Nissan Evalia : Official Review

[Ford5]

I like those sliding doors. 2 Maruti jap Vans and one Omni later in our extended family has made me appreciate sliding doors. It sort of helps if you want a quick get away situation like when the car is moving slowly and the driver doesn't want to stop ! (do not try this)

[aravind.anand]

If I were looking for a MUV, I simply would give Nissan's showroom a skip. The following would be my deal breakers-
>Skimpy tyres and tiny 14 inch wheels are inadequate even for the Swift!
>The boxy looks would have been dated even if it had been launched when the Qualis was ruling! Front end is the only saving grace.
>I don't want my family to jump into the rear seat with 50 cms height to be cleared during ingress each time.
>I ain't going to be kidnapping people, and thus wont prefer sliding doors and hinged windows on a car with 3 rows of seating.
>I hate my dashboard to be so frank in showing the passengers what I have stowed in! Serious oversight for a car competing with the Innova, Xylo and the Ertiga!

[predatorwheelz]

Lovely review. The Ertiga has taken the market by storm no doubt, by being a smaller, lighter and cheaper (but equally capable) rival to the Innova. Now the Evalia comes in more as a left wing option. I think more Indian customers will be willing to overlook the ergonomic glitches in favour of the VFM proposition.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

However, I am confused about the tires.
They are light truck tires and recommended filling is 45PSI.
Now if you ¨upgrade¨ to car tires of lets say 185 width, you cannot put in 45PSI. Most of the car tires have max safe limit of 40PSI.
So you have to find light truck tires of wider section width.
I wonder if any such tires are available in the market easily

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Good point!

However, a tyre's suggested inflation pressure is not linked to the vehicle per se (45 psi in this case).

Its linked to the model of tyre and its specifications (size, load index, etc).

What you'd probably need to do is find a tyre that has a sufficient LOAD INDEX for the Evalia. It should be able to handle the vehicle weight + max passengers / luggage.

In search of a 185 14" LT tyre, maybe this fits the bill.
'
Michelin Agilis

[byomjeet]

Nice review. The sliding doors and absence of roll-down windows in the second row probably will make it a lil unattractive to some. The major drawback would be its 1.5 Ltr. engine which gives a paltry 85 PS of power. Nevertheless it will give good mileage. Again, Nissan should price the vehicle strategically lower than Xylo and Innova to compete in the market. We are going to see many of this MUV on roads with yellow number plates. All the best Nissan India.

[bblost]

I love the Evalia.

But I don't like the tires.
And I wish they gave seats that could swivel around.

I absolutely love the gear box placement.

Thanks for a lovely review.

[idofsuresh]

Full marks to Nissan for giving safety equipment across the range & a brickbat for puny tyres. Are they risking safety with those tyres considering that there could be 8 full blown adults traveling in that yellow board car ? With that kind of a look, I don't see a lot of private owners buying it. In India, many private cars are bought for image + VFM and not just utility. Rear windows should be openable even if it is for occasional use.

NV200: http://www.nissancommercialvehicles....-compact-cargo - Full and full cargo vehicle.

[Rehaan]

Observation: almost every reply here mentions the word "taxi"

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

Do they have any plan of launching a petrol variant or another version of the diesel one in future?

No mention of this. Seems very unlikely.

Originally Posted by sukiwa

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?

Actually almost all of our review was done with 5 passengers on-board. Seemed like a good number to have. 45 psi is recommended for all 4 tyres.

Originally Posted by fine69

Were the sliding doors bad ergonomically?

The doors were light and easy to operate, plus they shut nicely on the first try (unlike other sliding doors which take some getting used to when closing). Ergonomics were only an issue for getting in and out, not whilst operating the door.

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

Do you guys think Evalia will sweep the markets like How Fortuner or XUV or Qualis did or would be a Market Dud like Aria.

I don't think it will be at either extreme. The yet to be announced pricing will of course play a big part in this.

Also since we're talking segments, do note that the "very successful" Fortuner and XUV move about ~1,300 and ~3,200 units per month. The Innova consistently does 6,500+!

Originally Posted by ghostrider

Most of the time you could cure this by putting the windows down and letting some fresh air into the cabin.

Good point. Also, private owners do say that they rarely open their windows (thanks to constant air conditioning) - but given the large percentage of commercial owners buying this, its definitely going to be an issue.

