Yokohama, Japan - Nissan is taking aim at the Volkswagen Caddy and Peugeot Partner with this new compact van contender. Revealed for the European market on Monday, the Nissan Townstar will replace the NV250 and there is also a fully-electric version to succeed the e-NV200.
Like its rivals, the Nissan Townstar will be available in both passenger-carrying station wagon and load-lugging panel van configurations.
Built around the Alliance CMF-C platform that also underpins the new Nissan Qashqai, the newcomer boasts up to 3.9 square metres of cargo space and a payload of 800kg. The panel van is also able to cope with longer loads thanks to a swiveling partition that turns the passenger seat into an extended cargo area. 60:40 French rear doors with 180-degree opening further enhance practicality.
The Nissan Townstar will be available in both petrol and electric formats. The former variants are powered by a 1.3-litre turbopetrol engine that offers 96kW and 240Nm. The electric version features a 44kWh battery that is said to offer a range of 285km (pending WLTP homologation). The electric motor produces 245Nm of torque.
The Nissan Townstar will be available with a full suite of driver assistance features, including Intelligent Cruiser Control, Trailer Sway Control, Intelligent Emergency Braking with Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection and Junction Assist. Nissan also mentions wireless phone charging and promises to introduce more advanced connected services when the electric version is launched.
But will the Nissan Townstar come to South Africa? Our contact at Nissan SA says no concrete information is available at this stage, which means it’s certainly not out of the question.
Related video: