Minivans/MPVs auto news

Chicago: 2013 Nissan NV200 goes after Transit Connect's lunch money

Nissan is expanding the company's commercial offerings with its new NV200 Compact Cargo Van. On display at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show, the NV200 is positioned just below Nissan's mammoth NV Cargo, and should offer buyers a more efficient work vehicle with plenty of interior room.

The NV200 is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a CVT gearbox. Despite its pint-sized powertrain, the van should be able to haul around 1,500 pounds, and its low floor will likely make for easy loading and unloading.

At 186.2 inches long, the NV200 is a full 54.2 inches shorter than its bigger brother while offering 123 cubic feet of cargo area, though Nissan says the NV200 can still accommodate a standard 40x48-inch pallet.

The company hasn't released any pricing details, beyond saying the NV200 will be competitive with other commercial vehicles in this segment. That probably means the 2013 NV200 will land somewhere in the neighborhood of $22,035, which is the MSRP of the Ford Transit Connect.

Continue reading 2013 Nissan NV200 goes after Transit Connect's lunch money

Official: Alain Prost wins ice-racing series in Dacia Lodgy Glace MPV

A minivan is not what you'd expect to see winning a racing series. Nor would a budget brand like Dacia. That's where Alain Prost comes into the picture.

The three-time Formula One world champion isn't quite retired: he's still competing in the Andros Trophy, a French ice-racing series. After hoisting the trophy twice in a row with a snow-spec Toyota Auris rally machine, Prost switched over to Dacia, for which he has now claimed his third personal title and the first for Renault's Hungarian budget brand.

The title fight came down to the last race in Auvergne, France, where the natural snow and best efforts of race organizers could not separate Prost (or his son Nicolas) from the bare tarmac. The vehicle with which he did it was a new racer (loosely) based on the new Lodgy, an MPV that doesn't make its production debut until theupcoming Geneva Motor Show.

Check out the high-res photos in the gallery for a closer look and follow the jump for the full press release.

Continue reading Alain Prost wins ice-racing series in Dacia Lodgy Glace MPV

Official: Mercedes-Benz gets sketchy with Citan urban delivery van

Though the Ford Transit Connect may be a niche player in the North American market, the small van market is big business in Europe. According to Mercedes-Benz, it accounts for some 700,000 units annually, and that's a pie of which Daimler wouldn't mind getting a bigger slice. And so it has announced its new Citan.

Taking its name from a combination of City and Titan, the Citan will slot in below the Vario, Sprinter and Vito in order to meet the needs of workers who need to get around crowded city streets and take their gear with them. Mercedes plans to offer it in a broad range of configurations, lengths and engine options once it hits the market in the fall.

The concept was unveiled at a logistics symposium held at the Mercedes-Benz Design Center in Sindelfingen, and will be presented for the first time in public next September at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show. In the meantime, you can check out the details in the press release after the jump and the renderings in our high-res image gallery below.

Continue reading Mercedes-Benz gets sketchy with Citan urban delivery van

Official: Ford previews 2012 B-Max MPV ahead of Geneva debut

You've seen the S-Max. You've seen the C-Max. Now get ready for the B-Max.

The latest European-focused mini minivan from Ford was previewed in concept form at last year's Geneva Motor Show, but has now been confirmed for production release at the 2012 edition of the same expo this March. Based on the Fiesta (the C-Max is based on the Focus), the new B-Max will arrive into a highly competitive segment overseas, so it will need to offer some alluring features to make its mark.

The edgy design should help, but the party piece for this diminutive people carrier is that it has no B-pillars. And we don't mean that the windows have no frame: we mean the entire pillars are incorporated into the doors themselves, so that when you open the doors there's no encumbrance to loading and unloading of passengers and cargo alike.

Motivation is provided by a 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine, with Duratorq diesels also on offer. After its unveiling in Geneva, the new B-Max will go on sale at dealers across Europe later this year. Follow the jump for the full press release and click the thumbnails below to view the pair of images released thus far in high resolution.

Continue reading Ford previews 2012 B-Max MPV ahead of Geneva debut

Report: BMW planning to slot i5 minivan into new range

Imagine you're an auto exec launching a new line of cars. One's a sportscar, the other a city car - pretty much opposite extremes on the spectrum of automotive bodystyles. Do you give them alphanumeric nameplates close to one another? Of course not. You assign them disparate numbers to make room for more models to slot in between.

That's just what BMW is doing with its upcoming "i" range, with an i3 at one end and the i8 (star of the recent Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol). So what does it have planned to fit in the middle? According to Autobild out of Germany, an i5.

The third model in the range is tipped to come in as a compact MPV in a similar mold as the Toyota Prius V - only probably significantly more expensive. Underpinnings would likely be borrowed from the i3, but stretched out a bit to make extra room for people and stuff. For that matter, we wouldn't be surprised to see an i2 come in as a two-door version of the i3 with the Smart ForTwo in its sights, or an i6 or i7 electric sedan, either.

Official: Nissan Note gets minor upgrades for 2012

For 2012, the funky little Nissan Note is getting some upgrading for its top two trims, the oddly named Acenta and N-TEC+, while the Note lineup itself is getting some downsizing. Outside, the Acenta sits on 16-inch wheels now and gets "chrome-effect" caps on the side-view mirrors and around the front fog lights. Inside, items like climate control and automatic headlights are standard, as is a blue cross-stitching on the seats for "a more premium feel."

