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Past Issues

744: Jaguar XF
The new sedan from Britain’s storied automaker proves that appearances are, in fact, deceiving
736: Suzuki Swift Sport
Suzuki’s bargain hatch proves big fun can come in small packages
732: Dualis & X-Trail
Nissan introduces a new SUV while its marquee model continues to play tough
728: Toyota Vanguard
Head off to the concrete jungle with a bit more vehicle than you need
724: Subaru Impreza S-GT
Japan’s automotive loudmouth learns some manners
720: Tokyo Auto Salon 2008
Get ready for some modification mayhem at Makuhari Messe
716: Dodge These!
Chrysler introduces three muscle-bound imports to Japan
712: Licensed to Drive
We guide you through the bureaucratic jungle
708: Tokyo Concours D’Elegance
Exotic autos from the past and present glide into Roppongi
704: Car Knows Best
Automakers are introducing technology that will let your ride decide if you’ve had one too many
700: Range Rover & Land Rover
We put three SUVs from the fabled British maker through their paces
696: Aston Martin V8 Vantage
Channel 007 in this latest incarnation of the marquee automaker’s “baby”
692: BMW R1200GS Adventure
The storied bike maker competes with itself to create a three-in-one masterpiece
688: Lexus LS460
The new sedan is big, fast, safe, classy—and unremarkable
684: Alfa Romeo Spider
We unleash the Italian monster on a 1,200km road trip
680: Ford Mustang
The American classic goes back to its roots
676: Citroën C6
The French automaker's latest eccentricity pushes its own boundaries
672: Nissan’s Pino and Otti
Japan-friendly K-cars pack a big punch
668: Jaguar XK
Forget James Bond—this is the UK’s sexiest export
664: Mazda’s Axela, RX-8 and Roadster
Here’s the word on Japan’s resurgent automaker: buy, buy, buy!
660: Mazda’s Axela, RX-8 and Roadster
Here’s the word on Japan’s resurgent automaker: buy, buy, buy!
656: Alfa Romeo Brera
This gorgeous Italian coupe is both poised and sexy
652: Premium wheels
Business is good for Rolls-Royce in Japan, with an eagerly awaited convertible due out next year
648: Citroen C3 Pluriel
The quirky French automaker barrels into the 21st century
644: Jeep Commander& Grand Cherokee
Off road and on, these 4×4s do their military heritage proud
640: BMW Z4 M Roadster
Beemer’s monster convertible provides the most fun you can have sitting down
636: Name dropping
What your car is called says something about you—and even more about automakers’ marketing departments
632: BMW Mini Cooper S
All hail the mighty Mini!
628: Mazda Roadster
Redesigned and retooled, this two-seater is now a car for enthusiasts
624: Hyundai Sonata
A rev-happy South Korean import tries to find its niche in Japan
621: Lexus IS350
Toyota brings its upmarket brand to Japan—finally
616: Volvo XC90 V8
A bit sleeker and a lot more spacious, this SUV still puts a premium on safety
612: Chrysler 300C
This black beauty recalls the golden age of motoring
608: The Big Ideas
Tokyo Motor Show 2005 was a concept car bonanza
604: Tokyo Motor Show 2005
The automotive world’s big players zoom into Japan with some high concepts in tow
597: Three brothers
We put a trio of Nissan sedans through their paces
593: Ducati 1000S DS Multistrada
The boys from Bologna deliver an Italian masterpiece for your garage
589: Mazda Demio Sport
A worthy cousin to the Atenza and RX8, this roomy sedan is happy around town and in the country
585: BMW K1200S
The boys from bavaria clothe an iron fist in a velvet glove
581: Chrysler’s Cruisers
The American auto manufacturer concentrates on the body beautiful
577: Suzuki Skywave 650LX
If you thought scooters were just for kids, think again
573: Cadillac STS 4x4
America’s flagship automaker recaptures its former glory
