2017 NV3500 going to crack the gas mileage barrier finally?

[breeze]

The soft framed 3.5l eco Transit has got fairly decent gas mileage.

The Ram Promaster has a decent Maserati engine but an underrated minivan transmission.

And the Nissan NV 2500/3500 has it all except gas mileage in comparison.

 

From what I see, the NEW V8 375 hp w/7 speed transmission seems like it is hiding it's new gas mileage breakthrough due to huge used market inventory of NV 3500/2500/1500's on hand. I could not find one of the sites that had mpg estimates for the 2017 NV3500 v8/7 sp. trans. BUT I did find mpg estimates for the 2017 TITAN with v8/7 sp trans!

 

https://www.edmunds.com/nissan/titan/2017/st-401666976/mpg/

 

18 / 15 / 21 And the Titan SL cab weighs about only 300 lbs less than the NV3500 Tall van: with 18" and 20" wheels on the Titan.

SO a rough cut estimate of the NV3500 V8/7sp tran tall van would be -2 mpg on each estimate:

**  16 / 13 / 19 **. That would be a eco Transit gas mileage beater and beat it in performance too - it already did that before 2017 (and you would not bend the frame every time you lifted it while rotating tires making a good alignment impossible like the $45K Transit ;-)

 

Does that make sense? Now all I need is $34,660 for NV3500 SV V8 w/ 7 sp trans with rear windows, as well as hood and window deflectors.

 

This is a great site and great van builders! Peace.

Edited December 31, 2016 by breeze

[radin2son]

trucktrend.com had a short article (12/5) on the 2017 NV and estimated 14-15 mpg mixed driving.

 

Many/some of us are getting this already with the current V8. I was looking at several trips this year, and we averaged 16.5 to 16.8 mpg. Overall for 2016, we averaged 15.3 mpg.

[breeze]

That was the feeling I had too, but the mpg's were all over the place in surveys. It's the in-between trips that really sack the average closer to 2 mpg over the bottom city mileage. To me, the slight improvement was a more reliable displacement response to the dual turbo ecoboost with a fragile chassis: and it is all over the place in gas mileage too with a GT race engine. I would rather not pay the $10K difference for the GT engine technology which is a touchy race engine to maintain. The 7 sp trans mission may have more to do with gas mileage efficiency, but it did gain 56 hp somewhere. It was already the fastest most powerful and fastest engine in it's class and now it's even more powerful and more efficient.

 

I was just sitting on the fence trying to figure out if I would tow or need that power. It's hard to make decisions from web surveys. Now it's a no-brainer; and even if it was before, it's hard to decipher the wide gap;in both v6 and v8 mileage with incomplete survey information. Now the V8 will better compete with empty loads in the v6 and blow it away more in towing. I don't know how much difference it is from before, but it is 56/319 = 18% more hp and 2/5 = 40% more transmission efficiency in gears. To me, it's now the undisputed heavy weight van. The Ford Transit 'Spin' team is going to driving themselves crazy now. They about drove me crazy trying to figure out why they blabber incomplete information and make customers spend man-months figuring anything out.

Edited December 31, 2016 by breeze

[SKRUGS]

You don't buy a one ton truck for good fuel MPG!!  

Buy a Prius. 

 

My NV weights in at 7000 pounds.  It is not going to get high MPG.

Will hold 2600 pounds and tow 10,000 pounds.  15 mpg is great!

[radin2son]

Absolutely correct. Your NV will give what it can based on use.

 

Our camperized NV weighs the same as a NVP and typically carries 1000# in gear. It is capable of getting 16+ mpg but this is not a realistic expectation. Our last trip 2 weeks ago was 14.65 mpg mainly due to not so great driving conditions. Nothing you can do except fill the tank.

[andy_george]

Exactly. The NV is incredibly huge and heavy compared to most every other passenger vehicle for sale in America. Hoping and trying for good mileage is fine, but the reality is that every law of physics is working against you. I get much more satisfaction focusing on its all-around awesomeness than being upset we can't squeeze another couple mpg's out of every tankful.

[ASD Dad]

We just towed our camper back from FL in a bad storm most of the way.  High winds met us for several hours and on the hills I managed the worst mileage ever for my van - 6.70 mpg!!!  Normally when towing I can get in the 8-9 range but not that day.

 

We drive giant boxes on wheels.  Doesnt matter what you do, it isnt meant for miles per gallon.  

[breeze]

I finally stopped by the dealer today. He said few dealers have shop lift height capacity for tall NV's and don't carry them yet (if they can't service them); but he is moving down the street in a couple of months. He seemed to think the NV would beat the Titan in gas mileage with the same engine and trans due to the coefficient of drag. One simplified average estimate I saw was double the CD difference for  mileage difference for comparable weight vehicles: maybe a mile or two better by that estimate (instead of worse by my first guesstimate.) So that's about 23 highway for the tall 2017 NV v8, empty. That's starting to sound encouraging, and is mainly the 7sp trans efficiency bumped up by CD of the tall NV, which is like a semi top spoiler (sweet.)