Above that, in the UK, the new N-TEC+ trim is now the top-of-the-line model, as the former top-tier Tekna is going away. The N-TEC+ gets rear parking sensors, privacy glass and Nissan's "Connect" touch-screen satellite navigation.

The base Visia model remains unchanged, as does its £11,200 price (around $17,500 USD). The Acenta gets a £200 price bump to £13,000 ($20,400), the N-TEC+ rises £100 over the plain old N-TEC of yore to £13,500 ($21,200), all prices inclusive of Britain's costly Value Added Tax. Engines in the range, the 1.4- and 1.6-liter petrols and 1.5-liter diesel, are also carried over. Follow the jump for the press release and have a closer look at the Note in the gallery of high-res photos.

Continue reading Nissan Note gets minor upgrades for 2012

Kia recalls 145K Rondo, Optima models over airbag issues

Kia has announced that it is recalling 145,000 vehicles to address faulty airbags. A total of 95,569 Optima sedans built between 2006 and 2008 and 50,186 Rondo MPVs built between 2007 and 2008 are included in the recall.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the vehicles may have been built with a clock spring in the steering column that may fatigue and break over time. As a result, the vehicles may illuminate the airbag warning light on the dash and the airbag may not deploy in the event of an accident. The automaker says that while it has received some warranty claims for the problem, no crashes or injuries have been reported as a result of the default.

Kia plans to notify affected Optima and Rondo owners in March. Those vehicles that currently have their airbag lights illuminated will be fixed first. Click past the jump for the full recall notification.

Continue reading Kia recalls 145K Rondo, Optima models over airbag issues

Official: Renault launches sleeker Scenic and Grand Scenic minivans

There's seldom anything particularly exciting or glamorous about a minivan. But that doesn't mean their producers can't keep trying. Enter the new 2012 Renault Scenic, and its big brother, the Grand Scenic.

Being European MPVs as opposed to American minivans, the Scenic - and even the larger, seven-passenger Grand Scenic - are typically smaller than the big family-haulers we're used to on this side of the Atlantic. But with facelift Renault has just given the line, they're also considerably sleeker-looking than the vehicles we're used to seeing lined up outside the local elementary school.

That much comes down to the new lights and bumpers front and rear, elements that Renault has packaged with an upgraded interior and a raft of new engines and technologies that set the new Scenic range apart from the one it replaces. A pair of low-emission engines - a 115-horsepower, 1.2-liter turbo and 110-hp, 1.5-liter diesel - join a range of powertrains topped by a 140hp 2.0 mated to a CVT and a 160hp diesel paired with a six-speed manual.

The Scenic family is also the first to incorporate Renault's new lane-departure system and hill-start assist, with a special Bose model (similar to the one found in the Koleos) topping the spec sheet. The new Scenic debuts at the Brussels Motor Show this week before hitting showrooms in 40 countries around the world.

Official: Ford recalling 244k Escape models, 200,000+ Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans

Ford is recalling nearly half a million vehicles in two separate actions announced today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Just over 244,000 Ford Escape crossovers from model year 2001 and 2002 are being recalled for potentially leaky brake master cylinder reservoir caps, while nearly 206,000 2004 and 2005 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans may have defective torque converter output shafts.

NHTSA says that in the case of the Escape, leaking brake fluid could cause corrosion on an electrical connector in the antilock brake system wiring harness, leading to "melting, smoke or a fire." Ford will begin notifying owners the week of Jan. 23, although a parts delay is expected to postpone repairs. "Ford will instruct owners to park their vehicles outside until such time as parts become available," says NHTSA.

The minivan recall is scheduled for the second quarter of 2012, and will result in dealers inspecting and replacing the torque converter in affected vehicles.

Read the full NHTSA recall reports after the jump.

Continue reading Ford recalling 244k Escape models, 200,000+ Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans

Detroit: Chrysler 700C concept minivan quietly rolls into Detroit

The crowd here at the Detroit Auto Show may be oohing and aahing over the all-new 2013 Dodge Dart, but something else caught our eye at the Chrysler display here inside Cobo Hall. The swoopy minivan you see above is the Chrysler 700C Concept, a vehicle that we hadn't heard a peep about until we spent a few minutes talking with Rick Deneau from Chrysler Brand Communications.

Deneau told us that, in essence, the 700C is simply a design study of what the future of the Chrysler minivan could look like, and that its presence here in Detroit is simply to gauge interest from not only the media, but consumers and the general public. It's a three-row vehicle, styled here at Chrysler's headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and truth be told, that's really all there is to say.

It's a futuristic look for a minivan, and significantly more swoopy than the decidedly boxy Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan twins that currently roam the streets. The backward-sloping sheetmetal that disguises the B-pillar is interesting, as are the rear taillamps that extend upward onto the rear wheel well arches. Even so, many of the Autoblog staffers have mentioned that, while forward-thinking, this concept looks like it could have been designed ages ago. We can even see a bit of last-generation Nissan Quest in the rear three-quarter and side profile, too.

Check out the 700C Concept for yourself in our attached high-res image gallery, and give us your take on the minivan design study in the comments.