Despite rapidly running out of money, it seems Nissan never stopped developing sophisticated luxury cars until Renault and Ghosn forced the issue. This first generation Nissan Stagea (just think of it as a Skyline Wagon) is a perfect illustration of this point. It’s another Cohort upload photographed by donandreina, and when I saw it, I immediately saved the image file so that I could write about it. Check out that caster angle and those driving lights; very sexy.
I try to avoid revealing any blatant fanboi-ism, but unless we’re talking the Datsun 510 or Datsun 240Z, the brand’s cars don’t seem to raise anyone’s pulse around here. I guess that makes me the resident Nissan patron, but it’s a role I’m happy to take on.
The Stagea was intended to compete with the Subaru Legacy touring wagon, but based as it was on the Laurel and Skyline chassis and equipped with an inline six, it was an altogether more luxurious–and balanced–affair. Both the Nissan and the Subaru epitomize Japanese luxury car styling. Japanese manufacturers looking to advertise their heritage, take note: this is your template, albeit maybe with more chrome and fewer ground effects.
These days, it’s the Aussies and Russians who get to benefit from the best of Japan’s automotive fat years. Since none of these companies bothered to cultivate a market in the US for these honest, performance-oriented cars, there’s no reason to continue investing in their development.
That’s a true shame, as not everyone wants an 3-series or S-class clone. Subaru, despite recently throwing away its styling heritage, understands this very well and has made a healthy business building off the performance reputation established by the WRX. Nissans latest concepts are a sign that they understand the value of staying true to their character, but the most recent crop of Infinitis is less encouraging. Ignoring the realities of today’s market, though, I would have easily preferred this Nissan to a Volvo 850R or Audi A6 Avant back in the mid-to-late ’90s.
Looks like the designers of the Ford Taurus X and the Mercedes 300 series wagons of the late 90s got together and this was the result.
Although because it is a wagon and I6 powered, I am intrigued and my interest piqued.
+1 I’m pretty sure this car wasn’t available in the UK.I like it a lot being a RWD 6,never seen one before
I was thinking it looks more like a Subaru Forrester from the front & side and a Toyota Highlander from the rear.
From the back, the thing looks like a chopped Honda Odyssey. But I like it. A wagon with an inline six, sign me up.
Minor nit – when discussing suspension, isn’t it caster instead of castor? I think that castor is in the realm of astronomy, Greek mythology and old-fashioned laxatives. 🙂
What do you have against laxatives?
If the caster is wrong the next tight corner might relieve one’s need for castor oil.
The caster increases as you wind on lock like a Volvo.
Caster / castor appears to be one of those trans-atlantic spelling differences. OED has “castor angle” (link).
I think you are right that there is not a strong Nissan crowd here. The common perception from the Midwest may be that Nissan is an also ran among the big Japanese brands, are prone to quirky / bad styling, and usually don’t get the best ratings from the consumer product testing people. My SIL had an older Altima? Before the more competitive version came out around 2004. She is a Japanese car fan and now has a Toyota. She has nothing positive to say about her Nissan experience.
That said, at the 2013 auto show, the Sentra and Altima appear to be very nice and space efficient cars. The Maxima was a cramped joke – why would anybody pay for more than the Altima? The new Pathfinder seems to be a very nice crossover, but expensive.
Nissan bashing aside, it appears their product is improving. And, while I’ve never had eyes for a Maxima, your subject car is quite intriguing. It would have been interesting if Nissan had developed these for the NA market. Did this underpin any of the over priced Infinity products?
No; the closest we got was the 240SX.
No but it was replaced by an Infiniti (EX)
I will happily join you on the Nissan fanboi-ism. I don’t get the disrespect the brand gets. One of my favorite cars was my pre-Ghosn ’03 Maxima with its smooth, silent, strong powertrain. Not much to look at though.
Post Ghosn they have a great deal of bold designs that receive much criticism, from those who bemoan jellybean, bland styling. Interesting.
