Nissan Evalia : Official Review

[sourabhzen]

The rear of the Evalia reminds me of late 70's VW bus. The one which was used by numerous Hindi movie villains during their operations. The idea sliding doors might also be inspired from Volkswagon Bus!

[anekho]

Nice one, guys!

I have a hard time seeing the Evalia trump the Innova. It's boxy design won't go down well with people who have the budget to afford an Innova - after all many people see/use the Innova as a 'status' vehicle. The design would be justified if it offered clever internal packaging - with excellent room and comfort all around, which it doesn't really seem to do.

Add to that the fact that the engine seems somewhat lackluster and that she's not much of a handler (the Innova handles pretty well - more car like) and there's not much going for the Evalia.

I think Nissan are going to have to price this in a manner at which they can win over Xylo buyers. People who can afford purchasing the Innova will continue to do so. Fleet owners won't be too happy about the lack of a widespread service network. Also, the Evalia's service costs are uncharted territory.

On a side note, the Evalia would make for a great base as a customized (with hydraulic lifts, ramps etc.) vehicle for wheel chair bound people.

[speedmiester]

Excellent review as always.

Nissan seems to have a winner on it's hands if priced sensibly. Contrary to popular belief, this will be hugely popular with large families. Kudos to Nissan for not skimping on the safety equipment even on the basic trim levels.

Evalia could soon replace Logan and Indigo as the preferred Airport cabs.

[Enigmatic]

Brilliant review !! as always ..

Had been waiting for a long time to read about the Evalia and I must say im disappointed.
I dont want to be too harsh without checking out the Evalia in person but as per the review, there seems to be cost cutting in almost every aspect (of-course other than on the safety front ) !

Moreover things like no roll down windows for the middle row , no aircon vents (middle row ) and only on the right side for the last row, those puny tiers that are best suited on a WagonR , no NVH insulation under the hood , forget about ACC and steering mounted controls ,these all are very basic things that every customer expects !!

The only way the Evalia can bring some volumes home is if they price it really really low .
And to be brutally honest I personally do not see any Innova buyer lining up for this outside a Nissan dealership .

[sukiwa]

I feel taxi market (commercial segment) would prefer these compared to Innova. Commercial buyers of Innova have a viable option in Evalia now & chances of drop in sale for Innova are high.
Short comings of features would make personal buyer look elsewhere (Ertiga, Xylo or Innova).

Tyre size & air pressure: Too skinny tyre width for this vehicle size. Did you get opportunity to test vehicle with 5 or more persons or considerable luggage? Is 45 PSI air pressure for all four tyres or only rear tyres?

[vibbs]

Superb review, rated 5 stars.

As much as I am impressed by the amount of space in offer, I must say on a whole it does nt look much appealing to me. The taxi operators will be really happy if priced properly, but I think it would be really difficult to convince the private car owners to buy this one. Too utilitarian in my opinion.

As you rightly said it does look like a parcel van and the interior quality does nt seem very great. They could have given options for captain seats in the second row to make the whole package a little more appealing. But I must say I am very impressed with the third row seats. I am 5'10 and have travelled in the third row of Innova and believe me I would not want to go back there. But looking at the pictures Evalia seems a full step ahead of Innova in Third row space. That is a major plus and we finally have a true third row vehicle that does not compromise too much on luggage space too with all the rows up. Pity that all this means it has to compromise on the look and feel factor.

Would be interesting to see how they price it. It for sure has to undercut Innova and also make sure that it is not too much off from what Mahindra has priced Xylo at. IMO private buyers would still be tempted to go for Xylo over this one.

[fine69]

Were the sliding doors bad ergonomically?

BTW I see this vehicle becoming a fav with the hotels.

[.sushilkumar]

Nice review there rehaan .

I am sure they are targeting commercial customers straightway ( call center / BPO cabs where it stays within city). Another point which comes to my mind is how this tall boy design with those skinny tyres will behave in hills or a Medium speed maneuver On curve. I have seen at least 5 odd Xylo;s in deep ditches in my native place in himachal and this One is even more worse. no doubt marshals and sumo;s still rule hills .

[sahakar]

The price will be the main deciding factor on how the Evalia does. I hope Nissan has worked out the price thingie else may turn out to be another dud.

Cheers

[magikrider]

Good review as always! however I feel its a mistake that Nissan has bought this car in india. The car or shall I say the van doesn't look bad at all but i don't see this turning into a success either. doesn't matter if nissan prices it cheaper than innova. only section it will attract is Private Taxi. maybe it can find its sales in there. but it wont build any image for sure. because just by looking at it, I can imagine Japanese tourists stepping out of it with cameras around their neck and wearing hats! specially in this color!

Innova on the other hand looks far more sturdy and reliable. would choose Innova any given day instead. It would have been great if Nissan had bought a proper MUV or even an SUV instead. or maybe even a sedan above the sunny competing in the 12-15 lac segment with the Altis, Civic, Cruze etc.

[mayankjha1806]

Excellent review Vidyut and Rehaan, a well deserved 5*.

Evalia will do well against Innova, if Nissan delivers on the A.S.S area. Although i did not like the looks, the sliding doors or the fact that it runs on leaf springs, it still does not matter for the people mover segment. All that matters is how economical it is to run and maintain.

[invidious]

While the looks make it seem like an American soccer mom's car from the early 1990s; I can see why the versatility and flexibility of space it offers to an Indian family might just help Nissan position this as the first real competitor to the Innova. Isn't Nissan owned by GM - 33% stake or some such? So do we see a future Tavera which is similar?

[venks]

Thanks Rehaan and vid6639 for your great review ! I was awaiting t-bhp review on this car. This looks like a good people mover and hopefully would be priced competitively to Innova. I believe this would give a good competition to Innova, at least in the taxi segment. It is much more spacious with decent 3rd row and would have great FE.

[infotech58]

While Evalia seems to be a very competent vehicle in itself, I do not see it impacting the market of Innova much - looks, and smaller engine to blame. However, if it is priced near and under 10 lac, it may eat up some market share from other players.
I am happy to see a lot of traction in the UV space, now only wish is that Honda brings the Odyssey to India.

[smartcat]

1) Nissan earns brownie points for safety by offering 3 point seatbelts for the third row, and loses it all by offering autorickshaw tyres.

2) Looks good from the front, and OK from the side. The owner just needs to park the Evalia in such a way that he never sees the backside of the car.

3) Having a small engine bay seems to have freed up lots of space inside. That's why we have 3 rows of seats plus decent space of luggage, on a car that is just 4.4 metres in length. Ertiga, Innova & Xylo has little or no boot space with all rows up, and this could be an USP for Evalia.