Was privileged to have driven the All New Nissan Magnite this week, we meandered our way through Pretoria, and enjoyed our drive in yet another compact SUV.
The Nissan Magnite is a dashing looking car, or should I say compact SUV. The red colour that I drove was very impressive, and the pics lend credence to this fact. Nissan is behind the pack in introducing Compact SUV’s in SA, with some manfacturer’s like Volkswagen & Hyundai, having a plethora of these models.
Exterior.
But the Magnite makes a good entrance, as I said, good looks going for it. From the large hexagonal grille, which gives the car a look of confidence. It has sleek headlamps with lightsaber-style turn indicators, and the L-shape LED Daytime Running Lights (DRL) give it an air of panache.
It is a welcome adition to the B-SUV segment, but it has loads of stiff competition. It has attractive diamond -cut alloy 16 inch wheels, and has a high drive feel with 205mm, which is good for visibility.
The rear has large headlamps, with a aluminium accented bumper and a sporty spoiler off the roof, which has functional roof rails in silver. The all new red garnet colour drew many admiring glances.
Cabin.
The interior is spacious in the front & rear, with a large 336 L boot, that offers more versatility from a 60:40 split as well. It has lots of space holders, as well as a phone charging pad that worked great on our DRIVE.
Connectivity is easy via Bluetooth, or the smartphone app installed. Seats are comfortable. True to Nissan’s global SUV DNA of advanced technology, the Nissan Magnite comes with numerous first-in-class and best-in-segment features that will provide customers with a differentiated, innovative, and accessible experience.
It features latest technology as a part of Nissan Intelligent Mobility (NIM), Nissan’s vision of how vehicles are powered, driven, and integrated into society. This includes an impressive 8-inch full flash touch screen with best-in-class wireless Android Auto & Apple CarPlay compatible with the latest devices to ensure every journey is a first-class experience.
A first in its segment, the all-new Nissan Magnite is also equipped with one of Nissan’s top support technology, the Around View Monitor (AVM), which gives the driver a virtual bird’s eye view from above the vehicle. This was awesome,seein the vehicle from the top perspective.
The touch screen was easy to navigate, and this on the fly as well.
Engine & Transmission
The Magnite feels well planted on the road, and delivered a smooth and quiet drive, with little or no wind noise at all. The car has a 1.0L HRAO turbo engine, mated with a X-Tronic CVT, which was possibly one of the best I have encountered for a while. It changes easily, and does not ‘’hunt’’ for gears like so many do. My personal SUV is an X-Trail which has a CVT gearbox, that does hunt for gears on occasion, so kudo’s to the Magnite.
We drove the 5-speed manual variant as well, and whilst not being as enjoyable as the cvt, it was smooth changing, and just as nippy. The Magnite has good power, even in the thin air of the Highveld, and I had no problems passing or changing lanes in traffic. It has a full eco-function, to see how well you are driving, and even offers tips on how to get better for fuel consumption etc. We will do a 7-day test later, and report on this.
Safety.
The Magnite is equipped with safety features such as Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), Hydraulic Brake Assist (HBA), Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC), Traction Control System (TCS), Hill Start Assist (HSA), speed sensing door lock, central locking and SRS dual airbag system with pretension and load limiter seatbelt for driver and passenger.
The Nissan Magnite is built in India, where many manufacturer’s have their plants these days, and apart from the very real covid-19 threat, they build very good cars.
It has garnered some awards on the way such as: ‘Top Gear India compact SUV of the year’ and Autocar India ‘Value for Money Car of the Year’ award. It has been the front runner in the Nissan India family with 4,244 units bought in February 2021, and over 50,000 bookings since the launch.
Grade Walk.
| Beautiful All LED Front Exteriors LED bi-projector headlamps (sleekest in class with even wider coverage) LED lightsaber-style turn indicators LED L-shaped Daytime Running Lights (DRL) LED fog lamps | Bold SUV Cues 205 mm ground clearance (among the best) Best-in-class turning radius (5.0m) Functional roof rails with 50kg load bearing Square wheel arches for bold styling. Front and rear silver skid plates Integrated sculpted bodyside cladding Stunning diamond cut alloys, standard 16-inch wheels |
| Bold & Beautiful Premium Cues Sporty IP with stylish horizontal execution and premium finish Carefully crafted door seals Wide split taillamps First-in-class eye grabbing Flare garnet red (tint coat) colour Tall floor console with smartphone tray | Big on Interior Comfort & Convenience High command eye position (best-in-class visibility & opening angle) Best-in-class rear knee room Best-in-class ‘couple distance’ (shoulder room in the front row) Sporty & welcoming seats Rear armrest with 2 cupholders and first-in-class mobile holder 5-degree tilt of centre stack for driver centric cockpit feel 336L cargo space with flexible capacity by 60:40 split foldable rear seats Ergonomically designed buttons for ease of control for the driver BIG, 10L glovebox with illumination |
| Big on Technology HRA0 1.0-litre Turbo engine Best-in-class Nissan Signature X-Tronic CVT transmission First-in-class AVM (Around View Monitor) to give a bird’s eye view – toggle between rear view, bird’s eye view and RH camera for eased parallel, perpendicular parking and front camera for taking out from tight spots Best-in-class driving eco function – rates driving and assigns score, also provides suggestions to improve efficient driving skills First-in-class full 7-inch TFT instrument cluster with built-in tyre pressure monitor First-in-class ‘welcome animation’ Toggle the menu and up/down buttons for all functions Fully integrated steering wheel controls for audio, cluster and Cruise Control 8-inch full flash touch screen with best-in-class wireless Android Auto & Apple CarPlay (compatible with latest devices) with 6 Speakers Carefully placed microphone and speaker for better phone calls Nissan Connect | Big on Safety SRS dual airbags Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) for safe vehicle manoeuvring in tight corners and risk situations Hill Start Assist (HSA) for comfortable stop and go in slopes and hilly terrains Traction Control (TC) for best vehicle control in different terrains Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) Anti-Roll bar for tight cornering at high speeds giving low body roll |
Pricing:
- Acenta MT = R256 999
- Acenta CVT = R280 100
- Acenta Plus MT = R282 600
- Acenta Plus CVT = R305 700
Service Plan: 3yr/30000 kms (3 services) and warranty 6 year/150 000km
Summing up, the Nissan Magnite is very attractive, drives well, should be fuel efficient, and has good pricing. It should sell well, but enters the market after a raft of similar vehicles have launched. Let’s hope this does not hold it back.