Nissan’s first indigenously manufactured car, the Micra, is based on the V platform – where ‘V’ stands for versatile. So, we were expecting more than just the Micra to roll out from the Nissan-Renault Alliance plant in Chennai. A sedan from Nissan has been in the works for some time.
A Micra with a boot would have been just wrong, so, luckily, that didn’t happen. The Sunny was actually unveiled as Nissan’s global sedan in China earlier in the year. And, all the auto journalists in India received a mail about the unveiling – but, with a small note to the Editors mentioning that the car would not be named ‘Sunny’ in India, and asking us to refrain from calling it so. Eventually, after the entire hullabaloo, the sedan was christened once again with the same name that its earlier 9 generations have shared. Yes, it is called the Sunny.
One glance at the Sunny and you immediately take note that Nissan has made Indian manufacturers realise that a sedan version of a particular car needn’t necessarily be just a hatchback with a boot. It’s a new car altogether, as the Japanese manufacturer holds true to its promise of introducing some quality products into the Indian market. But, when you name a car ‘Sunny,’ you expect it to be vibrant, glowing, and hot. This sedan is more like a tranquilised version of all that. It’s bright alright, with chrome on the door handles, front grille, and alloys, but that can only liven up a relatively sedate design so much.
If you’re the kind of person who looks at the glass as being half full, you might say that the (almost) 100 horses to propel the 1,000kgs of the Sunny will be sufficient to bring vibrancy back into the equation. Well, you’d only be half right. If you expect the 1.5 litre petrol engine to ensure that the car hops around like a rabbit as soon as you floor the accelerator pedal, it will not. It starts off slow, but then when you see the tachometer cross the 3,000rpm mark, the Sunny just goes ballistic. You hit the sweet spot, and the response is instant. And, it’s at times like this that you pat the steering with a smile on your face saying ‘Atta Boy!’ But, then again, this feeling is short lived. The engine note more or less resembles the shriek of a wannabe bathroom singer. It’s shrill, loud, and you would prefer to go slow rather than be the recipient of that (vibrant) banter. The noise is the result of a lot of weight shedding, which is for two reasons – one is to build the car within a budget, and the other, and more important, reason is fuel efficiency. The ARAI figures suggest that the Sunny achieves a figure of almost 17km/l, which is brilliant. At a time when petrol prices are battling it out with Sachin Tendulkar to achieve the golden average of a 100, having a sedan which is easy on the pocket makes a hell of a difference. So, how is it on the inside then?
The dash of the Sunny resembles that of the Micra, but there are subtle changes here as well. These are in the form of one glove box instead of two, which we see in the Micra. And, it’s as equipment laden as ever – with an in-built audio system, adjustable steering wheel, steering mounted controls, electronically operated rear view mirrors, and a digital instrument cluster making their way into the cabin. Plus, features like climate control, and push button ignition are similar to the Micra.
It’s not the plushest cabin in the sedan world, but it does overwhelm you with the sheer space that it offers. If space is one of the USP’s of Nissan India, they’ve hit the nail on the head with the Sunny. When asked about how they managed to pack-in so much space, Nissan engineers credited it to the versatility of the V-platform. The rear is big enough for a party, and three adults will find it easy going with seats that are very comfortable indeed. Moreover, the softly setup suspension ensures that the ride also has been set-up with comfort in mind. And that makes this an ideal car to drive in city conditions. Oh, and I must mention the rear seat comfort fan. It’s a separate unit altogether, and acts only as a fan. All it does is take air from an intake and channels it into the rear – a simple, but convenient, solution. What’s odd, though, are the air vents above the centre console. You see, the ones on the side are circular (like the Micra), which follows a circular design theme – as demonstrated by the round climate control pod in the center console. But the vents on top of the center console are rectangular, and don’t really match the overall design theme in the rest of the cabin.
There are no complaints with the music system though – you get an Aux-in jack, a CD player and radio, but no Bluetooth or USB. Sound quality is good enough, however, to ensure that people in the car sitting next to you at a light can enjoy (or be subjected to) your taste in music. And, there are safety features aplenty – such as ABS, EBD, Brake Assist, and a driver-side airbag that all come as standard. The 490 litre boot is huge, and could probably swallow an entire batch of nursery kids (its just metaphorical, no child abuse here). For those weekend shopping jaunts, this will be something that will put a smile on your spouse’s face – what that does to your wallet is something else altogether.
All said and done, the Nissan Sunny makes for a great city car. From a drivability point of view, it has high torque at low speeds, which really does help in the traffic conditions of today. Moreover, the Sunny is packed with a lot of goodies and it certainly is very spacious indeed. But, there are a few drawbacks. For one, it’s only available as a petrol (only for now though, a diesel variant is being hastily readied). The bigger issue, however, is that Nissan only has 44 dealers all over the country, which is considerably less than its competition. That factor, more than any other, has likely prevented the Micra from making the impact it should have based on the quality of the product. After all, Ranbir Kapoor too has a limited fan following. But, here’s another model that could well make Nissan a force to reckon with in India. How would you like yours – sunny side up?
Engine 1,498cc / 4 cylinders / 16 valves / DOHC / VTC (Valve Timing Control)
Fuel Petrol
Transmission 5-speed Manual / Front-wheel drive
Power 97bhp @ 6000rpm
Torque 134nm @ 4000rpm
Price Rs. 5.7 – 7.6 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi)
XFactor A car that tries to please, overtly at times. But it does – with space!
