How does the Nissan Murano compare to the Nissan Rogue?
Dear Baraza,
It is the Dualis guy. The 2009 car has served me well since 2014, but at some point, I would like to get another car. I am considering the Nissan Rogue, perhaps five years from now, meaning I will be going for the 2019 one. What do you think about the car and how does it compare to the Nissan Murano?
Recently, you gave another reader an analysis of various vans, but did not mention the Vellfire which I have been seeing often recently. A check shows it is more expensive compared to the Alphard, which is bigger. Any reasons for this? I do not intend to buy one though. Toyotas hapana.
Thank you.
Tony.
Hi Tony, a.k.a Dualis Guy,
Why shortchange yourself? A lot can happen in five years. You could ascend the pecuniary ladder and find yourself able to afford a brand new car - a Rogue or something else. Alternatively, this bleeping coronavirus can continue wreaking havoc on global economics to the point in five years' time majority of us may not be able to afford a car... But that wasn't your question, was it?
The 2019 Rogue doesn't look too bad now, but its generic appearance may not age too well depending on the direction automotive design takes in the coming years. Your only hope will be that 90 percent of other crossovers on Kenyan roads will either look like Rogues if they are not actually Rogues.
The interior is spacious, the cargo capacity is competitive and fuel efficiency is an actual bragging right, but these positives are diluted by sloppy handling, an obsolete multimedia interface (it was already outdated in 2019, so try and imagine how positively prehistoric it will be in 2026) and build quality that can only come from a manufacturer whose chief executive was on the lam in a difficult-to-believe you-can't-make-this-up saga that spanned several continents and gave us a tale of corporate shenanigans the likes of which we last saw in a TV series.
The Murano is obviously superior to the Rogue, given that it lies further up the Nissan hierarchy. It's a bigger car with bigger engines, higher specifications and whatnot, the two are not really comparable like for like if we overlook the fact that they share a badge on the grille. What do I think of the Rogue? Hard pass, I'd rather pony up some more for a Harrier... or an Alphard.
Nissan Murano.
Which brings us neatly to the Vellfire. The Vellfire is an Alphard, let's get that clear, so when I kept bringing up the Alphard, it may have included the Vellfire... or not. You see, the Vellfire is an Alphard the way the Evolution is a Lancer. The base platform is a sensible creation from rational minds out to satisfy several needs: give the customers something useful for the day-to-day, while generating profits for shareholders and exuding an aura of sobriety for the manufacturer.
Then there are the petrolheads lurking within these companies who get their hands on these white rice vehicles and dump a truckload of wasabi into the pot then give them names like Evolution and Vellfire. They are not what the parent vehicles are, they just look the same, that's it. While the base Lancer is a limp-wristed entry level fleet sedan, the Evo was designed to win rallies and give young men overinflated egos due to the sheer impossibility of overtaking one of these cars, and it did both with considerable aplomb. The Vellfire follows the same formula: it takes an egg-like road trip car/ airport shuttle and decides to target it at the prolific family man who wakes up late, possibly with a massive hangover.
When you have a hangover, velvet sounds like a good proposition for your pounding head, heaving stomach and aching body. When you wake up late (due to said hangover) and realise your numerous children will be late for school because of your tardiness, a car with "fire" in its name sounds like a good proposition to counteract this setback.
That's literally what "Vellfire" is: a portmanteau of "velvet" and "fire" and it lives up to the hype. It is a hopped up Alphard with extra accoutrements for the man who doesn't understand when to pull out (hence the need for a family van), suffers hangovers (hence the need for a smooth-running luxury vehicle) and wakes up late (hence the need for intergalactic performance capabilities to make up for lost time). The Vellfire can also be called an Alphard Evolution, so to speak.
This extra performance and luxury is not free: the world is run by capitalists, after all, not the Salvation Army. Toyota Motor Corporation is not an NGO, you have to pay up for the good stuff - and pay up you will.
The Alphard itself is not cheap to start with, the Alphard Evolution is even less so, and that is why I didn't mention it explicitly, but I may have implied, in a very distant manner, that it's not a bad choice if your rock star lifestyle somehow leads you into wealth and the need for a high performance six-star hotel courtesy car.
"Toyotas hapana", you said. Why is that?
Toyota Hiace.
