Japanese vans are a dime a dozen locally – just take a quick gander at the HDB carpark local to you.

Their appeal isn’t strictly local. With greater general simplicity and reliability, they are more economical from a business perspective than most of their European counterparts.

And there’s no better embodiment of these values than in the Nissan NV200.

Not Just Another Japanese Van

Originally launched locally back in 2010, the Nissan NV200 has since become a highly popular vehicle for businesses in Singapore. They have become a fairly common sight. We daresay that almost everyone knows someone who has, or has had, a Nissan NV200.

Official import versions first came equipped with 1.5 litre diesels paired with a manual transmission.

Later versions of the NV200 from Tan Chong Motor, such as the example featured here, came with a CVT. However, you’d be able to find a variety of manual and torque converter auto options fitted to these vans in the resale market.

With government regulations making diesel LCVs a hard sell in Singapore, later Authorised NV200s came with a 1.6-litre petrol engines coupled to a CVT.

Hold on, Petrol-Powered?

The switch to petrol means the Nissan NV200 now enjoys a $5,000 rebate under the Commercial Vehicles Emissions Scheme (CVES). This effectively lowers the upfront purchase price by $5000.

Though it may not sound like much, with COE prices reaching record breaking prices, every bit counts.

While the petrol NV200 still emits roughly the same amount of carbon dioxide as the diesel variant, it does emit less harmful substances like nitrogen oxides. This makes for an overall cleaner and greener vehicle, which is in-line with what Nissan wants to achieve locally. 

Despite being petrol-powered, fuel economy is pretty good. Factory figures do claim 14.5 km/l, whereas we managed 12 km/l in the real world. Granted, fuel economy numbers will vary based on load carried and driving styles.

And though we also spent half our time driving around neighbourhoods running errands, the NV200 is still more than capable of attaining some pretty decent range on a single full tank. 

Minivan Dimensions

There are definitely bigger vans on sale at the moment. However, in the minivan class, the NV200’s 4,200 litres is properly impressive, especially when you take into account that most of its rivals have rated capacities of less than 4,000 litres.

With an interior height of 1.36 metres, taller items will fit in the back with relative ease. It has a kerb weight of just a touch over two tons, with a payload of 870 kilograms.

The fairly low load floor makes loading items a cinch, with the rear compartment accessible via two sliding doors and the rear tailgate. While this particular vehicle didn’t have a partition between the cargo area and cabin, this can be easily retrofitted. Windows can also be added to the rear compartment upon request.

This perhaps isn’t suited for businesses that deal exclusively in oversized cargo. Rather, we’d recommend it to small business owners, where it’d provide more than sufficient room to transport cargo while being similar dimensionally to most bread-and-butter cars. 

Simple, Small and Lively

The leaf springs in the rear does mean ride quality suffers a little, particularly when going over bigger bumps while carrying no cargo. Overall ride quality is, thankfully, still pretty decent.

The interior is fairly straightforward, with surfaces being covered in hard-wearing vinyl or hard plastic. A physical gauge cluster with a small digital screen for various bits of information is about as much technology as you will get. Yes, even the handbrake is a physical lever. 

This particular vehicle was also fitted with a basic single-DIN head unit, but a double-DIN unit can also be installed. Sound quality from the speakers wasn’t anything to shout about, but it did help to drown out some of the road noises echoing off the rear compartment. An issue that plagues most, if not all, LCVs, and not just the NV200.

With big mirrors, a raised driving height and good all-round visibility, driving and parking couldn’t be easier. And with a turning circle of just 5.2 metres, making tight turns on narrow roads isn’t a hassle either.

A Good Little Van

If you seek a van that isn’t as small as a kei van or as large as a full-sized one that may stick out of HDB parking lot, the Nissan NV200 could be your best bet. Easy to drive, operate, and live with, you would be hard pressed to actually find something to complain about with it.

And with that 1.6-litre engine, road tax isn’t unreasonable either.

As society continues on the go electric rhetoric, the hard truth is that some business owners just cannot afford to have lengthy downtimes. At present, all electric vans are unable to match the convenience a traditional internal combustion engine offers.

Priced at $101,800 (prices accurate at time of writing), this could be the most affordable combustion engine-powered van currently on sale. And who knows, the Nissan NV200 might just be what is needed to jumpstart your small business!

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