I would still take the admittedly watered down current Maxima over a Camry or Accord…a more satisfying drive,even with the cvt, though still not much to look at.
Nissan went through a terribly long awkward stage that started in the mid-70s and didn’t really end as far as mass-market sedans until the firstgen Altima.
Imagine if they had stuck with the 510 all through the ’70s and saved their development money to do the transition to FWD right…
I think things worked on the larger saloons until the early 80s 280C. For me, the malaise started with the subsequent 300C.
And by the time they got things right, a lot of people had stopped paying attention. They didn’t make bad cars, just dowdy ones.
Imagine if they had stuck with the 510 all through the ’70s and saved their development money to do the transition to FWD right…
What’s not to like about the Datsun F10? (/sarcasm)
Seriously, I love wagons and hatchbacks, but dang
I like a wagon and the size of this is appealing. But the side view is ugly and the problem is the conflict in the angles of the A, B, C and D pillars – especially the B, C, D. It looks as if the wagon was just a very late afterthought and only slightly more integrated than putting a “topper” on a Ford Ranger or the like.
The Mitsubishi Diamante wagon, a similar size and capacity I guess, looks to be a much more serious, well considered design.
Lots of these in NZ ex JDM I thought seriously about buying one but the fuel use put me off they mostly seem to be a turbo 6 and go really well but suck gas like a Skyline they are based on.
Subaru hasn’t completely abandoned its styling heritage. The boxy Forester, especially, looks very classic Japanese. The new WRX is also unmistakably Subaru.
Where’s the frameless glass? Why are there quarter windows? Where’s the six-light greenhouse?
All these changes resulted from that one change: Framed vs. frameless glass. Subaru went to framed glass most likely to reduce wind noise and increase theft deterrence. Toyota’s partial ownership may also have something to do with that …
Impreza hatch/Crosstrek have 5 side window glass panes each side.
Subaru did preserve one good thing about frameless glass: Thin pillars/excellent driver visibility. Impreza/Crosstrek/WRX/Forester have am airy cabin unmatched by any competitor.
You alluded to it Perry but these were not sold in Australia but are gray imports. They have to be modified to meet Australian regs which can involve surprising items eg installing door impact bars (not sure If that applies to this car specifically).
For the people making CUV/SUV comparisons this is under 5 foot tall.
Yes its amazing what the Japanese will leave out for JDM cars side intrusion bars are just one thing.
Here’s another car I did not know existed. Whatever happened to wagons with vertical rear ends/tailgates? Given that we’re looking at wagons right now, that’s a relevant issue at the moment. The rears are drooping and sloping more and more; soon they’ll just be fastbacks.
Its an old car now the Stagea styles change usually at the expense of utility,
love it when something gets posted you dont recognize Paul, doesnt happen often though
Another JDM-only, wagon-only is the Galant-based Mitsubishi Legnum.
This car with the fog lights in the grille is a 1998-2001 model, it appears market value is around the $10k mark.
Always seems to me that Legnum must be an anagram or mis-spelling – just doesn’t seem right. Bit like the Emina.
Oh I dunno, I heard they’re named after their ability to make your Leg go num(b)… 😉
Thanks Perry. These started popping up a few years ago, and appear to be the car one purchases when one’s babymama (or one’s babydaddy) and brood won’t fit in the R32 GTR anymore. I have a real soft spot for larger Japanese wagons; I recently missed a 260C with the side rear window that lowers.
Spotted in East Vancouver yesterday. We are a JDM market dream!
I’ve been championing RWD JDM Nissans here since day one! Glad I’m not the only one. The “Skyline” part of my byline represents my old ’94 R33 Skyline; 5 speed manual, 2-litre straight-6, multi-link suspension front and rear…it was an absolute joy to fling around winding country roads, I miss it immensely (life got in the way, I couldn’t afford two cars).
Although I love all RWD Nissans, my favourite is always the Laurel – my avatar here is a Laurel hood ornament. Skyline underpinnings, but bigger and more luxurious interior…what’s not to like! My current Laurel is a 1997 C35, the 153rd one built which makes me feel special lol.