569: Tour de Force
Yamaha’s FJR1300A offers an unbeatable blend of poise, power and price
565: Alfa Romeo GT and 156 GTA
With stunning looks and power to spare, these two Alfas are an enthusiast's dream
560: Driving the Future
The talk of the auto industry in 2004 was hybrids, safe driving and intelligent vehicles
556: Deja vu
Blast to the past on Harley-Davidson’s Road King Custom
552: Sports sensation
Nissan's new SUV breaks out of its class
548: Lean machine
Lighter, faster, stronger and sexier—a diet works wonders for BMW’s R1200GS
544: Kings for a day
The Honda Elysion is master of all it surveys
539: Rules of the road
New traffic laws are on the horizon. Turn off your cellphone, watch where you park and don’t ride in gangs, Chris Betros warns.
537: Open roadster
William Bonds gets up-close with the elements courtesy of the Nissan Fairlady 350Z convertible.
535: Extreme makeover
Volvo sheds its stodgy-but-safe image for sleek-and-sporty with the new S40 T5. William Bonds likes what he sees.
533: Sporting chance
Mazda has brought the station wagon up to speed with its Atenza Sport Wagon 23Z. William Bonds takes one for a spin.
531: Street smarts
Automakers are taking car safety to new levels with sophisticated warning systems that almost do the driving for you, reports Chris Betros.
529: Speed zone
Just down the road from Ueno Zoo, a virtual hog heaven has everything for the motorcycling enthusiast. Steve Trautlein cruises on over.
527: Italian Stallion
The Alfa Romeo 147 carries on its maker’s reputation for hot cars with unmatched sex appeal. William Bonds gets carried away.
525: Hot wheels
A cross between a snowboard and a scooter, the Wheelman is a quirky Australian invention that's grabbing attention worldwide. Tim Colquhoun takes one for a ride.
523: Mean Machine
William Bonds gets behind the wheel of the Nissan Skyline 350GT.
521: Show stealers
Toyota stunned attendees at the recent Geneva and Melbourne auto shows with two concept cars that represent a powerful vision for the future of motoring. Tim Colquhoun reports.
519: Mighty mouse
Subaru goes boldly against the tide with its new R2 minicar. Justin Gardiner admires this latest feat of audacity and engineering.
517: Trail blazer
Nissan's top-selling 4x4 features cool touches for winter sports fans. Justin Gardiner drove the latest X-Trail to the slopes
515: Up to speed
The Formula One circus is gaining momentum as the season opener in Australia draws near. Tim Colquhoun takes a look at the latest developments.
513: Good save
Hybrid cars are the rage this year with Toyota, Honda and Subaru touting their gas-electric vehicles. Chris Betros looks at what they're offering.
512: The road ahead
Despite the lack of a full-fledged Tokyo Motor Show in 2004, domestic manufacturers have a bevy of weird and wonderful offerings in store for this year. Justin Gardiner previews the lineup.
509/10: Top of the class
Justin Gardiner finds his favorites from this year's Metropolis test drives.
507: Mom-mobiles
Japanese mothers are trading in their once ubiquitous mama-chari bicycles for a new breed of K-car. Justin Gardiner tries a couple of the most popular mini-cars.
505: Cubic's rube
Nissan has lengthened its highly successful Cube a few centimeters and added an extra row of seats. But, as Justin Gardiner finds out, the result is a bit puzzling.
503: Globe trotters
Kerstin Gackle and Volker Aldinger left their native Germany on April 1 and pointed their Yamahas toward Australia. Eight months later Justin Gardiner caught up with the couple in Tokyo.
501: Back to the future
Cutting-edge technology and futuristic vehicles highlight the 37th Tokyo Motor Show at Makuhari Messe through November 5. Justin Gardiner offers a guide.

