The Y31 was built from late 1987 through 1991 available in either Sedan or Hardtop guises. The sporty Gran Turismo SV version had short bumpers with a body kit, and was powered by the 2.0 liter VG20DET engine. The sedan version of the Y31 was facelifted at the launch of the Y32, which replaced the four-door hardtops. The Cedric is mechanically related to the Crew, although the Crew is slightly more compact in size. June 1987 saw a special-edition Cedric built for parade usage. The sedan remained with unchanged body appearance and ceased production in 2015. Private Cedrics were only available in four-door hardtop guise and the wagon and van versions are no longer sold. Engines available continued to be the newly developed VG series engine, with the VG20DET adding DOHC, another first for Nissan. In June 1989 the Nissan Cedric with the VG20DET offered the world's first full range electronically controlled 5-speed automatic transmission. The four-speed automatic transmission is now computer controlled for smoother shifts. The transmission now exclusively uses a floor mounted gearshifter, and a 5-speed manual transmission is still available. The rear suspension was upgraded to multi-link independent setup. Trim levels start with the Super Custom at the bottom, followed by Classic, Classic SV, Gran Turismo, and the VIP Brougham at the top. The Gran Turismo received more sport-oriented styling, adding a youthful appearance, which found new, younger, buyers. The Cedric competed for buyers with related Nissan vehicles that shared platforms used for the Cedric, specifically, the Nissan Cima, Nissan Leopard and the Nissan Gloria, as well as other sport-oriented vehicles, such as the Nissan Cefiro, Nissan Skyline and Nissan Laurel. The Cedric Y31 can be distinguished from its sibling, the Gloria Y31, by the taillights at the back. The vehicle's air conditioning could be adjusted by an infrared remote controlledhand held unit from the rear seat, located in a separate compartment attached on top of the rear armrest at the front. Separate air conditioning and heating vents were provided for rear seat passengers.
The Nissan Cedric Y31 remains in production after the launch of the Y32 in 1991. It is targeted for fleet and taxi use. The taxi version Y31 was essentially a trimmed-down version of the upper trim Y31. The fleet taxi Y31 was last updated in 2012, and was in production until 2014. The police car was used by police departments, particularly in Japan, where it was used as a marked police car and an unmarked police car by the Japanese police. The car is popular with taxi companies, particularly in Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong, where a LPG version was used due to laws requiring cabs to run on LPG only. In Jakarta, Indonesia, the diesel powered Cedric Y31 was used as an executive taxi from 1993 to 2009 before replaced by the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Toyota Camry. The taxi Y31 sold poorly in Hong Kong during the later years as the Toyota Crown Comfort became the preferred choice of taxi operators, due to the very spacious rear cabin and lower running costs.
Gloria Y31
The Gloria Y31 was the sibling of the Cedric, with a similar appearance, albeit with different taillights.
Specifications
;Trim levels Trim levels are Original, Custom, Super Custom, Classic, Classic SV, and Brougham VIP. There was also a long wheelbase model built by Autech. ;Engine models
