JDM enthusiasts rejoice! There’s an all-new Nissan Elgrand

You may have heard that Nissan has been struggling of late. Back in May it announced that it was cutting 20,000 jobs and closing seven factories worldwide in a desperate attempt to save some cash.

And in an attempt to sell some cars, it also decided then that it should focus only on “signature Nissan models with strong nameplates” as part of its terribly titled (yep, we see the irony too) Re:Nissan recovery plan.

Anyway, here is one of those nameplates. It’s the new, fourth-generation Nissan Elgrand – a gloriously JDM-spec minivan that rivals the Toyota Alphard in its home market. We can hear the UK importers firing up their phone lines already.

This fourth-gen Elgrand is long overdue given the current car has been on sale since 2010 with only a few facelifts to keep it somewhat fresh. Looks great though, doesn’t it? Inspired by the Hyper Tourer concept back in 2023, the new Elgrand apparently deploys Nissan’s “Timeless Japanese Futurism” design language with its speckled face inspired by the Japanese woodworking technique Kumiko.

That face blends into the lighting and is accompanied by a full-width lightbar, while the sides and rear are traditionally boxy. Good news for interior space. Oh, and we’re told that the two colours you see here are ‘Fuji Dawn’ down below and ‘Shigoku’ (which apparently symbolises elegance and nobility) up top.

The Elgrand will be powered by Nissan’s latest e-POWER hybrid system and will also be equipped with an updated version of its e-4ORCE all-wheel drive system. That means it should feature a 1.5-litre 3cyl turbo petrol engine, but said engine will never actually drive the wheels, instead sending its power to a small battery which in turn drives two electric motors. And no, the four-wheel drive isn’t there to provide any off-road ability – we’re told it’s because the presence of a rear motor “suppresses vehicle pitching during acceleration and deceleration, providing a smooth, comfortable ride”. That’s what we like to hear.

We’re also promised an ‘Intelligent Dynamic Suspension system’ to limit body roll, and there’ll be hands-off autonomous driving tech at speeds below 31mph.

Inside it’s predictably luxe, with ‘zero gravity captain’s chairs’ in the middle row and two 14.3in screens for the dial display and infotainment up front. There’s also lots of leather and little bits of wood, as well as 64-colour ambient lighting and an optional 22-speaker Bose sound system. Japan really does do minivans properly.

The new Elgrand will launch in its domestic market in summer 2026, and we really do hope it makes it to our shores officially this time…