 

I am thinking a big rear view camera and possible the sliding door glass only when rolling. Then at night, a 4 direction camera screen while parked. I'd sure like to make it look as good as those low roofs with tinted glass all around, but for one glass, it would be impractical. Since the hood scoop is like a Kenworth roof, I need to start looking at nice big rigs for slip-stream efficiency and looks packages.

 

The dealer said the 3500 Tall NV SV maxed out with technical package around $34-35k out-the-door. That's a big 10-4, ha ha.

Edited January 4, 2017 by breeze

[jaredg]

Not sure how accurate it is because it wasn't from Nissan, but I found some info that said aero on the van is worse than the truck. Van Cd was listed as .36-.40 while Titan XD was listed as .34. That coupled with the extra weight should mean lower numbers than the truck. My guess is that 8% improvement number that's been thrown around might be close.

[breeze]

From 2017 NV Nissan Press-Kit,

2016 Titan Nissan Pres-Kit (when new v8/7sp trans introduced), and one

2016 Titan drag coefficient article link below for - ??

 

http://autotk.com/dimensions/nissan/titan-xd/2016/

 

2017 NV 3500 SV ......Regular.........Tall...................2018 Titan 4x2, new v8/7 sp. trans

Height (in)....................84.9............106....................78

CD..............................0.399...........0.364.................0.34 (??)

Weight (lbs.).................6172............6335.................6171.

mpg (city/highway)...................................................15/21

 

As per Wiki, "The average modern automobile achieves a drag coefficient of between 0.30 and 0.35. SUVs, with their typically boxy shapes, typically achieve a Cd=0.35–0.45. "

Edited January 5, 2017 by breeze

[jaredg]

Yeah, that's the site is where I found the Cd numbers. 

 

I don't think the regular Titans weigh that much according to Nissan. The Titan XD is closer in weight to the NV, but the XD doesn't get EPA ratings. 

 

Here's an interesting video I saw this summer where they compared the fuel economy of a Titan XD gas vs diesel. They tested them both towing a trailer and unladen.

 

http://www.tfltruck.com/2016/07/diesel-still-mpg-king-2016-nissan-titan-xd-gas-vs-diesel-towing-mpg-review/

 

In the 100 mile highway loop at 70mph, unloaded, the gas truck got 17mpg. Maybe it would have done better in a longer test?

 

I guess we'll find out when the 2017s start rolling out. :)

Edited January 5, 2017 by jaredg

[breeze]

http://autotk.com/dimensions/nissan/nv-cargo-nv3500-hd/2017/

 

From the same site with questionable DC, it shows NV3500 as .36 to .39 (Nissan .365 to .399); so they are truncating by known comparisons.

 

So it's closer to .35 vs. .37 vs. .4  (Titan/Tall NV/Regular NV) in standard rounding conventions (vs. rounding down which is unconventional biased rounding.) And unless I see it through Nissan, they probably folded the side mirrors in, took off the antenna, put skinny tires on, etc... to reach that DC, even if it was .35. I'll ask the Nissan salesman what the Nissan 3 decimal DC is for the Titan as a point of reference.

 

Of course:

1. I think pickups actually do better gas mileage with the rear gates up since they act like a spoiler. I could never tell a difference with my trucks gates open or closed, but never did an actual test which can be biased by direction and the wind anyway.

2. Nissan put many millions of dollars research on Titan to break into US Pickup market (which directly benefited NV owners in 2017.)

 

It certainly sounds possible, but I'm not confident yet. I even read where DC is variable and not fixed, so I'd like to at least see the same comparable measures from the same source (Nissan, the source.) If Nissan does still NOT release the DC figures, than I'd assume that the huge Titan cab may get closer to .44 DC figure released 10 years ago. Dealing with OEM's specs is not straight forward. Titan is their number one market, so...? If the Titan is .35 DC, then the tall NV may be 14/20 city/highway which is fantastic in my book for the fastest in it's class engine. I'll drop by the Nissan dealer soon to find the 2016/17 Titan DC measure.

Edited January 5, 2017 by breeze

[radin2son]

trucktrend.com just named Nissan Titan the 2017 truck of the year. Maybe more info...

[breeze]

trucktrend.com just named Nissan Titan the 2017 truck of the year. Maybe more info...

 

I was real impressed with Titan too, just looking over it since 2016 innovations.

But pickup trucks is all USA has going for it now, so I don't want to make anyone

in the propaganda machine mad at me.

 

However, 2016 is when all the changes were made, so I wonder if it was truck of the year

for 2 years straight, or it they made other significant improvements I don't know about yet

(and could be in NV by 2018?)

 

http://www.trucktrend.com/truck-of-the-year/1701-nissan-titan-wins-2017-pickup-truck-of-the-year/

 

Notable quotes:

1. "The V-8 engine note was there when you wanted it, and quiet when you were cruising, never intruding on the comfortable, well-equipped cabin."

2. "Among the highlights were Nissan’s Around View Monitor 360 virtual overhead camera display, ..."

3.  "This year’s contenders included:

Ford F-150 Raptor

Ford F-250 Super Duty

GMC Canyon Denali

Honda Ridgeline

Nissan Titan

Nissan Titan XD

Ram 2500 Off-Road

Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro"

4. "The Nissan Titan found itself among the quickest production pickups our experts have ever tested..."

:-)

Edited January 11, 2017 by breeze