Nissan Sunny Review, Test Drive

We head to the Andamans to try out the face lifted Nissan Sunny. While Port Blair is beautiful, of course, the refreshed Nissan Sunny isn’t too bad itself…

With the entire world looking at Europe and other far-flung destinations for drive locations, Nissan did the unthinkable and unveiled their face-lifted Nissan Sunny at Port Blair in the beautiful Andaman and Nicobar Islands – possibly the first manufacturer to have such a brainwave!

So, after being mesmerised by the Indian Ocean’s breath-taking blue and turquoise green waters, it was time to take stock of the 2014 Nissan Sunny – which did manage to create quite an impression with its large swept back headlamps that are edgy and angular, along with an aggressive looking bumper. The Nissan Sunny’s credentials for being a practical car was never under any doubt, but a serious rejig was needed for this plain Jane sedan, and so Nissan yielded to a nip-and-tuck. One of the main reasons why the Nissan Sunny got lost in the crowd, after making initial ripples in the market is because it simply lacked visual presence while its rivals launched fresher and more youthful looking cars.

At a glance, the Nissan Sunny is not a showstopper, but it certainly makes you want to give it a second look and take note of the changes. The front grille is bigger and more in-your-face than before, as is the bumper with its larger and more prominent air vents. The fog lamp area comes with a chrome streak, which gives it a pseudo LED feel. Cheap thrills, yes, but it doesn’t look bad at all. The Nissan Sunny now has a more premium sedan presence thanks to the re-shaped tear drop headlights adding to its chiselled looks.At the rear, the lamps remain more or less the same, while the wraparound bumper and chunky chrome band above the number plate adds panache. Nissan has garnished the Nissan Sunny with more bling features, like the ORVMs with turning indicators and new 15-inch alloy wheels that are available on the top-of-the-line diesel variant.

Step inside and the Nissan Sunny flexes its muscles with acres of cabin space. The rear passengers continue to enjoy class-leading legroom that shames many luxury cars. The interiors have been spruced up with the centre console getting a piano black tan. For convenience, the new 2-Din music system now comes with Bluetooth connectivity. The new leather wrapped triangular shaped steering wheel gives it a rich look with its chrome buttons. Nissan has made sure that there’s very little trace of the Micra, if any at all. The Japanese carmaker hasn’t touched the dimensions of Nissan Sunny, so for people looking for retail therapy it’ll be a huge challenge to fill up the 490 litres of boot space.

The Nissan Sunny retains the 1,498cc petrol and 1,461cc diesel engines. The former also comes with a CVT option,and with 100bhp at 5,600rpm, it has decent pick up and enough power to zip around the city and navigate past road hogs. At an incline, its punch tends to simmer down a bit though. The diesel, on the other hand, is a smooth operator that provides an uninterrupted and linear stream of power. There’s no annoying lag or an abrupt gush of power. The 5-speed gearbox’s ratios are a little on the shorter side though, so you end up shifting more frequently than you would like. The diesel rattle and hum was barely audible, as Nissan has improved the Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH) levels making the cabin better insulated. The diesel variant’s ECU calibration has been worked on as well, and Nissan claim the mileage has been improved by 1km/l – returning 22.7km/lwith the manual transmission, and 17.97km/l with the CVT.

The Nissan Sunny never had razor sharp handling, and it remains much the same as the sedan continues to focus on comfort. The suspension is on the softer side, as a result of which the car tends to wallow on uneven roads. You can’t fuss about ride quality though. It does lean a fair bit when taking sharp turns however, so it’s best to go easy on the gas pedal mid-corner.

The Nissan Sunny has many things going for it, especially now since it looks quite contemporary, and has unbeatable cabin space with spruced up interiors and equipment.Even if it does get a slight increase in price, it’ll still be an affordable buy that offers a lot of car (or should I say ‘caaaaarr’) for the money.