous E51 Elgrand. On the comfort zone, if you chose the Highway Star Premium variant, the E52 Elgrand offers a triple-ottoman 2nd row seats that offer three modes of comfort on the 2nd row seats, imagine how rich people spend their Japanese summer days with these seats, especially armed with the optional sunroof. For entertainment purposes, the E52 Elgrand comes with the rear entertainment system with an 11-inch monitor and the Bose 5.1 ch Surround Sound. Speaking of the comfort, you might use this to watch your recently bought Zettai Karen Children OVA inside the E52 Elgrand, or even the Silent Hill movie.







Like most military vehicles offering high-tech features, the new Elgrand offers a wide array of high-tech features such as the one-touch switch that opens doors, luggage underbox to hide your firearms, one-push side sheet to automatically folds the third row seats, the innovative Around View Monitor, and the Tire Pressure Monitoring System. Under the hood, the Elgrand comes with either the basic QR25DE engine or the high-end VQ35DE engine. The 2.5L variant has a fuel economy of 11.6km/L while the 3.5L V6 engine offers a power output of 280PS /6400rpm. It is good to know that both of these variants are armed with the XTRONIC CVT for optimized fuel efficiency.

My thoughts about the Elgrand:
With the Elgrand facing against the Alphard and the Vellfire, expect to see those Toyota twin vans exploded because the new Elgrand reached its ultimate level, a level that the Toyota Alphard and Vellfire could not achieve. In my product of fantasy, when the E52 Elgrand is escorted by troops, an armored vehicle, a tank, or an attack chopper, this "King of Minivan" is unstoppable on its tracks. With the exterior painted with its war colors, the new Elgrand's interior is a hospitable treat that feels like, smells like, and hears like Outer Heaven. For those planning to buy and for those who owned the Toyota Alphard/Vellfire, you can expect a heavy battle when facing against the new Nissan Elgrand E52. With so many luxury cars offered that could be treated like war machines such as Toyota's Land Cruiser, Crown Majesta, Audi's A8, and Volkswagen's Touareg, the new Nissan Elgrand will shine in the battle of the flagships, because it is not just a palace on wheels, it is a battleship on treads.

Photo: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.