Originally Posted by ghostrider

Another thing about the Innova (and the Xylo) is that their engines were extremely suited to long-haul driving. Even at speeds of 120 or so, the engines weren't strained at all, they ticked over fairly lazily at low revs. In the Evalia (and the Ertiga) however, the smaller blocks will mean (a) higher revs (which means more cabin noise, which creates more tiredness)

When compared to the Innova, I think the Evalia is actually more pleasant to be driving at 120 km/h in terms of cabin noise / engine strain / vibrations. The Innova is just very poor in this respect for a multitude of reasons (A close look at the 2012 Toyota Innova facelift).

cya
R

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by Blue Thunder

Point to be noted is that these are parabolic leaf springs and not conventional semi-elliptical leaf springs. This probably explains the good ride quality. Well-designed parabolic systems can offer ride comfort comparable to coil-spring suspensions.

Thanks! Will read up on this a bit and then add it into the review.

Originally Posted by John

In the UK, the Evalia (NV200) is shod with 175/70R14C tyres (the C being for Commercial which is equivalent to LT, I presume)...

"C" is actually the Load Range of the Light Truck tyre.

The high pressures are probably spec'd for these tyres since they are designed to consistently carry higher loads.

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

In search of a 185 14" LT tyre, maybe this fits the bill.

I don't think the Evalia's tyres have to be LT tyres, given that laden weight will be less than an Innova or Xylo.

Originally Posted by ambujlal

On the other hand if taxi operators can buy Etios, I am sure they would make a queue for this.

Very interesting parallel (Evalia <=> Etios)!! One that i hadn't thought of. Its quite apt in many ways.

Originally Posted by viggienomad

Already Evalia looks more like a 'utility' vehicle. Will Ashok Leyland's Stile will be positioned further down?

Yes it will definitely be positioned further down.

In terms of how this is possible - think about how the Versa became the Eeco.

cya
R

[Vid6639]

Excellent review Rehaan. Had a lot of fun driving the Evalia around Bangalore and to Nandi Hills.

During the whole drive we could see Innova drivers curiously looking at the Evalia. It was amusing to drive by and then have the Innova guy trying to peek at the space at the back rows.

Compared to the Ertiga, the Evalia scores on space. Performance is better in the ERtiga and the Ertiga has much better NVH. The Evalia is even more car like to drive than the Innova with smaller turning radius, lighter clutch and car like gear box.

I hope Nissan realises that they should not be targeting the Innova at all and instead look at a price point above the Ertiga and on par with the Xylo. Anything more and even commercial use will be difficult.

Some things that Nissan needs to fix before launch are:
1. Rear wiper
2. Rear defogger
3. Day/night mirror
4. USB ready HU

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

The Evalia in black has the potential to look good with some dark tints, after-market alloys and thicker rubber.

Here's what i meant by the above.



I have only added tints and changed the alloy wheel design (more like a 15" size) in photoshop.

cya
R

[deetjohn]

Excellent review Rehaan & Vid6639. Thanks for sharing. And Kudos to Nissan for loading the Evalia with safety kit.

Love the colour MID and center console. The glove box without the lid score neither on form nor function is it? The key less go sensors look very awkward on the outside. The window less rear seat is a crime.

45 psi, leaf springs, 165/80 R14 LT tyres and you guys found the ride comfort to be decent. I am baffled! Where in Bangalore did you do the test?

Overall, the Evalia doesn't appeal as a private UV. It is understandable as the UV was not meant out to be a people carrier. And its not like Nissan doesn't have vehicles in this category. Serena, Grand Livina? Bad show from Nissan.

[John]

Since there has been some discussion here regarding the tyres of the Evalia, just thought that some light should be thrown on the merits/demerits of swapping LT tyres for P tyres. Check the following:

Advice: Light Truck vs Passenger car tires: what you should know - Autos.ca

http://nittotire.com/Content/pdf/Rep...20Bulletin.pdf

[aka_iitd]

Thanks Rehaan and vid6639 for your review
I have one question
Do the sponsor's asked about your feedback before they roll out in market or they will check TBHP page for the review

I personally feel Bhpians gives lot of relevant feedback and manufacture should consider them as much as possible before the launch

[undead]

Great review guys. seems to be a good package for some private people and cabs will prefer this due to higher fuel efficiency.
Price to be the deciding factor .
Good product from nissan.

[lohithrao]

Superb review guys, kudos to the team!

Anyways certainly this vehicle wont create ripples as the Scorpio...Ertiga or the Duster but am sure it will click with certain mass, if one can digest the exterior look esp the rear end.. i felt interior looks very nice and spacious, even the plastic quality seems to be good?

Space wise i feel this is ahead of its competition!

Bblost is this your next car?