[Omkar]

Nissan Magnite AMT Review

Since the Nissan Magnite has already been reviewed by Team-BHP, this report will only focus on changes made to the AMT version. To read the full official review of the Nissan Magnite, click here.

Introduction

It was back in December 2020 that Nissan launched the Magnite in India. While the market was still recovering from the havoc wreaked by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Magnite was well received. It ticked a lot of the right boxes and has been carrying the weight of the company single-handedly since. The Magnite does ~2,200 units per month, but the graph has flatlined for some time now and this would’ve been a perfect time for Nissan to launch a facelift. However, we’ll have to wait till next year for that. For now, Nissan has introduced an AMT variant with its naturally aspirated engine.

This 1.0L NA + AMT combination isn’t something new. It has been available in the Magnite's cousin - the Renault Kiger since February 2021. So, why wait for almost 3 years to introduce an AMT variant of the Magnite? Maybe because Nissan wanted to focus primarily on the sales of the CVT where the margins are higher. Or maybe Renault wanted to keep the AMT to themselves for some time. Or could be both. Whatever the reason, it’s here now, and it gives the car a bit more ammunition to compete against the Tata Punch which has been killing it in the segment. Nissan has also made sure that the AMT variant is accessible to all buyers by offering it in all 4 variants. Prices will be revealed soon. Meanwhile, we got to drive the car in Chennai, and here are our observations.

[Omkar]

Nissan Magnite AMT Exterior Review

Since this is not a facelift, there are no changes to the exterior of the car. The aggressive looking front end has started to show its age, but the Magnite still manages to stand out from the crowd:


The Magnite measures 3,994 mm in length, 1,758 mm in width and 1,572 mm in height with a wheelbase of 2,500 mm. Unladen ground clearance is 205 mm:


16-inch wheels are standard across all variants and are shod with 195/60 section tyres. Lower variants get steel wheels while the XV and XV Premium variants get diamond-cut alloy wheels:


New with the AMT variant is this Onyx Black roof option with the Vivid Blue paint shade. This looks much better than the earlier white roof option IMO (reference image):


ORVM houses the side camera for the 360-degree view system. Also, note that the ORVM covers are roof coloured:


"EZ-Shift" badge on the tailgate indicates that this is the AMT variant:

[Omkar]

Nissan Magnite AMT Interior Review

There are no changes to the interiors as well and the overall design remains likeable. Quality of materials is budget grade:


The AMT variant doesn’t get cruise control:


Gear position is displayed at the bottom of the instrument cluster:


Move the gear lever to D without pressing the brake pedal and you'll see this error on the MID:


Cruise control switch is missing from the switch panel on the right side of the driver. Also note that the Magnite now gets ESP, hill start assist, traction control and hydraulic brake assist as standard across all variants


Footwell gets a usable dead pedal. The brake and accelerator pedals are placed pretty close to each other:


The AMT gear lever. Manual mode is engaged by pushing the gear lever away from the driver in D mode. Upshifts are executed by pulling the gear lever backwards and downshifts are by pushing the gear lever forwards:


Wireless charging pad is a part of the ‘Tech Pack’ which is available at a dealer level as an accessory:


Sunvisors have been swapped out for cheaper ones. The sunvisors on the car we drove in 2020 had vanity mirrors with covers for the driver and passenger (reference image):

[Omkar]

Driving the Nissan Magnite 1.0L NA Petrol AMT

1.0L, 3-cylinder naturally-aspirated engine puts out 71 BHP @ 6,250 rpm and 96 Nm @ 3,500 rpm. It’s mated to a 5-speed automated manual transmission:


While the 1.0L turbo petrol engine of the Magnite is peppy and packs good punch, the same can’t be said for this naturally-aspirated engine. It is, however, the more affordable option, which is why it accounts for a majority of the sales. And now, with the introduction of the AMT variant, Nissan hopes to attract some more customers.

Take your foot off the brake pedal and the car crawls forward. Yes, it has a creep function, and you’ll reach 6 km/h without any throttle input. There is a bit of hesitance while setting off and it’s not as smooth as conventional automatics, but you’ll get used to it soon enough. Adding a bit of accelerator input sees the car lunge forward, so you have to be careful with the application at slow speeds. In bumper-to-bumper traffic, particularly, this can get annoying. People who’ve never driven an automatic before will find not mind this, but those who have driven conventional automatic cars, it can be an irritant. The good thing is that the car comes with hill start assist which helps when you’re crawling up an incline.

