mReview: Nissan Serena e-POWER – Family Box

The new Nissan Serena takes everything great about the Japanese marque's e-POWER hybrid drivetrain and combines it with supremely well-thought-out packaging to create a practical MPV that is intuitive to the driver and passengers.

I've always been a big fan of Nissan's e-POWER drivetrain. Essentially, it's an EV system with a small battery that is charged on the go through an onboard petrol engine that acts as a power generator. 

The end result is that one enjoys the benefits of a smooth and instantaneous electric drive, with none of the drawbacks like having to looking for charging points, or waiting for charging to be completed.

With the latest Serena hybrid in Highway Star Prestige specification, Nissan has delivered yet another enjoyable and very well-packaged quasi-EV hybrid MPV. 

Due to its form factor, the Serena e-POWER is not exactly the quietest car while on the move, with road, wind and traffic noise audibly reverberating through the boxy cabin. However, the insulation from noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) is still generally not bad. 

Nissan has also put in effort to deliver a quieter ride by engineering the car such that, where possible, the engine only cuts in at higher speeds to charge the car in order to make the sound of the engine running less audible.

Excellent visibility and a user-friendly dashboard.

While the boxy form factor does the Serena a disservice in the NVH department, it does make the car a glasshouse that is practically devoid of blind spots, making manoeuvring this seven-seater a doddle (an eight-seater variant is also available). 

Despite the excellent visibility, Nissan has still given the car a 360-degree camera, along with blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, and more.

There is not much to report regarding the driving experience of the Serena. It isn't van-like to drive, but doesn't feel too far off either. Although this MPV is capable of quick accelerative bursts thanks to its electric drivetrain, it is much more suited to be driven in a relaxed manner - if not for the supple suspension, then for the sake of all the passengers on board.

Serena cabin is roomy and comfortable, and has versatile seating.

The interior is an enjoyable place to be in, with Nappa leather trimmings, plenty of legroom and headroom, and second-row captain's chairs that not only slide backwards but sideways as well. There are cupholders (11 of them!), and both the second and third rows enjoy fold-down tray tables and USB-C ports!

Legroom in the third row is excellent, although it is better suited for two adults instead of three-abreast seating. Third-row passengers usually suffer, but that is not the case for those in the Nissan Serena, as all seats are spacious and supremely comfortable, with excellent ergonomics along with individual armrests.

There is also a step pedal located at the back of the second-row seats to allow third-row passengers to easily slide the seats forward for easy egress, along with a button that is designed for easy reach from the third row to open the electrically-sliding doors.

Seatback tray tables for passengers in Serena's second and third rows.

Even with the third-row seats up, there is still enough boot space to store a cabin-sized suitcase or two in standing position, and there's some more space underneath the seats to slide in a bagpack. 

The tailgate is split two-way, allowing you to open only the glass portion for when you're parked in tight carparks, where it might be a challenge to open up the entire tailgate to access your items.

Serena's two-way tailgate opening gives greater loading/unloading flexibility.

The Serena also boasts air-conditioning for the second and third rows, and we don't mean just blower vents, but actual air-con with adjustable climate and fan speeds. Coupled with the comfortable seats and a well-thought-out design and layout, this MPV does deliver quite a bit for what it's worth.

To round up the excellent packaging work that Nissan has done, it is easy to use and navigate around the CarPlay and Android Auto capable infotainment system, and the interface for the digital meter cluster - this is something that is increasingly hard to find in feature-packed cars nowadays. 

Features are not hidden under confusing sub-menus, but at the same time, there is also not an overwhelming amount of physical buttons - only the crucial items like climate controls and media volume are presented as physical dials and touch-sensitive buttons. 

The result is an uncluttered dashboard, with access to other features that are intuitively accessible through the steering controls or within the infotainment screen, leaving the overall dashboard layout clean.

Two sore thumbs sticking out in this otherwise brilliant package are the cabin insulation from road and traffic noise, as well as the build quality - it's not bad, but I could hear a bit of a tinny rattle at certain speeds from the driver's side door, and the door panel trim also flexes much more than one would expect.

Otherwise, the Serena delivers a... serene and comfortable experience for drivers and passengers alike. This could very well be a legitimate alternative to the deluge of pure EV MPVs that do not provide the convenience of instantaneous juicing that the e-POWER drivetrain is capable of.

Read More: mReview: Toyota Alphard – The MVP Of MPVs

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