Nissan Sunny Sedan unveiled

Nissan unveiled its global sedan, the Sunny in India today. The company has not yet announced the price or details about the car, but the launch will likely happen during the festive season (October – November) this year.

Nissan will first launch the petrol version of the Sunny powered by a 1.5 litre petrol motor, while the diesel version will be launched later.

Nissan has not announced the price of the car, but we think that it will be priced between Rs 7-10 lakhs as the car is similar to the Maruti SX4 in size. Performance-wise, it is expected to be similar to the Hyundai Verna 1.4 litre petrol variant.

A few days ago, CarToq had reported that the Sunny would be launched in India soon. The Sunny is a premium saloon car that made its world debut at the 8^th China (Guangzhou) International Automobile Exhibition in December 2010. The Sunny has been designed taking inputs from 170 countries where it will be sold.

The car has been built on the versatile V-platform on which the Micra is also based. The Sunny will be produced at the Renault Nissan alliance facility in Oragadam, near Chennai.

“The unveiling of the iconic Nissan SUNNY today reinstates our seriousness on business operations in India,” Kiminobu Tokuyama, M.D. & CEO, Nissan Motor India said in a statement. Tokuyama added that the vehicle will offer more value to the discerning customer and carve out a niche amidst competition in the fast growing Indian automobile market.

The company has built a chain of 40 dealerships nationwide in a period of over one year and plan to open up 100 dealerships by end of 2012 according to Dinesh Jain, CEO, Hover Automotive India. He added that with a bigger product range now, Nissan will be able to cater to a diverse genre of customers who would be enriched with the Nissan experience in the years to come.

Exteriors

To start with, the Sunny’s front grille looks like a downsized grille taken from the Nissan Teana, but this however, gives a bigger look to the car. The wraparound headlights are quite attractive and gel well with the overall front contours of the car.

The car’s roofline tapers towards the rear as it would in a two door coupe, but this lessens the head room of the rear passengers. When looked at from the sides, the car’s design looks a little quirky and will take a while getting used to the asymmetric proportions.

Interiors

The Sunny has borrowed many bits from the Micra such as the steering wheel and chrome door handles. The lighter shades brighten up things on the inside. We expect the front seat to offer good thigh support while the rear leg room is massive; thanks to the long wheelbase (2600 mm) that has helped Nissan in carving out more user space for the rear passengers.

However, due to the drooping roof line at the rear, the headroom may be a little less. The 420 litre boot with a low boot lip will help load and unload luggage with ease.

Engine

The Sunny is powered by 1.5 litre petrol motor that produces 98 bhp of maximum power and 134 Nm of maximum torque. The engine is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission.

The Sunny sports independent struts at the front and torsion beam suspension at the rear. The braking system includes ventilated discs at the front and drums at the rear.  The car has a turning radius of 5.3 metres and a fuel tank capacity of 41 litres. The car is 4,425 mm length, 1,695 mm width and 1,505 mm height.

Nissan is yet to get a break-through in the Indian market despite launching its small car, the Micra in the mass car market with both petrol and diesel variants. The Sunny, with compact-outside and spacious-inside looks, if priced competitively, might help the brand establish itself in the growing Indian auto space.