Get up to speed and you can keep up with the traffic in the city. Upshifts are relatively smooth, but you still get the typical ‘AMT head nod’. Predicting the shift points and lifting off the throttle helps ever so slightly, but it’s still not as smooth as the Hyundai AMTs with electronic actuators. Put your foot down to close a gap and while the gearbox is quick to respond with a downshift or two, the engine struggles to keep up with the demand. There’s plenty of engine noise as the revs climb, but you’ll be left wanting for more power. Better to drive this car sedately for a smoother driving experience. There are no drive modes like in the Punch, but the Magnite AMT fairs slightly better than the Tata in the city.

Out on the highway, cruising in the Magnite AMT is what you should be doing. The gearbox is upshift friendly and you will see it shift to 5th gear when the speedo hits 55 km/h. Reaching 100 km/h isn’t too cumbersome and the Magnite can handle relaxed driving pretty well. Try extracting some performance out of the engine, and you will be disappointed. The power delivery is pretty linear and while it doesn’t taper off as the revs climb, the progress is pretty slow. What’s worse is that the engine noise gets annoying at high revs as it doesn’t sound sporty, but is very strained. Kickdown response from cruising speeds isn’t that great either and you will need to plan your overtakes in advance. Flooring the accelerator from 100 km/h or 80 km/h sees the gearbox drop just one gear which makes the progress pretty slow. We’d recommend you shift to Manual mode and drop down two gears if there’s a need for a quick overtake.

All in all, the Magnite AMT makes sense for someone who’s on a tight budget and wants the convenience of an automatic. For someone who’s primarily going to be doing single-foot driving, and can spend more, be sure to ask the dealership for a test drive of the Magnite CVT before finalising the deal.

Noise, Vibration & Harshness (NVH)

While Nissan claims to have improved the NVH levels of the Magnite, this is still a 3-cylinder engine and comes with all the inherent traits of one. There’s cabin shake when you start the car and you can feel some vibrations through the steering wheel, pedals and even the seat. At low revs, the NVH levels are tolerable, but go higher up the rev range and the engine gets loud and sounds strained, particularly above 4,000 rpm. Wind and tyre noise are well controlled at highway speeds.

Mileage & Fuel Economy

The claimed fuel efficiency of the Magnite AMT is 19.70 km/l which is 0.35 km/l more than that of the MT. You don’t get an ECO drive mode or idling start / stop system like in the Tata Punch to bump up that fuel efficiency number.

Magnite is still not E20 fuel compliant. Fuel tank capacity is 40 litres:

Suspension

The Magnite comes with a McPherson strut suspension with a stabiliser bar at the front and twin tube telescopic shock absorbers at the rear. There is no major noticeable difference between the 1.0L naturally aspirated AMT variant that we drove and the 1.0L turbo petrol variant we drove during our review in 2020.

Ride Comfort

While almost all the crossovers in this segment have a firm edge to the ride (due to their height), the low-speed ride quality of the Magnite is even firmer than you would expect! While the ride is still liveable, it still takes some time getting used to. Even medium-sized potholes make their presence felt inside. Urban ride comfort will be the biggest complaint of Magnite owners. The ride feels a little more comfortable on the expressway, but never plush. Blame this partly on the 36 PSI tyre pressure that is recommended by Nissan. We tried dropping it to 32 PSI and while that did improve matters, we still felt everything on the road! Nissan should have softened things for imperfect Indian roads. All variants of the Magnite are equipped with 16" wheels shod with 195/60 section rubber. The car’s tyres could have been taller. This would have ensured that the wheel wells would be filled and improved the ride quality as well.

Handling & Dynamics

As is the case with most monocoque crossovers, the Magnite is very easy & car-like to drive, whether in the city or on the highway. On the open road, straight-line stability at high speeds is satisfactory. The car doesn’t feel twitchy over bumps & undulations.

Coming to handling, the Magnite’s firm suspension helps. The car remains composed even when pushed through corners. While there is some body roll, it's not excessive. You can even hustle the car through a series of twisty roads confidently. All the variants are equipped with ESP which can be a lifesaver in an emergency manouveur.

Wheels & Tyres

Grip from the 195/60 MRF Wanderer tyres is acceptable for the Magnite AMT’s performance.

Steering

The electric power steering is light and smooth at parking / city speeds. Along with its small size, this makes for a very easy car to drive in urban conditions. Further, its turning radius of 5.0 m is the tightest in the segment. On the highway, the steering weighs up enough and is never nervous or overly sensitive. On the flip side, enthusiasts will find the steering to be slow, vague & having weight that's too artificial.

Ground Clearance

The Magnite comes with an unladen ground clearance rating of 205 mm, which is more than enough to take on the worst of Indian roads.

