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Nissan was expected to showcase a host of new cars destined for India, instead they took a conservative approach and showcased just the facelifted Sunny and a refreshed Evalia. There was no sign of the Qashqai or the new X-Trail which many were hoping to see.

Here's a look at the Nissan stall:



Apart from the refreshed Sunny and Evalia, Nissan showcased a new concept sedan called "Friend-ME".

The usual Indian line up consisting of Micra, Micra Active and Terrano were also on display.

For eye candy, Nissan brought down a GT-R GT500 race version that's part of the japanese Super GT cup.

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Sunny Facelift:

Nissan unveiled a facelifted version of the Sunny that is expected to make it's way by Q2 of this year. The facelift includes updates to exteriors and interiors but no mechanical changes.

Front end is completely changed with new lights, bumper and grill that look really good:


New headlamps look like a copy of the American Altima's. Nissan have gone all out on the chrome with the huge chrome grill, chrome strip on the bumper chin and around the fog lamps:


Massive imposing front grill again looks like it's straight out of the American Altima:




Almost no sheet metal changes in the side view:


The side indicators now move into the ORVM's:


Rear gets more chrome along with a new bumper that has a blackened portion at the bottom which reduces the bulk of the rear significantly:


Mild updates to the tail lamps as well:


New design alloy wheels:


All BLING. More chrome on front fog lamps as well as bumper chin:


The interiors also get significant changes:




New steering wheel looks like it has been lifted right out of a Teana. Superb to hold vs the earlier one:


Steering mounted audio controls feel top class:


Centre console is similar to recently upgraded Micra. No more round AC vents and with piano black finish:


USB/AUX available:


Sunny was known for it's rear seat and now you also get leather seats, something which was available only on the Scala:


Individual reading lights for the rear seat:

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Evalia Face Lift:

When Nissan launched the Evalia there were several major drawbacks which resulted in dismal sales. In October 2013 Nissan updated the Evalia but the effort looked extremely half hearted. Thankfully they have gone the whole hog and made a bunch of much needed changes.

Front gets a complete chrome grill with an additional chrome strip on the hood. Bumper is redesigned to look more sporty compared to the earlier staid looking one:


More chrome here as well:


New alloys get much needed 185 rubber:


Sliding door with aluminum channels to prevent rusting:


A new spoiler at the back:


Rear reflector has been changed to a much larger one with more chrome:


Inside, the silver finish around the centre console is changed to faux wood. It doesn't look bad in person but due to flash, it looks quite gaudy here:


The glove box finally gets a proper lid:






Rear captain seats are quite comfy as moderator Anshuman demonstrates. They don't recline as much if you have the 3rd row of seats folded up. Only when you open the 3rd row, can you recline the bucket seats:


Individual ac vents at the back for second and third row. Much better designed than the aftermarket one showcased earlier in October:

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Nissan had the concept "FRIEND-ME" on display. This wasn't a new concept and was first seen at the Shanghai motor show last year. Apart from the swoopy wave like styling, the talking point about the FRIEND-ME is the interiors which unfortunately weren't open for photos. The idea behind the "Friend-me" is to allow access to the car not just to the driver but all passengers. Each passenger can see details about the car like speed, fuel, range and navigation. Music can be selected by any of the passengers from their phone and shared with the car. Need less to say this was merely a concept and there's nothing production about it.

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The Terrano and Micra Active were on display as well. There were no new updates to either of them save for a few accessories added.







The Micra upgrade which is basically the earlier pre-facelift micra with minor changes to the headlamps and bumper. Petrol model was on display but a diesel has been scooped testing recently:










The Active interiors are same as the earlier Micra's with round AC vents and sans the piano black finish:


Nissan had a cutaway of the popular K9K diesel engine found in the Micra:


Look at how small the turbo is on this. No wonder the Micra and Logan have almost zero turbo lag:




Also on display was a cross section of the Micra's 3 cylinder 1.2L Petrol engine mated to the XTRONIC-CVT unit:






This is the heart of the CVT, the belt:

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Last but not the least, some eye candy, the Nissan GT-R GT500 Super GT cup race car. This one has a 3.4L V8 engine developing over 530 BHP. It won the championship in 2011 and 2012:

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Thread moved out from the Assembly Line.

[ampere]

Really sad to note they had nothing to show up on Qashqai and X-Trail. Was looking to that; esp the Quashqai. Looks like not very curios to bring these guys here.

[W.A.G.7]

The Sunny upgrade seems logical and very nice. Sadly apart from that nothing much they had on display there. Even the Evalia also looks much like the earlier version. I was hoping to see some nice new launches out there, but no. They are again making the same mistakes that they have done over all these 4 years. I can say from my experience that their cars are really good, but unfortunately their company isn't much interested in promoting their cars

EDIT : Where is the thread for Datsun?

[VinodDevil81]

such an overkill of chrome usage on Sunny and Evalia facelifts!!
infact there is no more space left on sunny's exterior to add chrome. IMHO sunny looks more cheap now. The new Headlamp design is good, but the bits of chrome on the front bumper looks ugly and out-of-place. The car would have looked the same or even better without that strip.Why is it that any new facelift in India should carry more chrome and more stickers than the previous model?
And about Evalia, the less said, the better. Nissan cannot yet accept the fact that the product has failed. I don't think that the reason for the pathetic sales of Evalia in India was just because of the lack of all that chrome which it got now. Nissan should get rid of that Mini-van appearance (especially from the rear), make it more innova-like in shape and re-launch it with a completely new model name, if they seriously want to sell it in decent numbers.

[mints21]

I can say from my experience that their cars are really good, but unfortunately their company isn't much interested in promoting their cars

I completely endorse your point. The company has the best in class products but they are themselves to be blamed for killing them.

Evalia has been a disaster from day one. Initially they must have thought a glove box without a lid will act as a first in class feature. Had I been the head of the company, I would have sacked the design engineering head for coming up with such a ridiculous idea. Now when they have completely lost the ground they have started adding essential features which they call it an upgrade.

I have a Nissan Micra diesel variant which had cloaked 75000 on ODO. I have not had any issue with the car. It is a maintenance free car and a very reliable vehicle.

The wafer thin service & dealer network will kill this company in Indian market and they will be seen to continue experimenting like Fiat. Their dream of 10% market share in India will always remain a dream.

[pratyush.]

So much chrome makes the Sunny appear a little garish. The new grille design is a welcome move, but seriously, do they just assume bling will ring in the numbers?

Really appreciate the new steering wheel too! The current one seems lifeless to hold.

[terra85]

Some car magazines have been talking about distribution woes with regards to Nissan. Can anyone throw some light on the subject. Renault started out later but has more dealers than Nissan can't understand why Nissan are so slow.

[drmohitg]

The Sunny looks really good from the outside with the refreshed model. The best change is the headlights and the black part of the rear bumper which has really broken the monotony at the rear. But I am not sure I liked the interiors that much. The steering sure looks great but the dash layout was more with the character of the car in the current generation car. Now it looks like any of the other cars out there.

[Kaumad]

No Datsun coverage?
No GT Academy coverage?