Nissan Dualis Series II ST Two Wheel Drive Compact SUV

A friend of mine has a white Dualis. I always want to have a drive. Luckily, my dream came true just last week. The Dualis is a small hatch back cross over compact SUV. It gives you a high up sitting position, enormous space, and storage of a small wagon, and convenience with the help of a hatch door.

I begin to appreciate the benefits of the Dualis, whereby, it is much easier to get in and out of any traditional wagon or sedan. The press car that we had was a basic model, but it was still very attractive.

It has recently undergone a new noise job – smarter grille. My impression was that it seemed to be a little bit aggressive. Good for a car, but definitely not as a meaning for driver’s behaviour.

New acoustic wind screen to dampen wind noise and more insulating materials are in place to further curtail engine noise from intruding into the cabin. Eventually, the noise level in side the car can be rated as tranquil.

The styling is somehow unique; it is still hanging on the smooth liquid theme. Leaning towards practicality rather than entirely flashy. On the other hand, it has a rapidly growing fan club and its support is only confined by the British factory strict production schedule.

The trip computer, complimented with various functions, is placed in between the speedo and tachometer. White on a black LED display, somehow, is easy to read, and handy switches are just within easy reach of my finger tip.

What impressed me most was the ride quality. It was behaving like a well composed European compact four wheel drive. After all, the Dualis did come from Sunderland in England. Steering and suspension are at a very comfortable level that it is actually a treat to ride on the Dualis.

Steering wheel can provide reach and rake positioning, it should fit everyone.

Body roll was contained by better chassis design and did manage to reduce any wallowing. It is perhaps the best kept secret of the motoring industry that should a tall car remaining composed when cornering sharply, it will definitely guarantee a strong market share.

Nissan Australia recently repositioned the pricing and equipment level of the Dualis, after then, it became a stronger market leader in the local compact SUV sector. You may call it a no frills price campaign, with the basic model “ST” 2 wheel drive manual version, just asking for $24,990 or A$26,990 for a drive away price

The 2.0litre petrol engine is excellent in terms of power and torque level. It matches perfectly with a 6 speed manual gear box. The power output is 102kW at 5200 revs and torque is 198Nm at 4400 revs. Clutch and clod are working beautifully, that makes driving the Dualis a bliss. The engine is matching its prime mission, but better fuel consumer should be achievable. As claimed by Nissan, fuel consumption is just 8.1 litres with its 6 speed manual gear box. It is not a particularly frugal figure but in line with the near 1.5 ton body weight in its class.

On the safety side, it has the lots. 5 star ANCAP crash ratings with 4 airbags plus full length curtain airbags for the front and back passengers, Vehicle Dynamic Control, Traction Control System and ABS with brake assist (BA) and Electronic brake force distribution to work together in ensuring a safe ride for you, just in case of any nasty incident might cause any unwanted impact upon you.

Finally, I would say, it is a good buy. If you want European craftsmanship and design combined with Japanese reliability and ride comfort. As mentioned earlier, it is a highly sorted after vehicle for such a highly competitive price range in Australia.

我的一位朋友有一輛白色的日產Dualis，一直以來我都想試駕一番，幸運的是，上周我的這個願望實現了。Dualis是一款小型的掀背休旅車，它帶給駕駛者較高的駕駛座位和更為開闊的視野，足夠的車內空間，小型旅行車的儲物地盤，掀背門的設計也十分方便。我開始欣賞Dualis的各種優點，比起傳統的旅行車或房車，進出其間顯得更為容易。發佈會上我們試駕的車是最基本的型號，不過仍然十分吸引人。

這款車最近剛剛進行過一些的變革，格柵的設計更為精明，留給我的印象是更具氣勢，這對于車子本身來說不錯，不過就駕駛者的行為來講就另當別論了。新的聲音中的屏幕上的聲音降低風，保溫材料是如何進一步減少引擎噪音擠進了車艙。最後，在那邊那輛汽車堪稱安定。全新的聲學擋風玻璃阻隔了風力噪音，絕緣材料的使用減低了引擎的吵雜聲，兩者相結合有效地保持了車廂內部的安靜環境。

車身外觀設計獨一無二，保持了流綫型靈動的主題，不過相對于視覺感官上的華麗更注重實用性。另一方面，由於其支持的製造商嚴格按照英國工廠的生產時間流程表生產，車迷一族的人數增長迅速。具備多功能的行程計算機位於速度表和轉速表之間，黑白對比的LED顯示屏，閱讀起來十分容易，操控也只需挪挪手指，輕而易舉。

不過給我印象最深的依然是駕駛時的高質量感受。從它的表現來看同歐洲小型四驅車相似，畢竟，Dualis產自於英國桑德蘭。轉向裝置和懸掛裝置都使得整輛車在行駛的過程中保持在一個相當舒適的水平，方向盤的位置和轉向角度都恰到好處，應該能適合所有的駕駛者。車身底盤設計有所進步，能夠有效地減少搖擺。

這也許這是汽車製造也上最保密的技術，絕對能夠讓其佔領很大的市場份額。

日產澳大利亞分公司日前重新調整了Dualis的售價和性能配置級別，Dualis由此成為澳洲中小型休旅車市場中的強大領導者。重新定位後的售價相當實在，基本型號「ST」前輪驅動手動版起售價為澳幣$24,990，「開走價」為澳幣$26,990。

2升的汽油引擎在動力和扭力方面功效一流，同流速手動變速箱搭配得天衣無縫，最大動力爲102kW / 5200 revs，最大扭力為198Nm / 4400 revs。駕駛該車的體驗相當令人愉悅。引擎的主要任務和目標都完美地達到了，不過在燃油率上有待進一步提高。根據日產的官方數據，六速手動變速箱的燃油消耗率為8.1升，不算省油節能型的車，不過倒還是符合與其1.5噸的體重的。

安全方面的功課這款車也做得很足：ANCAP 車禍撞擊評定為五星級，四個安全氣囊以及爲前後排乘客考慮而設計安裝的全長簾式安全氣囊，車輛動態控制系統，牽引力控制系統，ABS系統和刹車輔助系統，電子制動力分配系統，一起配合工作爲駕駛者提供足够的安全保障以確保萬無一失，即使萬一發生車禍，也能將傷害减至最小程度。

總而言之，如果你追求的是將歐洲的技藝和設計同日本的信任與舒適相結合的感受的話，那麽我認為這款車值得購買，在澳洲同類型的車輛市場中，這款車的性價比絕對有競爭力。