These are big, old-style, rear wheel drive luxury cars. Gone is the smooth straight six from the earlier Cedrics and instead is the V6 3.0 litre VG30E fuel-injected engine. This is a fine unit and having a VG30E powered J30 Maxima myself, I’m familiar with its smoothness and phenomenal low-down torque.
The Y30 was imported from 1984 to 1987 and was Nissan’s flagship model. It’s direct replacement was the Maxima, but as this wasn’t available until 1989, the C32 Laurel SGX took over it’s role until the Maxima arrived.
Two models were available to the British public, a 7 seater (two rear facing seats in the loading area) estate with a 150bhp unit, and a saloon, oddly enough with the same engine kicking out 155 bhp!
There are more than just the obvious differences between the two body styles though.
The saloon has automatic transmission with overdrive (4th speed) and torque converter lock-up, aircon, alloy wheels and a plush interior. A live rear axle with coil springs with McPherson struts up front is a big departure for the Cedric range as double wishbones were the norm up until this car.
The equipment list is very comprehensive, metallic paint being the only optional extra!
The Y30 is a luxurious cruiser with a smooth ride and a reasonable turn of speed. Its rather anonymous looks can have people mistaking it for a Yank. I think it’s a good-looking car, personally.
The estate, though oddly a little shorter than the saloon, is a vast load carrier. It seems to have been designed to be a more utilitarian vehicle, the less-plush trim and lower equipment levels being evidence of this.
A five-speed manual gearbox is the only choice for the estate, which can result in it being a deceptively quick car away from the lights. The live rear axle is located by semi-elliptical leaf springs but the car still handles with reasonable agility.
Nigel Gates, from the Datsun Owner’s Club, has run a Y30 saloon as his daily transport for a year now and gives a positive account.
"Very different build to Laurel and other smaller Nissans, everything's heavier and/or more complex. Home maintenance not so easy, parts are expensive, can't be run on the cheap (thirsty!) but it's worth it.
Both saloon and estate have their own charms - saloon is a luxurious cruiser, rides well and is quiet, quick too, estate is fast and agile for a car this size, can surprise people. Latter huge inside, very practical, but becoming rare. Both can rot well, sills seem vulnerable.
A saloon is only worth considering if it has a nice interior and everything works, I personally don't worry about the outside - they look old-fashioned anyway, and it's more fun surprising other drivers if it's a bit tired looking. Mine has lost its badges and has an Irish plate on, no-one knows what it is (Lincoln or Volvo recently!) or how old.
Big car, but high seating position and excellent visibility means it's easy to place. Relatively narrow too, which helps on the country lanes around here. I like the appeal of old styling with modern running gear, plush interior and good heating/ventilation etc."
There you are then; there’s no substitute for the personal experience of actually running a car to give an accurate assessment!
Even more so than the C31 and C32 Laurels, the British motoring press seems to have displayed a complete lack of interest in the 300C, it’s therefore rather difficult to present any accurate media impressions of this model.
An educated guess would have to be one of the press giving this car a good slating because:
Excellent, modern cars such as the Maxima range have had a severe mauling by some of these motoring hacks in the past, as have the Laurels, so its reasonable to assume that the Y30 won’t have got away unblemished!
I enclose a couple of remarks from two publications:
‘Car’ magazine.
Nigel recalls that paragon of open and unbiased journalism, ‘Car’ (ahem!) printing a summary for the 300C in their ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’ guide. This was simply to state that Nissan wouldn’t let them drive it! This would come as no surprise as Nissan, by this time, were probably totally peed-off with the venomous diatribe this publication had written about its products.
‘What Car’ 11/86.
‘Another big and rather depressing Nissan’
What’s depressing about a well-engineered, supremely comfortable Jap cruiser? Surely an uncomfortable, unreliable car would depress more!
‘Lavishly equipped in a vulgar way, it hasn’t the class of a BMW.’
Oh no! Not the old BMW line again!
‘The estate is roomy-but a Volvo would make more sense.’
The Volvo 740/940 is a well-built and fairly reliable car but is so unbelievably ugly. Having driven one, I can vouch for it being completely dull too.
In summing up, the Y30 was probably an old-fashioned car at its conception, never relying on innovation and ‘avant-garde’ technology to achieve its purpose. No, the real charm of the Y30 is the totally conventional, old-world design, combined with engineering excellence. It’s easy to see why these cars are so loved nowadays.
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