Team-BHP - Nissan Sunny Diesel : Test Drive & Review

Test drove the Sunny and the Vento back to back:
My observations:

The initial feeling when getting into the Sunny was "Wow!! This feels so comfortable!!" The space and the colour combination gives a very spacious look to the interiors, in fact, it seems more spacious than it really is.
I am a sedate city driver and the low end torque was just adequate for me. It starts off well but when one wants to accelerate there is a SLIGHT pause before the car realises that it has to get on with it.
The braking is HORRIBLE. Spongy brakes which do not inspire any confidence at all. I felt the clutch in the test drive vehicle was much harder than the one in the Vento I drove.

The Vento seemed cramped for space, on the other hand. As I am driving the ZX model of the Honda City now, the difference in back seat comfort and space is humongous. The back seat is trimmed in length and it is lower than the Sunny and the City. So that even though there is adequate legroom, the underthigh support and overall comfort of the back seat are not comparable to the Sunny or the City ZX.
I felt no difference in the accelerator response between the Petrol City and the Diesel Vento. The car zoomed at a touch and the brakes are eons more confidence inspiring than the Sunny. The clutch seemed to me lighter than the Sunny or the City ZX.

My vote would go to the Vento as an overall package.

Quote:

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious (Post 2676083)

Congrats on the booking. Could you provide a small comparo between the 3 models listed above?

Please note that 70% of my time in this car will be in the rear seat. Moreover, ABS + 2 Airbags are a must-have requirement for me. So the price difference became quite extraordinary!

Sunny XL 8.8 Lacs on road
Skoda Rapid Top End : 10 Lacs on road
VW Vento Top End: 11 + Lacs on road

Skoda Rapid

Pros:

1. Good acceleration.
2. Decent Interiors
3. Well Built
4. Its a Vento for 1 lac off!!

Cons:

1. Skoda After Sales
2. Noisy Engine.
3. Space (specially compared to the Sunny)
4. Transmission Tunnel in Rear Seat, so seating 3 is uncomfortable.

VW Vento

Pros:

1. Decent Interiors
2. Well Built
3. Best looking car in this comparo - By Far.

Cons:

1. Noisy Engine.
2. Space (specially compared to the Sunny)
3. Transmission Tunnel in Rear Seat, so seating 3 is uncomfortable.
4. Price

Nissan Sunny

Pros

1. Most Spacious / Comfortable
2. Most silent of the the three
3. Most comfortable ride
4. Decent to Drive.
5. Japanese Brand + Proven Renault Engine = Reliable ( I hope!)
6. Feels well built

Cons

1. Not great looking exteriors
2. Horribly designed interiors - Specially the A/C Vents + Controls.

Today we test drove the Sunny diesel to help a friend with evaluation of C-segment sedans. We had test driven Linea and Fiesta in the last two days. We chose the same TD route today also to make a more direct comparison between the cars.

The most impressive aspect of the Sunny is obviously the space. Rear legroom is absolutely amazing. Sitting behind my friend who is about 6-foot tall, I could almost fully stretch my legs. The competition isn't even close in this aspect. The interior color combination is quite pleasent, especially at the rear, but the front panel seems to have too many colors. Chrome inner door openers are nice on their own, but I felt they stick out like a sore thumb in the color scheme. Quality seems to be high on the inside.

Driving position is good and I was quite comfortable with the car. There's definitely turbo lag, but not much by any standards. Gearshift is not perfect. But, the TD itself left me disappointed. The Sunny is a light car compared to its competitors and it shows. When I was at the rear and my friend took a few fast turns, I felt as if I was floating. Even though I was wearing the seat belt, I felt like holding on to somewhere, just to be sure. Having been used to my Punto's steering, the Sunny's steering felt a bit too light for me. The route we used is my usual route when I visit my hometown and the difference in the steering feel was glaringly obvious. And then there's the brakes - the braking is poor. You press the brakes and for a little while, nothing happens. You need to think 2 seconds ahead while braking. Coupled with the really light feeling in the turns, the TD didn't give me any confidence at all in the car.

My friend who was evaluating the car also felt the same. He being someone who likes to drive and drive fast, was not very impressed with the Sunny. Me being biased towards my Punto took the opportunity to give him a TD in my car on the same route - just to reinforce the point :D

BTW, what engine oil does the Sunny diesel use? The SE was mentioning that it uses fully-synthetic oil and still the service cost will only be around Rs.2000. I found that very hard to believe.

I had a test drive of Sunny last Saturday, and I am impressed with the Space, features and the engine which was responsive enough.

To my surprise, against many other's experience, I didn't feel any turbo lag, and over taking was amazingly went well. I loved its ride. The engine was very calm inside the cabin. It wasn't roaring much outside too.

What I didn't like is the too light steering wheel, and some of the quality bits (which is negligible).

The read seat is 5 star comfort though the suspension isn't so great. I would recommend this car to anyone any day, if they are seriously looking for a Diesel sedan for 10L.

Quote:

Originally Posted by agbenny

I quite agree agbenny. The Sunny diesel is a good car and except for the lesser driving pleasure it offers it is quite comparable to the Verna Fluidic, Vento and Rapid diesel league. I keep wondering why the car is categorised with the likes of Verito, Dezire, Logan, Manza etc.

My BIL is looking towards replacing his aging corolla with a smaller C-Seg diesel. He looked at Sunny, VW & Skoda and knowing the pitfalls of VW & SKoda, is inclined towards Sunny since he is a back bencher. He & his driver took a TD of the Sunny and felt that brakes were not upto the mark.
I keep reading about spongy brakes all the time on the forum. Are the brakes really so unresponsive that even occasional drivers like my BIL sense the flaw immediately?
What could be the reason and how come Nissan themselves don't know about it yet and fix the issue? I remember driving my BILs fortuner and i pointed out ineffective brakes. And 6months down the line, the toyota dealer in jodhpur called up and fixed the brakes for almost free! Sunny's been around for a while now so am assuming Nissan has enough feedback to know the issue.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417 (Post 2696859)

I keep reading about spongy brakes all the time on the forum. Are the brakes really so unresponsive that even occasional drivers like my BIL sense the flaw immediately?

Yes!! The brakes do seem a little late to respond. Like I said in my post earlier, you need to think 2s ahead while braking.

That said, since your BIL will spend more time on the rear seat, there's no other car in the segment which offers the legroom that Sunny offers. If your BIL's driver is the sedate kind, then probably Sunny is still a good option. My friend who was evaluating the Sunny is not of the sedate kind and has decided not to buy it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cityvic

Guys what should be a Better Buy?

New Maruti Suzuki Dzire ZDI or Nissan Sunny Diesel XV?

Have no doubts. Sunny Diesel XV. It's a league apart. I don't think Dzire is comparable in terms of price or features. I feel that Manza, Dzire, Etios and Logan / Verito fall into a group and Sunny stands somewhere between them and the Vento. This is a personal opinion - wonder what other BHpians think.