Baraza, help me diagnose this ailing Toyota Hiace
Hello Baraza,
I really feel that I owe you appreciation. Your work is absolutely necessary. I buy a copy of the Daily Nation every Wednesday specifically to read your column. I don’t own a car, but I’m a mechanic. I request that you explain a problem I have not understood concerning the Toyota Hiace 7l,9l. When driving on a steep hill, it’s as if the van is saying, "No, take me slow, I am not in the mood." It doesn't accelerate, and as a qualified driver, you could say the van is saying, "I can't breathe."
Looking forward to hearing from you sir.
Yours Daniel,
Hi Daniel,
Thank you for reading. Allow me to begin with some not-so-necessary feedback: the 7L and 9L Hiaces you refer to are not actually called that, those are Kenyanized names for the Hiace H200 flat roof and high roof respectively. I know the etymology of the 7L and 9L, with the H100 "Shark "Series we had two common engine types: the 3L in the DX version and the 5L in the GL and Super GL. There were no further L engines developed after this, they were superseded by the KZ series, which in turn paved way for the KD Series which is what most diesel H200s use. So, no, there is no such thing as a 7L or a 9L.
With that information shared, let's get to the root of your problem. Perhaps the van literally can't breathe: have you checked the air cleaner to see if it needs replacement? If not air, then maybe the fuel filter is the cause of the problem. If not the fuel filter, then perhaps the injectors are clogged (though this would cause a misfire rather than hesitation). Is the vehicle automatic? In that case, check the transmission.
There could be other reasons as well. Boost leak, dirty sensors, clogged EGR and so on, but if the Hiace is running the 1KD engine, then there could be one last issue: the turbo stepper motor. The 1KD uses a VGT - variable geometry turbo - controlled by an external actuator motor rather than dump valves (the one that goes "psssh!!" when you release the throttle) and pneumatic wastegates (the one that gives the turbos their distinct whistle). The stepper motor is responsible for the variation in "variable geometry" and when it fails - which it does - it causes the vehicle to go into Safe Mode. How do you know a 1KD is in safe mode? It won't rev past 1500rpm. Sounds awfully familiar, right? Like " take me slow I am not in the mood", right?
A review of the Nissan Almera with fuel consumption, availability of spare parts
and general road usage in mind
Nissan Almera.
Dear Baraza,
I have been an enthusiast for your column for as long as I can remember. Not just for the knowledge that oozes out of your hands (or keypad) as you advise on a plethora of road machines, but also for the wit and humour that comes with it. I am about to acquire a Nissan Almera (zero clues about the specific model, it being my first car), chiefly because of the crazy selling price I'm getting, I'm sure I won't get the same model for that price elsewhere in the market. Bearing in mind that you might have had enough of such bland emails from clueless first-time car owners like me, I humbly seek your advice on the model based on fuel consumption, availability of spare parts and general road usage.
Kind Regards,
Cornelius
Hi Cornelius,
That keypad is run by my hands, so either way you are correct. Thanks for the kind word. Now, usually, when one lands oneself a motor vehicle at a price far below market value, comparisons go flying out the window, because with comparisons, you will be taking yourself back to market-value hardware and losing whatever crazy deal you had landed yourself earlier. This train of thought explains more than half the vehicles I've owned: most were "deals" that I "came across", they were not acquired for specific reasons or to meet certain targets or by ticking criteria off a checklist: I simply found a car at an unbeatable price and said to myself "I'ma have me some of that". How else would you explain a 1994 BMW with a 2.5 litre straight six engine and more than 400,000km on the odometer serving duty as my daily? The OBD port is from the pre-standardisation days, meaning I can't even diagnose my own car.
That said, said: the fuel consumption of an Almera won't give you grief. It is a small car with a small engine, it won't take much to feed it. Spare parts should be available, both from the informal sector and from the dealership itself, which should be selling one iteration or another of the vehicle. General road usage?
Expect disrespect since you will be wheeling a taxicab or a lookalike thereof. There is absolutely nothing special or endearing about driving an Almera. It is a car that does exactly what cars were invented for: to get you from point A to point B faster than walking while keeping the rain and the wind away from your skin. That's it. You may get a radio for entertainment, but don't raise your expectations too high... BY DAILY NATION
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