n the old days, way back when, there was a particularly descriptive term for a panel van that cannot be repeated in this article for fear of scarring our younger audience. Usually, in the old days, this type of ‘trock’ was run on the smell of an oil rag by a couple of okes who went straight from the party to the beach for a surf and then back to the party again.
Well, when I first saw the Nissan NV200 panel van on the road I did a double take. A mingle of memories came flooding back to me about dingy smoke-filled night clubs, reggae music, trenchcoats, a black eye, Sergeant Felmore and for some reason, purple velour.
On closer inspection, the Nissan NV 200 panel van is remarkably contemporary in its styling (absolutely no velour) and is coupled with some very clever design features. This is a cargo van that will have you stopping on fewer occasions to fill up with fuel, which equates to cheaper running costs, which equates to good business. Fleet owners, especially in the tough economic times that we are currently facing, need to be highly cognisant of their overall fuel bill as overextending your vehicle park and the consequent petrol costs can bust your business. It's simple – choose your vehicles carefully.
This compact cargo van comes in a choice of 1.6 litre petrol or 1.5 litre turbo diesel engines. The Nissan NV200 also has a very low CO2 emission rating and and is designed to respond to any task that it is given. Driver protection includes an airbag, seatbelt pretensioners and electronic stability protection. The Nissan NV200 panel van comes in a variety of colours. My opinion is that white is by far the best colour for a vehicle, especially a work vehicle, but if you’d like your workhorse to show each and every scratch and blemish, you might be tempted to purchase a blue, silver, black, grey, green or red one. There is of course the option, as I suggested, of a white one.
Safety and security include ABS, EBD, ESP, immobilizer, central locking and remote keyless entry. Comfort levels in this utility vehicle are excellent for a work vehicle and include a soft-touch 3-spoke urethane steering wheel, low fuel warning light, clock, air conditioning, 2 cup holders, 12 volt socket accessory and 2 rear swing doors.
The NV200 panel van comes standard with a 3-year 100 000km manufacturer's warranty and a 3-year anti-corrosion warranty. Service intervals are every 15 000km. Overall, this is a clever purchase for businesses and at the R200k mark, it is highly competitive in its class.
Nissan have revived themselves from their gloomy Sentra days that went on and on and on fraught with ordinary styling and lacklustre advertising as many other manufacturers leapt ahead with innovation and design.
I’m glad that Nissan is back with a solid mix of well-styled vehicles because the reliability of the Nissan range has never been in question. Ask me … my turqoise Nissan, nicknamed 'Sizza', has about 400 000km on the clock and I smaak her stukkend!
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