CC Capsule: 1994 Nissan Gloria (Y30) V-20E SGL Wagon – Indulging In Overindulgence

Yes, yes, we’ve already seen this model. Twice, in fact. But you know what, I’ve grown quite fond of these and the other week this I found this one, an unmolested high-trim example with stock wheels, on a bright and sunny day. Sheer perfection. So I’m afraid it left me no option. We’re going to visit the last Cedric / Gloria wagon again.

I’m not going to go through the whole history again, then. This is a quick post where the photos will do most of the talking. Just to say that the Y30 saloon / hardtop / wagon appeared in 1983, but the 4-door cars switched to a new platform in 1987, leaving the live axle wagon in a state of blissful arrested development until 1999.

Changes from one year to the next were few and infrequent, so I’m not at all sure when this one was made. The one thing that marks a later car is the third brake light, which the Y30 Cedric / Gloria got in early 1994 and is here. So this is a later wagon, like both of the ones I photographed before, but it has (as we shall see) the pre-’96 flat steering wheel (sans airbag), so it should be a 1994-95.

If the hubcaps are any indication, this seems to be the top-of-the-line “SGL” wagon, albeit without the faux wood on the side as well as the tailgate. But that’s not a biggie for me – I can take the faux wood or leave it in the fauxrest. By the early ‘90s, all Y30 vans and wagons came with the 115hp 2-litre V6; Diesels are rare.

I hadn’t been able to capture the interior in my previous Y30 wagon posts, so allow me to make amends. Some had a column change, different colour schemes and all that, but by and large, this is what you got. This plush deluxe version is fully kitted, complete with corduroy fabric, three ‘70s-TV-style dials for the climate control and, joy of joys, a tape deck. Nissan obviously never got the memo about it being the ‘90s.

I don’t know if it’s the T-Bird-esque hood ornament, the generous inlays of “wood” trim in the cabin, the overall mini-American wagon feel of the thing, or just finding this one on a very nice summer day, but this Gloria really hits the spot. I’d be hard pressed to think of another mid-‘90s wagon that I would find more attractive. So please forgive this surfeit – three posts in six months! – of Gloria wagons. It’s the last one, I promise. Until the next one, of course.

 

Related posts:

 

Curbside Classic: 1995 Nissan Gloria (Y30) Wagon – Nissanosaurus Rex, by T87

CC Twofer: 1998 Nissan Gloria (Y33) Gran Turismo Ultima & Gloria (Y30) Wagon – Dr Nissan and Ms Gloria, by T87