2020 Nissan Magnite First Look

A brand new Nissan for India! That’s a statement that’s heard rather rarely, considering their last new launch, the Kicks, was at the start of 2019. Additionally, over the past few years, Nissan’s work in India has been rather lukewarm. This even left many wondering if brand Nissan Datsun is a flight risk. 

The Magnite is what Nissan hopes will be both their game and perception changer. But as a car, it has many challenges to face, the biggest one of which is offering something that 8 rivals don’t already! How?

Purpose Built

 

The Magnite makes a very good first impression. At the showcase event, Nissan was tight lipped about the car’s dimensions but this is in fact a sub-4-metre SUV. But in profile you’d think it’s a Creta/Seltos rival just because of how well proportioned it is. The interplay between different character lines also give it an athletic stance. 

 

Small SUVs often need to grow vertically to get more presence but the Magnite looks longer than it is thanks to the pointy front end and well-sized overhangs. It is easily one of the most sporty looking SUVs in the segment thanks in no small part to those killer 16-inch alloy wheels (lower variants also get 16-inch wheels, albeit steel). They look like downsized versions of what the Octavia RS245 gets. Up top, you get functional roof rails (can take a payload of up to 50kg) and a fairly large roof spoiler too.

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The front end is where things look decidedly Datsun. Those boomerang-shaped LED DRLs in the bumper look similar to what we saw with the new redi-GO. This isn’t a mere coincidence as the Magnite was developed as a Datsun but will be sold as a Nissan instead (more on that here). But this means it isn’t skimping on features to meet a budget brand’s needs. The front lighting system is all LED, including LED projector headlights, LED indicators and LED fog lamps, aside from the LED DRLs.

And then we come to the Magnite’s biggest weapon, its base. Look at the car from any angle and you’d think this is linked to the Kicks and subsequently, the Renault Duster/Renault Captur. It also has a similar stance thanks to the 205mm of unladen ground clearance. But the Magnite is actually based on the Renault Triber’s CMF-A+ platform. And this is where its rivals need to start sweating. 

The Magnite is a 5-seater SUV with the same underpinnings as a compact 7-seater. You know where this is going.

Not So Compact

The cabin space is sure to be one of the bigger selling points for the Magnite; one that can lure people away not only from direct rivals but also premium hatchbacks. The benchmark for family seating remains the Tata Nexon but the Magnite is generous when it comes to the legroom on offer. A 5 seater? Sure, but only for lean users as the shoulder room makes it better suited for four. Thankfully, the glass area is generous and the cabin feels airy even with the all-black palette. 

Complementing the cabin space is the car’s practicality. There’s adequate room for bottles in the doors and centre console, the glovebox (10L/illuminated) is very accommodating and even the 336 litre boot is up to segment standards. One gripe is that the loading lip is quite high up and there is a significant gap between the boot sill and floor. 

The Experience 

When it comes to trim quality, the Magnite does just enough. You can compare it with the Vitara Brezza when it comes to feel good factor of the cabin i.e. it doesn’t feel particularly upmarket or premium but it is not outright cheap either. The dashboard design is very clean and also a bit cheeky, considering the hexagonal AC vents that seem to take inspiration from a certain Italian super SUV. 

What you will like is the experience from the driver’s seat. Yes, you do sit tall enough to look over the bonnet and the window line is high, so you feel well cocooned. Even the fabric upholstery quality is decent, with the door pads featuring upholstered padding too.

A big talking point is the 7-inch TFT instrument cluster (managed via steering mounted buttons) which is by far one of the best executions we’ve seen in a mass market car. It has a game like quality to it, is nice to look at and fluid to use. 

The 8-inch touchscreen is also decent to use and gets wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay. We used Android Auto and it worked very smoothly, although the touchscreen itself has some lag. The Magnite will get other features like a 6-speaker music system, wireless phone charger and puddle lamps. The latter two are exclusive to what Nissan calls a tech pack, which also upgrades the sound system to a premium (and for now, unnamed) branded setup.

What’s missing? Nothing much, but you won’t see a sunroof, leatherette upholstery or cooled seats like in the Sonet. Not a big deal in our books, since most of these fancy features only show up in the top spec variants.  

So the Magnite’s trump card is being strong not in the variants where its rivals make their headlines, but the variants in which they actually sell the most. Think Sonet HTK+/HTX, Nexon XMS and Venue SX etc.

The safety tech is mostly on point too. Beyond the usual dual airbags, ABS with EBD and rear parking sensors, it also gets tyre pressure monitoring (lowline i.e. no pressure displays) traction control, hill start assist and vehicle dynamics control (Nissan speak for stability control). Yep, you’ve got dedicated mounts for your ISOFIX child seat too. Nissan’s also given the Magnite a surround view camera but like in the Kicks, the resolution makes you not even want to use it. It feels like the car would be better off with a regular rear camera with better quality.

Misses? Well, we did expect more airbags on the higher variants, considering the Triber itself gets optional side airbags.

Drive

We expected this engine to arrive as a premium option for the Triber but Renault-Nissan’s 1.0 litre turbo petrol (code: HRA0), 3 cylinder engine debuts in the Magnite. It’s the younger sibling of the 1.3 turbo offered in the Duster/Kicks. The final engine specs haven’t been revealed but it should produce around 100PS and 152Nm. While a manual transmission comes as standard, it also gets the famed X-Tronic CVT as an option. 

Lower variants might just get the same 1.0 litre naturally aspirated engine as the Triber to help the Magnite get a cheaper starting price. And that’s where the Magnite cannot afford to go wrong. 

Maker or Breaker

The challenge the Magnite faces is that brand Nissan has a lot of faith to restore among customers and dealers alike. Its competitors have all found different needs to cater to and all come from brands that haven’t taken it easy with launches or marketing campaigns. 

To get the Magnite the attention it deserves, Nissan has to price it below the competition. The Magnite is a car that looks really good, is well equipped with features, offers great cabin space, has the appeal of a turbo petrol engine and offers a CVT, not an AMT. Getting the bang for buck formula bang on like Renault did with the Triber is what will decide if this car’s dead on arrival or one hell of a rival. We expect prices to start around Rs 5.5 lakh and top out around Rs 10 lakh ex-showroom with a launch scheduled for early 2021.