New look, new chassis, new interior, new engine, new front suspension. Although its length and width are about the same as that of the original Q, the new car is a tad taller, which provides a little more headroom for rear seat passengers. The 1997 Q45 interior offers extra head and knee room. More important, the rearranged interior provides almost four more inches of rear seat legroom than the first generation, a big and indisputable improvement, no matter what your automotive philosophy may be. Elsewhere inside, the new Q reflects Nissan's usual good work in the ergonomics department, as well as a tempting array of luxury features included as part of the deal.
Every new Q comes with a sunroof, for example.
And automatic climate control. When it comes to rolling hedonism, the new Q45 has it all. The only thing that seems to be missing is dual switches for the automatic climate control, and the only options are seat heaters and a trunk-mounted CD changer. Side air bags are increasingly common in this class of car. The '97 Lexus LS 400, the Q's arch-rival, has them.