Car Tested: 2011 Nissan Sunny XV dCi
Price OTR Chennai: Rs. 9.16 Lakhs (XL), Rs. 10.07 Lakhs (XV)
It has been just 3 months since the Nissan Sunny was put into our market, but it seems to have established a clear niche for itself. With sales consistently hovering at above a 1000 units each month with just the petrol variants, Nissan has decided its time to expand the Sunny’s market share further by launching the diesel variant recently. With its ‘Pure Drive’ badge that looks and sounds surprisingly similar to Hyundai’s ‘Blue Drive’ moniker, the Sunny dCi is all set to perfectly take advantage of the diesel craze that is sweeping India right now.
So, how is the Suuny diesel to drive? Does it live up to the high standards that customers in this segment expect of late? Is it competitive enough to instill fear in the Hyundai Verna and Volkswagen Vento that are currently ruling the segment? Read on, to find out. You would be knowing that we at MotorBeam have already posted a comprehensive review of the Sunny petrol a few months back. You can read all about it and much more in this link. This short drive covers only the aspects that are related to the diesel engine and its performance.
Price OTR Chennai: Rs. 9.16 Lakhs (XL), Rs. 10.07 Lakhs (XV)
It has been just 3 months since the Nissan Sunny was put into our market, but it seems to have established a clear niche for itself. With sales consistently hovering at above a 1000 units each month with just the petrol variants, Nissan has decided its time to expand the Sunny’s market share further by launching the diesel variant recently. With its ‘Pure Drive’ badge that looks and sounds surprisingly similar to Hyundai’s ‘Blue Drive’ moniker, the Sunny dCi is all set to perfectly take advantage of the diesel craze that is sweeping India right now.
So, how is the Suuny diesel to drive? Does it live up to the high standards that customers in this segment expect of late? Is it competitive enough to instill fear in the Hyundai Verna and Volkswagen Vento that are currently ruling the segment? Read on, to find out. You would be knowing that we at MotorBeam have already posted a comprehensive review of the Sunny petrol a few months back. You can read all about it and much more in this link. This short drive covers only the aspects that are related to the diesel engine and its performance.
Performance:
The Sunny diesel is powered by the 4-cylinder 1.5-liter K9K engine that was jointly developed by the Renault-Nissan Alliance. This motor churns out a maximum power output of 86PS at 3750 rpm and a maximum torque of 200 Nm at 2000 rpm. As the figures would suggest, the torque is available right from low end of the powerband and the K9K engine revs cleanly all through the powerband. The generous low-end torque means that the Sunny diesel is effortless to drive in bumper-to-bumper city traffic with the car pulling away cleanly in the second and third gears.
In our very short drive, we were not able to do a 0-100 acceleration tests but we can tell you that the car accelerates celanly and smoothly until 120 kph after which the engine feels strained. Though the refinement is not great even at low rpms, the motor gets very loud once it goes past 3000 rpm. The power delivery is smooth and linear and the turbo-kick that you experience in cars like the Verna is not there in the Sunny. Having said that, all credits to Nissan for making the Sunny diesel a surprisingly good performer, both in city and highway driving conditions.
The Sunny diesel is powered by the 4-cylinder 1.5-liter K9K engine that was jointly developed by the Renault-Nissan Alliance. This motor churns out a maximum power output of 86PS at 3750 rpm and a maximum torque of 200 Nm at 2000 rpm. As the figures would suggest, the torque is available right from low end of the powerband and the K9K engine revs cleanly all through the powerband. The generous low-end torque means that the Sunny diesel is effortless to drive in bumper-to-bumper city traffic with the car pulling away cleanly in the second and third gears.
In our very short drive, we were not able to do a 0-100 acceleration tests but we can tell you that the car accelerates celanly and smoothly until 120 kph after which the engine feels strained. Though the refinement is not great even at low rpms, the motor gets very loud once it goes past 3000 rpm. The power delivery is smooth and linear and the turbo-kick that you experience in cars like the Verna is not there in the Sunny. Having said that, all credits to Nissan for making the Sunny diesel a surprisingly good performer, both in city and highway driving conditions.
Whats Cool:
* Space, space and more space
* Feature loaded (ABS, EBD, BA, iKey, Start/Stop Button)
* Good Low-end torque
* Linear Power Delivery
Whats Not So Cool:
* Notchy Gearshifts
* Sparse Service Network
* Engine: 1461 cc, 4 Cylinder, 8V, K9K, SOHC
* Power: 86 PS @ 3750 RPM
* Torque: 200 Nm @ 2000 RPM
* Transmission: 5-speed manual
* Fuel Consumption: 21.64 kmpl (ARAI Figures)
* Fuel Type: Diesel
* Suspension: Mcpherson Struts (Front), Torsion Beam (Rear)
* Tires: 185/65/15 (XV)
* Brakes: Discs (Front), Drums (Rear), ABS, EBD & BA
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