Cabin and features
The Sunny has earned critical acclaim for its liberal cabin space, and it manages to keep its key virtue in-tact in the new version. Knee room is astounding at 636mm and there is nothing to complain about the head and shoulder room either.
We have written in detail about the space and features available in the Nissan Sunny in our earlier review, and we will discuss only the new features and changes made to the cabin in this piece. You may like to read our detailed previous review of the car by clicking here
The biggest change made to the cabin of the Sunny is the new design of the center console, and the introduction of a brand new steering wheel. The center console, which was finished in grey on the previous version, is now predominantly black with the circular console for A/C control finished in glossy piano black. The functionality of the A/C control unit remains the same though.
Above the cluster, the audio unit is brand new, and now features a nice looking and well finished colored screen displaying all the menus to browse through for controlling audio related functions. The color screen also doubles up as a rear view camera to assist in parking. The Audio unit is CD/Aux-in/USB and Bluetooth enabled. The fit-finish of the newly incorporated unit deserves a word of appreciation. It looks quite up-market with its touches of chrome and feels nice to operate with soft to touch plastics and smooth movement of knobs.
The three spoke steering wheel, as discussed earlier is a brand new unit, with two vertically tapering, satin silver inserts on either side of the hub. All the controls are located on the left hand side of the steering. At the top you have the source button, followed by the seek toggle which has a beautiful feel to it in operation. This is followed by the volume controls and you have the command / mute buttons at the bottom. The instrument console looks nice with its black dial and white markings in a racy font. The MID display is very legible and dishes out useful info such as distance to dry and average fuel consumption. Other small changes inside the cabin include introduction of individual reading lights for the rear passengers.
As always, the Sunny’s cabin remains a spacious, comfortable and functional place to be, with some new features adding further to the value perception. The top end variant with its new multifunction steering wheel and central color screen looks more feature rich and up-market, and should be able to impress potential customers more convincingly.
Engine and transmission
Nissan have not tinkered with the tried and tested engines of the Sunny, and the model continues to be powered by the HR15 petrol and K9K diesel engines. Of these, the diesel engine has been slightly retuned for better tractability and more fuel efficiency.
The 1.5 liter petrol engine on the Sunny is a torquey, if not crazy revving unit, dishing out peak power output rated at 99PS @ 6000 rpm for the manual transmission variant. The Petrol engine is also available with the XTronic CVT version where its properties have been altered a bit to produce 101PS of peak power at a lower 5600 rpm. Peak torque for both the transmission variants is rated at 134NM @ 4000 rpm. Interestingly, the CVT, even with more power and an automatic transmission coupled with the power plant manages a fuel efficiency of 17.97 kmpl, 1.02 kmpl more than the manual transmission variant.
The tried and tested K9K diesel unit is available only with a 5 speed manual transmission and produces 86PS of peak power at 3750rpm. Peak torque figure of 200 Nm at 2000 rpm is impressive, and lends this diesel motor an impressive low and mid-range pull. The diesel powered Sunny feels extremely tractable, and pulls cleanly from low revs in higher gears, even with four aboard as we experienced firsthand during our drive through the narrow, scenic and winding roads of Port Blair. The ARAI fuel efficiency figure for the diesel Sunny stands at 22.71kmpl, which is 1.07 kmpl more than the outgoing version.
Both the engines are practical and efficient and don’t really have any flaws. The Petrol motor may not like revving to the moon and back, but it’s quite torquey at lower engine speeds, making for a hassle free city drive. The diesel motor too is one of the most refined, linear and tractable units in the segment. Good fuel efficiency delivered by both engines comes as a bonus.
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Its the 3rd and Nissan’s not even bothered to update its website with the Sunny facelift …… Terrible !!!!!
Wonderful for your customers, Nissan !