Nissan’s off-roading, rock-crawling NV Cargo X is no ordinary van

By Stephen Edelstein February 6, 2017

You’ve heard of off-road SUVs and pickup trucks, but what about an off-road van?

That’s exactly what Nissan plans to debut this week at the 2017 Chicago Auto Show. Called the NV Cargo X, it’s a one-off project vehicle fresh off a shakedown cruise along the Pyeatt Draw Trail in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest. The Cargo X won’t go into production, which is just as well, as most delivery services probably aren’t contemplating expansions into Tonto, or any other wilderness areas.

The Cargo X is based on Nissan’s NV2500HD commercial van, but with a few notable modifications. Nissan swapped out the stock 5.6-liter gasoline V8 for the 5.0-liter Cummins diesel V8 from the Titan XD pickup truck. This engine produces 310 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque. That torque is especially important off road, because it allows the vehicle to crawl along at low speeds with relatively little throttle input.

The diesel engine is connected to a six-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel drive. The van also sits on a custom suspension system designed to both add ground clearance and make room for 37-inch General GrabberX3 tires. Sitting on those tires, the NV Cargo X stands over seven-and-a-half feet tall. As if that didn’t make enough of a statement, Nissan also gave the Cargo X some LED spot lights, a tube front bumper that incorporates a winch, and an exterior vinyl wrap.

Nissan built the NV Cargo X in partnership with Ian Johnson, host of the television show Xtreme Off-Road. He shed some light on why anyone would want an off-road commercial van, saying the Cargo X’s capacious van body can hold enough equipment to allow it to “serve as its own support vehicle” on remote trails.

That might not be enough to sustain a market for off-road-ready vans, but it might give off-road enthusiasts something to think about when choosing new project vehicles. And we’ll never look at a Nissan NV van the same way again.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

Cars

Cadillac aims to balance its lineup with a small electric SUV

Exterior of the Cadillac Optiq compact electric SUV.

Cadillac will add an entry-level electric SUV to its lineup in 2024.

The Cadillac Optiq is a "luxury compact SUV" slotting below the Lyriq in the brand's EV hierarchy. Photos released with the brief announcement show styling features that tie the Optiq to the larger Lyriq, such as split taillights, but other details won't be released until closer to the Optiq's launch.

Cars

Why your EV’s voltage matters, and what it means for your car’s charging speed

Front three-quarters view of a 2023 Kia EV6 GT in a desert setting.

Electric cars are slowly, but surely becoming commonplace, and they introduce a whole new generation of specifications that are worth caring about. Range is an obvious one -- but there's another metric that has a major impact on the overall experience of owning an electric car: voltage.

You'll often see the voltage of an electric car's battery pack touted in advertising. Hyundai, for instance, is proud of the 800 -volt battery in cars like the EV6 -- that's double the voltage of the 400V battery in the Tesla Model Y.

Cars

This Milwaukee tire inflator is 59% off in Amazon’s Black Friday Sale

Milwaukee M18 Inflator connected to a van tire.

One of the most rewarding parts of covering Black Friday deals is finding an essential tool at a truly low price that can help our readers get out of a jam. Such is the way with this Milwaukee M18 Inflator, which will inflate your tires to a precise PSI at the touch of a button. This device is perfect for people that already own one of Milwaukee's M18 tool batteries, which is what it uses, but (we'll soon see) it is also a fantastic entry point into using Milwaukee cordless power tools. Normally the Milwaukee M18 Inflator is $310, but you can get one now for $128. That's a savings of $182. Tap the button below to grab one quickly, while they're still in stock, or keep reading for why we like it.

Why you should buy the Milwaukee M18 Inflator
First and foremost, the Milwaukee M18 Inflator provides an easy way for you to inflate your tires in a pinch or awkward situation. It is particularly great for the tires of riding lawnmowers. They tend to be awkward to get to the gas station or other place where you traditionally inflate tires and would be a pain to hand inflate. Usage of the machine is simple. Insert an M18 Milwaukee battery, set the desired PSI for the deflated tire, connect to the tire and wait until it is done inflating. The Milwaukee M18 Inflator will stop pumping air automatically once the ideal PSI is achieved. When you're done, the Milwaukee M18 Inflator is small and easy to tuck away, being about the size of a lunchbox.