Have owned a 2004 Nissan Elgrand 3.5l E51 for the last 7 years. Love it to bits, but the car and me are both getting a bit long in the tooth, so I decided to buy a newer car. Love 7 seaters as I have two daughters each comprising a family of four and have enjoyed many holidays with each of the families. Probably shouldn't be praising the Elgrand too much in the Honda Owners Club Forum, but it does drive beautifully with 240hp under the bonnet. Despite being 2004 was lucky enough to get ULEZ compliance. The only other downside to this car apart from its age is the fuel consumption. I would guess around town maybe 18mpg. Never really measured it as I didn't want to upset myself. The other thing worth mentioning is the owners club without which on a number of occasions I would have been up shit creak without a paddle.
Ok, enough about the Elgrand. why a Stepwagon? I had seen one a few months back but didn't buy it as it had been clocked. The one I have purchased was a bit of a spur of the moment decision, partly based on the immaculate interior and the beautiful deep purple colour. It has stop start (which I didn't know when I bought it), so I hope this will help the fuel consumption. It has the original Japanese head unit and no drop down screen. The grandchildren will probably not be too happy about the lack of drop down screen, but perhaps one of the Stepwagon owners on the Forum has retrofitted one?
The dealer that I bought it from has serviced it, changed the tyres and chipped the speedometer to read mph (in the Elgrand I relied on a stand alone GPS display for mph). He also told me that he had put some underseal on it and changed the battery. Its a nice car to drive. I am looking forward to some years of happy driving with it.
I normally do minor repairs and servicing myself so any technical information I can get hold of would be great. I have ordered an owner's handbook for a start.
I think that being a member of a forum like this is a bit of give and take. I would hope that members may be able to help me in the future, and that I will be able to help others.
