The Nissan Avenir is a line of station wagons beginning production in May 1990 by Nissan of Japan, with the budget minded delivery van starting out as the Avenir Cargo, then being renamed in 1999 as the Nissan Expert aimed primarily at the commercial market. It replaced the long-serving Nissan Bluebird wagon/delivery van. It was a larger companion to the Nissan Wingroad/Nissan AD van. The Avenir Cargo also assumed load carrying duties of the discontinued Nissan Cedric and Gloria delivery vans. The Avenir appeared after the Subaru Legacy wagon, but before the Toyota Caldina wagon. The Avenir's appearance was not shared with another Nissan sedan, although it was sold as the estate version of the Primera in European markets. The name Avenir is French for "future", and it was exclusive to Nissan Bluebird Store Japanese dealerships, as it was a replacement for the Bluebird wagon.
W10 (First generation)
Introduced to the Japanese market in May 1990, the W10 Avenir was initially available with either the 1.8 L SR18Di in FWD or a 2.0 L SR20DE engine. The Nissan Expert/Avenir Cargo van light commercials came only with the 1.6 L GA16DS. The FWD was available with either a four-speed automatic transmission or a five-speed manual, the 4WD only available coupled to the automatic. There was also the ATTESA configuration. A 2.0 L CD20TTurbo-Diesel was added to the range along with a light facelift in January 1993. At the same time, the 1.8 L SR18Di models were given the improved 1.8 L SR18DE with electronic gasoline injection. In December 1993 a special edition called "Avenir Salut" appeared, French for "hello!", a name which eventually made its way onto the entire passenger car part of the Avenir range. This was a lower cost version of the Attesa-equipped, SR20DE-engined 2.0 Si, forgoing some of that car's standard equipment such as the front spoiler and alloy wheels. High sales of the second generationSubaru Legacy Wagon prompted Nissan to redesign the Avenir's rear end in a similar style. This only applied to passenger car versions, all of which were now badged Salut. These were introduced in August 1995, along with a turbocharged model called GT turbo; this came with a version of the 2.0-litre SR20DET and was available only in 4WD with the automatic transmission.
W11 (Second generation)
The W11 model was introduced early in 1998. Initially available with the 1.8 L QG18DE, 2.0 L SR20DE, 2.0 L SR20DET or the 2.0 L CD20ET Turbo-diesel. The QG18DE models were FWD only and available with either a 4-speed automatic or 5-speed manual transmission, the SR20DE models were an FWD 4-speed automatic or CVT transmission with 6-speed tiptronic function, the 4WD continued to be conventional 4-speed automatic only. The diesel CD20ET was only available with a 4-speed automatic. Once more the turbocharged 2.0 L SR20DET variants were available only in 4WD with the conventional 4-speed automatic. The power output of the turbo version increased to. From May 2000 the turbocharged Salut was renamed the GT4 along with interior and exterior changes. The output of the SR20DE engine was improved. From the August 2000 facelift, the CVT transmission was fitted to some non-turbo 4WD models. Autech offered a customized version called the "Rider" trim level. The Avenir Cargo delivery van was renamed the Nissan Expert starting in June 1999. October 2000 saw the introduction of the Avenir Blastar, with an increased ground clearance and larger wheels, equipped with ATTESA and the SR20DE engine as an alternative to the Subaru Outback. Nissan shared the appearance with the smaller Nissan Wingroad JS. In August 2002 the SR20DE and the SR20DET engines were replaced with the new QR20DE. Due to lack of demand for the Avenir, the entire line was cancelled in September 2005; the Expert delivery van lasted until December 2006.
