2008 Nissan Dualis review

It turns in like a car, the body stays flat and it is not flustered by mid-corner bumps - how many SUVs can you say that about?

Model tested:
2008 Nissan Dualis ST manual - $28,990, as tested $30,990
Refinement. Fuel consumption. Safety credentials.
Poor rear vision. Mild performance. Small boot.
CarAdvice rating:
Model range: $28,990 - $35,990
Options fitted: Electronic stability control, side and curtain airbags, 16-inch alloy wheels

SUV - sport utility vehicle - is a creeping Americanism but a useful one. The phrase, if not the vehicles it refers to, deserves to be as ubiquitous as the Big Mac. Its inherent contradiction and clumsiness (Sport and utility? Yeah, right) serves as a fair warning to anyone who thinks about purchasing one of these things. Caveat emptor, trendsetters.

A four-wheel drive, by comparison, is a very different beast, the automotive equivalent of a frontiersman, with few social graces, a fair number of filthy habits but an impressive repertoire of basic bush skills that have been bred out of the rest of us.

Nissan makes both SUVs and 4WDs. The new Dualis is at the SUV end of the spectrum. True, it’s got an all-wheel drive system but Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City would be more interested in the rugged outdoor life.

Dualis is a metropolitan creature, designed to be irresistible to urban dwellers who find themselves torn between a snappy little hatchback and an appealingly butch off-roader. As a sort of off-road hatchback it combines the advantages both, Nissan says.

© Source: caradvice
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