1989 Nissan S-Cargo: $10,500US
Wheelbase
89 in (2,261 mm)
Length
137 in (3,480 mm)
Width
62.8 in (1,595 mm)
Height
72.4 in (1,839 mm)
Curb weight
2,097â2,141 lb (951â971 kg)
Iâm not sure you can find a cargo van with more character than the Nissan S-Cargo. Its name alone is one of the all-time greats, being a play on the French word for snailââescargotââbecause it looks like a snail and is a small cargo van. Only marginally bigger than a shoe, it has manual wind-up windows and only two seats. What the S-Cargo lacks in creature comforts, it more than makes up for in charm. I mean, just look at it. How can anyone look at an S-Cargo and not instantly be in a better mood?
The small retro-styled van was manufactured by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1989 to 1991, and originally marketed solely in Japan at their Nissan Cherry Stores.
Under the hood is a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine and itâs paired to a three-speed automatic, which drives the front wheels. It also has optional air conditioning, the optional porthole windows, and a power locking/unlocking tailgate.
The Nissan S-Cargo might not seem like a sensible car for many people at first and ⌠thatâs because it isnât. Despite being a cargo van, itâs a comically impractical vehicle. It has a back seat but itâs pretty much useless for humans. And, despite having a tiny engine, its three-speed automatic makes it shockingly bad on gas. Combine surprisingly poor fuel economy with a tiny seven-gallon gas tank and youâll be stopping to refuel often. Its trunk isnât even very big, so if youâre using it as an actual cargo van, youâre going to need some really small cargo.
However, buying a Nissan S-Cargo for its sensible practicality. It is like watching watching The Simpsons for parental advice. You buy an S-Cargo because itâs hilarious, it looks like a snail, and its name is a pun.
Itâs hard to not smile when you see it and that alone is reason to buy one.
Intro all of its quirks [there are many of them]:
Back in the 1980s the national speed limit in Japan was 100 km an hour or 60 M an hour and the government required every automaker to install a chime in every vehicle that alerts you if you happen to be going the lightning fast speed of 61 mph. As long as you're going over 60 mph an hour that never turns off. that's not the S Cargo's only annoying chime.
It also sounds a chime when you shift into reverse, not on the outside of the car to warn people that you're coming but on the inside to let you know that you're in reverse.
The radio goes from 76 to 90; you know how we listen to 103.1 or 104.5? Not in the Cargo. Itts radio goes from 76 to 90 so you can't listen to those stations. JAPAN!!!
Unlike most mirrors the whole assembly moves and they don't exactly click into place so you're driving along on the highway and the wind sort of gradually pushes them down over time so what you have to do is you have to roll down the window and put them back up and then over time the wind continues to push them back down so then you roll down the window and put them back up - really it's a blast
Speaking of the windows - the windows are separated into two pieces there's the upper part which is fixed and then the lower part which you roll up and down. They're very weird and so is the windshield which is sort of curved back. In fact they are such unusual pieces that supposedly Nissan Cargo glass replacements are absolutely impossible to find.
Seen gallon fuel tank. 22 mpg. This thing has three-speed automatic which means that it's working incredibly hard and burning a ton ton of fuel just to get you going 60 MPH on the highway. Drive on a highway, and it serves you right. That isn't its purpose.
Specifically, the turn signals and the windshield wipers are switched so if you use your left hand to put on the turn signal actually the windshield wiper comes on and if you use your right hand thinking you're going to put on the wiper actually the turn signal comes on. This is kind of annoying and it's something you have to constantly be thinking about or else you'll just look like that idiot driving around in that van that looks like a snail who always wipes his windshield for no reason.
Japan designed this car to have a shifter on the dashboard but they didn't have a tiny lever to put there so they just took a regular Nissan automatic transmission floor shift lever and stuck it on the dashboard. There's also the gauge cluster which is almost comically gigantic and the weird single spoke steering wheel which was inspired by the steering wheel in the french Citroen 2CV.
Is located in the back under the floor under the passenger seat.
One brilliant feature: everything in this car is manual - manual seats, manual windows, manual locks, manual mirrors, except the rear tailgateâŚ
Unlock it and lock it automatically from the driver's seat. Why is this brilliant? Well, if you're doing a quick delivery in your Cargo van you don't have to turn off the car, you can just unlock the rear tailgate, jump out run around to the back, and open it up - all without killing the engine or taking out your key. It's pretty smart.
Wouldn't be hard to empty the ashtray if it was just fixed inside the car. The entire panel containing it lifts right out so you can easily empty it. And it says âNo smokingâ right, under the ashtray.
Owing to its strange proportions at 72.4 inches, the S Cargo has a ton of headroom.
It's Narrow at 72.8 inches
To get a toll booth ticket, or go through the Drive-thru at a fast food restaurant even even though you're in a right-hand drive car? No problem.
It is taller than it is wide. Which means a quick turn could also mean a quick rollover, and the rollover risk isn't the only problem with the S Cargo's dimensions at only 137 inches long âŚ
Doesn't take a Back Seat to anyone
The Cargo doesn't really have enough room for a back seat but it has one anyway, with only a few little problems. For example, the back seat doesn't lock into place, the back seat seat has no seatbelts, and the back seat has no legroom either. Other than that, it's a highly functional and useful back seat. But, you could carry your Chi or your Cat in a pet carrier on that back seat. So...
Comparing the S-Cargo to US standards
The vehicle was one of several niche cars produced during that period by Toyota, Nissan, and Daihatsu. As a delivery vehicle it was spot on. They were never seen on highways in Japan. They were designed for the narrow confines of Japanese neighborhoods, and seldom saw speeds of more than 40mph. As a delivery car it was very successful, and those huge cargo body panels made for a great graphics design slate. I'd want one if it could pass safety. In fact it can be imported as a classic since it's over 20 years old. Just the thing for scooting around town, it's intended purpose. And the chime, it was standard equipment on all Japanese cars as a fuel economy measure. A savvy Japanese mechanic could disable it.
Half these quirks make sense if you realize this car was designed to drive in-town its entire existence, quickly delivering goods back and forth. Not for passengers, not for luxury or cruising. You might as well review a Bobcat. This is a company vehicle. Here's the quirkiest part, half the vehicle is the storage area! The entire point of the vehicle is to carry stuff in the city, not on a four lane highway in Los Angeles! đ
These cars were sold in the 1980s and a few are still working in large cities like Vancouver where they are used as delivery vehicles. They are pretty ideal for parking in small spots to make deliveries. I have only seen one in the US and that is at the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville.
My father once bought the SINGER convertible auto, with right hand drive. No problem. Everything was just in reverse. Most fun car he ever owned. Routinely driven to New York City to visit the rellies.
Note: If it doesn't chime, it doesn't rhyme. Thanks for the time.
American Car Manufacturers: 'We have reinvented the wheel'
Nissan: 'We have reinvented a snail'
"If the Volkswagen Beetle and the Tesla Cybertruck had a baby."
"Damn, all those quirks. It would make it a bitch to ownâŚI WANT ONE!!!"
"Nissan Japan should have made more!"
"This is COOL, I want one and I also want an Aston Martin!!"
"THAT'S THE CUTEST EFFIN CHIME IN THE WORLD!!!"
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