A New President at Nissan
No, Mr Ghosn has not left yet and this Nissan President refers to a model which has been the flagship of the company’s product line for decades. Though entering its fourth generation now, the President has been largely unknown outside Japan because it has not been exported in any significant numbers.
However, unlike the Toyota Century (Toyota’s flagship) which is a unique model that is sold only in Japan, Nissan’s President has for the past two generations shared its platform with the Q45 of the Infiniti luxury brand sold in the USA. This made sense for Nissan because it eliminated one low-volume platform from the excessive number that the company had created.
 |
As the fourth generation of this prestigious series, the new President has been developed around the product concept of “a modern, formal luxury sedan with a relaxing interior for comfortable travel.” The exterior design projects an impression of superlative styling, character and dignity. This image is formed by the large, vertically oriented radiator grille that has traditionally hallmarked the President, the aluminium pillar moldings that create a taut side view and the wide, stable-looking, large front bumper, among other styling cues.
A multi-coat painting method is employed to apply double clearcoats for exceptionally high paint quality, resulting in a smooth paint finish with the luster, depth and superb quality befitting a luxury car.
Needless to say, rear accommodation in the spacious cabin was given a lot of attention. This led to the provision of a front passenger’s seat that stows away toward the front to create extensive legroom for stretching out in relaxed comfort. An exclusive floor carpeting is used for the left-side rear seating position to provide a broad, flat floor without any level difference with the tracks of the front passenger’s seat. In the 4-seater model, the rear-seat center console is positioned on the right side of the car’s centreline to create one of the widest left-side rear seats in this class.
The rear-seat head restraints are extra-large in size, move vertically at the touch of a button and are angle-adjustable on both sides to provide a wide area of comfortable head support and an occupant’s preferred feeling of support. Also offered in the front passenger’s seat which can fold down to serve as a legrest for the rear-seat occupant is a massage function. The frequency of the massage function can be adjusted to suit the user’s preference. Power rear seats with a long sliding travel and a reclining seatback have been adopted to provide comfortable support at all times.
Sound-absorbing and sound-isolating materials are placed extensively throughout the car to achieve quietness worthy of a flagship luxury sedan in all sorts of driving situations, including idling, start-off and passing acceleration and high-speed cruising.
A large, multifunctional rear-seat centre console has the control switches ( duplicates of most on the dashboard) positioned for easy operation in a relaxed posture. A large-capacity storage compartment can hold A4-size documents and has a lid that is lockable with an exclusive key, which is convenient for storing confidential papers. Another handy feature is a 100V 2-pin outlet that can be used as the power source for ordinary electrical appliances. A stowable rear-seat table can accommodate an A4-size notebook computer.
An 8-inch-wide LCD monitor is installed for the rear-seat passengers. Retractable into the ceiling, this large, easy-to-see monitor flips down and retracts automatically at the touch of a console switch and is angle-adjustable. A rear-seat DVD player is standard on the four-seater model.
Rear-seat illuminated vanity mirrors, rear-seat personal lamps, reading lamps, stowable coat hangers on both sides and other essential equipment features are positioned around the ceiling for easy use by rear-seat occupants.
 |
Powering the President is the 4.5-litre NEO VK45DE V8 32-valve all-aluminium engine that generates maximum power of 206 kW/280 ps at 6000 rpm and maximum torque of 451 Nm at 3600 rpm. Strangely, the power rating is lower than that for the latest Infiniti Q45 which delivers 250 kW/340 ps.
Power delivery to the rear wheels goes through a 5-speed electronically-controlled automatic overdrive transmission with real time feedback with learning algorithm and manual shift mode.
The President’s chassis has a multi-link suspension layout at the rear and is fitted with Nissan’s Active Damper Suspension. Also standard is Vehicle Dynamic Control, a system that controls brake pressure and engine torque automatically, which helps improve vehicle stability during understeer, oversteer or adverse road conditions. There is also Intelligent Cruise Control which uses the brakes, throttle and laser sensors to maintain a set distance between the President and a vehicle in front of it.
A standard safety feature on all models is Intelligent Brake Assist that automatically applies the brakes if the system judges that a collision with the preceding vehicle is unavoidable, thereby helping to lessen the potential for occupant injuries in the ensuing impact.
Another standard safety feature is Active AFS that improves the driver’s forward visibility during nighttime driving and other situations by automatically changing the illumination pattern of the headlamps to match the road geometry.
Nissan aims to sell just 240 Presidents a year with prices ranging from 8 million to 9 million yen (about RM277,600 – RM312,300) in Tokyo. The top Infiniti Q45 version retails for US$61,600 which is equivalent to around RM234,000.