The pictured Stagea is the WC34 series 2; the ’34’ refers to the C34 series Nissan Laurel (1993-1997) with which the Stagea shares its platform. The Stagea’s structure (excluding the rear!) is largely C34 Laurel, which also has frameless glass, unlike the concurrent R33 and R34 Skylines. Although wikipedia says the WC34 sits on the C35 Laurel platform, that’s slightly incorrect. The C35 is an updated version of the C34 platform. It’d be more correct to say the WC34 and C35 are developments of the C34 platform.
These Stagea wagons are very popular here in New Zealand, we’ve received thousands among our sea of used Japanese imports. They’re here in 2WD and 4WD form, auto and (very rare) turbo-only manual, naturally aspirated and turbo… There’s even the awesome Autech 260RS model, which has the engine and running gear of the R33 Skyline GTR. The Autech is a stunningly quick wagon, although more rare, there’s still a good selection available here.
The replacement for the WC34 Stagea was the M35 Stagea from 2001-7. It sits on the V35-series Skyline (aka Infiniti G35) platform and shares the interior and front (and possibly rear) lower doors. The front clips are interchangeable. My Uncle and Aunt have owned an M35 Stagea for 4-5 years now; it as comfy and smooth to be in as its Stagea/Skyline/Laurel predessors. Huge rear luggage space too!
Fun fact: all Stageas were available with twin sunroofs – one for each row of seats.
Funner fact: the Stagea name is apparently meant to be pronounced Staah-jee-ah. It’s always fun hearing people attempt to pronounce it without having heard it first! (“Stag like a deer…no wait, stage like in theatre…stager?”)
/fanboi off 🙂
*cough* please tell me a story about Ken and Mary. BTW have not seen one Cefiro since returning to Melbourne
Of course, forgot the RWD Cefiro and the Silvia which both sit on variations of the Skyline/Stagea/Laurel platform. The Cefiro is a very handsome car, several friends and acquaintances have had them over the years. Zero rear legroom though.
The Ken & Mary story is fascinating – and there’s actually a Ken & Mary (C110) Skyline for sale here currently – I drool over the trademe ad regularly.
Can you photograph it for a story?
Don, sorry for late reply! Paul delved into the Ken & Mary story here https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cohort-classic-nissan-skylinedatsun-240k-the-car-that-the-ken-mary-tv-ads-made-famous-with-video/ . The article features a Victorian-registered C210 240K. The NZ-new ’74 C110 that’s for sale here is pictured below and on trademe: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=694847474
Schweet Scott. Cheers. BTW, got a 260C with multiple coverage in my cohort if you want to write it up.
Don, I saw the yellow taxi Holden you posted on the cohort, parked close to where I live.
I’ve seen the Camargue too, it was a long time ago but can’t recall where. Fugly car.
it was this one
http://www.flickr.com/photos/115914039@N08/12408169835/in/pool-curbsideclassic/
There’s two Camargues. Jplcontinentalmkii has also caught the black one.
The white one. I haven’t seen the black.
One of my coworkers has one, modified. Huge intercooler, fart can and AP brakes all around.
Nice wagon – but I’d still take a ’73 Toyota Crown. Not JDM, they actually sold them here, bizarre running lights curved above the fenders and all. My hip-ish Great Uncle from Philadelphia had one.
I never liked the fussy detailing on JDM cars from this era. The last Stegea though was gorgeous. It was a G35 wagon with a coffin nose, sleek roofline and Volvo Kamm back. Somehow that all worked.
I LOVE the Stagea! Had AMC connected with Nissan instead of Renault, this would’ve been the New Matador, the Gloria Brougham a stylish Ambassador, and the Laurel would’ve wrote it’s OWN Yokohama-via-Kenosha-to-Southfield ticket. There would be a better ending to AMC than what had happened… I can’t wait to have one.