Nissan Sunny Facelift

 

Expected Launch: June 2014

Expected Price: 6.28 - 9.50 lakhs

Nissan Sunny Facelift Preview

Nissan launched the Sunny sedan for the Indian market in 2011 and it has been selling in the same form since then. As a part of the normal product life cycle it unveiled a facelifted version for the Indian market at the 2014 Auto Expo and this is expected to go on sale a few months from now. It has got cosmetic changes both inside and outside with the former being almost similar to the ones found on the facelifted Nissan Micra that was launched last year. The facelifted Sunny has already gone on sale in the Thai and Chinese market and is even offered with a Nismo body kit and tuning options.

Exterior

The front of the facelifted car gets a revised design for the grille as well as the headlights. Much more of an evolutionary design, the grille now gets added bling around the edges. The headlights have been revised and now feature a more angular tear drop design as compared to the current car’s rounded shape. The fog lamp housing while remaining the same shape also gets an added dose of chrome as is the case with the base of the air intake. The side profile remains the same as before while the base of the rear end has been raised and covered with a plastic lip in a bid to give the car a sportier appearance.

Interior

The interiors have been updated to match those of the Nissan Micra that was launched last year. These changes include gloss black plastic for the dashboard, touch screen infotainment for the top- spec versions and on a more minor note different fonts for the info graphics . The lower- spec variants will continue with the beige interiors but across all versions, Nissan is expected to introduce a revised design for the steering which has already been shown with the Thai and Chinese models. The interior space is still massive but we hope Nissan will be able to revise the amount of under thigh support offered with the rear seats. The recirculating fan at the rear is an India only option and we expect that it continue in the facelifted model.

Engine and gearbox

The Nissan Sunny in India is currently and will continue to be powered by two sets of engines- a 1.5-litre petrol engine and a 1.5-litre diesel engine. The former produces 98bhp and 134Nm of torque while the oil burner produces 85bhp and 200Nm of torque. Both engines are offered with a five-speed manual while the petrol can also be had with a CVT gearbox.

Price and competition

We expect that Nissan will price the facelifted Sunny in the range of Rs 6.28 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. It competes with the Renault Scala, Honda City, Hyundai Verna, Skoda Rapid, VW Vento and the Ford Fiesta which is due for a facelift soon.