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Cars & Bikes

Text and photos by William Bonds

Dualis & X-Trail
Nissan introduces a new SUV while its marquee model continues to play tough

Dualis

A year ago, the bandwagon jumpers in Japan’s media were suggesting that Nissan’s glory days under CEO Carlos Ghosn were over. At a speech in Tokyo last year, Ghosn, who saved Nissan from collapse when he took over a decade back, ridiculed the claims. Although he conceded a slight downturn, due mainly to a lack of new products, he pointed out that the extent of Nissan’s “disaster” was to have its profits drop from ¥4.5 to ¥4 billion.

Of course, Nissan still had to be judged on its products, and the star of these in 2007 was the new GT-R, released in late October. But before the GT-R, Nissan already had another success on its hands in the Dualis (known as the Qashqai in most overseas markets). So overwhelming was the response to this compact SUV that its main manufacturing plant in the UK had to ask Nissan Japan to help with production.

So what’s all the fuss about? To find out, we rounded up a Dualis and compared it with its big brother the X-Trail, which had a major makeover at around the time the newcomer arrived on the market.

Dualis

Dualis

Don’t expect a spectacular addition to the Nissan lineup on par with the GT-R or 350Z; the Dualis isn’t flashy. The automaker’s bread-and-butter vehicles tend to be inoffensive to the eye rather than turn-ons, and the Dualis is no exception. To expect flashiness, in fact, is missing the point.

The point is that you can have a 2.0-liter, four-wheel-drive, five-seat SUV for ¥2.16 million (or a two-wheel-drive version for under ¥2 million). What Nissan has done is to supply the hungry SUV market with a low-priced option that won’t let its customers feel guilty about damaging the environment. The Dualis is cheap to buy and cheap to run (a diesel version recently made it from the top to the bottom of the UK on a single tank of fuel). But is it a cheapie?

Hardly. It’s got all the bells and whistles you’d expect to find on a more expensive car. The extensive glass roof (with electrically operated sliding shade) is wonderful. On the inside, the hug-your-butt front seats are superb, and Nissan has improved the layout of its dashboards so that even a dummy can understand where to put his or her fingers (although the dummy will still need his glasses). Large wing mirrors and cameras mounted on the back and side help with maneuvering—and compensate for the slightly limited rear vision. Luggage space is adequate and satisfies the all-important “four-golfers-with-their-clubs” standard. Externally, the Dualis looks energetic, but if I had a choice, I’d probably opt for something else to go cruising in Roppongi (like a garbage truck).

Apparently, the vehicle is aimed mainly at “urban nomads” (the Qashqai are a semi-nomadic tribe in Iran), but as an SUV wannabe it still needs to have some non-urban cred. So I took the car to the Bonds country estate to test it down the very tight country lanes of Chiba, and it proved to be perfect. The 2.0-liter engine is game (though a little more power would be helpful), while the maneuverability is exceptional. The ride, as you would expect, is comfortably middle-of-the-road.

X-Trail

X-Trail

Last year, the X-Trail, which is based on the same platform as the Dualis, had its first facelift since its introduction in 2000. When I first drove the car three years ago, I was disappointed. It seemed cheap and underpowered, probably because Nissan was aiming to do what the Dualis now achieves: offer an SUV for ¥2 million. The lower end of the range can still be bought for that, while the top-end models go for around ¥2.5 million.

What you get for that price is a 2.5-liter engine (a 2.0-liter motor is also available) with plenty of power in a real off-roader. While the old X-Trail had 4WD, the set-up had its limitations. The new model has Nissan’s latest electronically controlled 4WD system, plus hill-descent and hill-start assist, giving it a lot more points in the off-road credibility stakes.

X-Trail

The interior has been designed for practicality rather than comfort. The luggage space can be literally hosed down, the seats fold flat, and there are large storage trays under-neath the floor. This is a car for going skiing or surfing. It is different from the Dualis in that it really is designed to go off-road, but the downsides are less comfortable seats, a heavier and longer vehicle, and a lumpier ride. A different animal indeed.

Conclusion

The X-Trail is designed for the countryside but can be used in the city; the Dualis seems to be designed for the city but still feels comfortable in the countryside. The Dualis is very much an everyman kind of car—which is probably why the everymen seem to be buying them.

Autofile

There is an old wives’ tale in Japan that pregnant women shouldn’t wear seatbelts because they will injure their unborn child. However, two groups of obstetricians and gynecologists have compiled a report debunking the seemingly ridiculous notion. The groups, the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Japan Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, estimate that traffic accidents cause up to 10,000 miscarriages and premature births, as well as 40 deaths of pregnant women, annually. Hiroyuki Yoshikawa, a professor at the University of Tsukuba, told Kyodo news that the misunderstanding stems from a traffic law that exempts pregnant women from wearing a seatbelt in cases where doing so would affect their health. “If the seatbelt is the three-part type that also holds your shoulder and it is used properly, there is no need to worry” about possible pressure on the stomach during a crash, the experts say. The report recommends that a seatbelt be placed over both the shoulder and waist, but not on the stomach.

Toyota says it has developed the world’s first car seat fabric that helps prevent mite allergens from becoming active in a vehicle’s cabin, and will soon start featuring it in vehicles for sale in Japan. The new material contains an agent that eliminates approximately 98 percent of the allergens that settle on a seat’s treated surfaces. Other initiatives for improving passenger sinus comfort include an air conditioner with both a pollen-reduction mode and “plasma-cluster ion” technology for suppressing the airborne movement of mold bacteria. Hey, whatever it takes to bust up that kafunsho! CB

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