Braking

The Magnite is equipped with disc brakes at the front and drums at the rear, with ABS + EBD and hydraulic brake assist (HBA). The brakes perform as expected. Do note that the second half of the brake pedal travel is quite sensitive, this will take a couple of km to get used to.

[Omkar]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to Official Reviews.

[GrammarNazi]

TPLACs (Three Pot Little AMT Car) only need to satisfactorily "get the job done" at an economy (VFM) retail price, for a not-too-small car that'll go the distance with fuel economy and with respect to longevity. The Magnite is expected to cost a little more than a WagonR, have a similar fuel economy and yet look & drive almost like a Sonet or a Nexon.

People buying the Magnite must temper their expectations to be mindful that TPLACs aren't designed to satisfy the enthusiast. They're barely meant to be very comfortable either! Its designed usage purpose is to tightly fit 5 people and their luggage for travelling between A-B at a cost & economy as that of an A Segment city driven hatchback.

The Magnite could've been better in a few aspects, sure, but it does not look like it fails to deliver any of the above.

[Joe367]

Is it true that the base Magnite AMT model will be a lakh cheaper than the Punch/Exter?

[Knightrider]

Originally Posted by Joe367

Is it true that the base Magnite AMT model will be a lakh cheaper than the Punch/Exter?

The base variants of all the 3 cars Punch, Exter and Magnite for Manual transmission start at Rs.5.99L. Since Magnite will be offering AMT from base variant itself add around 60-70k. So AMT Magnite may start at around Rs.6.70L ex-showroom.
For Punch, AMT starts at 7.5L (Adventure variant) and for Exter, S AMT variant comes at around 8.05L.

So, not just Punch and Exter, Magnite AMT will be cheaper than Swift and almost similar to WagonR VXI AMT variants making it extremely VFM.

[Sufficient_shop]

That classy blue colour is the ONLY thing I find exciting with this new offering.

[TusharK]

Nissan Magnite AMT launched at Rs 6.50 lakh

Nissan has announced the launch of the Magnite AMT. The Magnite EZ-Shift is available in four variants, starting at an introductory price of Rs 6,49,900 (ex-showroom).



The Nissan Magnite AMT is available in XE, XL, XV and XV Premium trims. It is also offered in the recently launched Kuro Edition.

The Magnite AMT is powered by a 1.0-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine that makes 71 BHP and 96 Nm. The engine is mated with a 5-speed automated manual transmission.



The Magnite EZ-Shift gearbox offers automatic and manual driving modes. It features anti-stall and kick-down as well as a creep function that lets you drive the car at low speed by releasing the brake pedal without having to use the accelerator. It also comes with Vehicle Dynamic Control as standard, along with Hill Start Assist.

The ARAI-certified fuel efficiency of the EZ-Shift is 19.70 km/l, while that of the manual version stands at 19.35 km/l.

Nissan has launched a new dual-tone shade of Blue and Black on the Magnite AMT. The introductory pricing is valid till November 10, 2023.

Nissan Magnite AMT ex-showroom prices:

XE – Rs 6,49,900
XL – Rs 7,44,000
XV – Rs 8,21,000
Kuro Special Edition – Rs 8,67,000
XV Premium – Rs 8,89,500

Link to Team-BHP News

[SutilSapien]

The fact that they've been able to price a CSUV with an AMT at the price point of a Swift, WagonR etc is surprising. Shows you how much margins OEMs still rake in, in the sub 8 lakh segment. This immediately becomes the best vfm car for people wanting a safe (4 star NCAP with passive safety kit), practical and spacious car, with a functional automatic that rides like a CSUV but for a cost of a Swift, WagonR.

People not amused by power figures and smoothness have the Magnite Turbo CVT option. The AMT option is squarely aimed at sections of the public for whom a functional and practical automatic is an aspirational product. This should keep the bean counters rolling until Nissan brings more launches.

[bijims]

The cheapest AMT, The Alto K10 VXI AGS costs Rs.5,61,000 ex-showroom, and with the base model Wagon-R 1.0 AMT costing Rs.6,54,500 ex-showroom, The Magnite AMT with its 4-star safety rating, space and SUV like appearance should sell in good numbers, but with only one car in its portfolio, it's definitely high time that Nissan look at bringing in a few other options, how long can it survive with the Magnite. It's already three years in the market and without any major updates as such too.

[krankstter]

Originally Posted by bijims

How long can it survive with the Magnite?

True, this looks a lot like another Ford in the making. In fact, even worse since Ford sort of left voluntarily, these guys might be forced, with no other option left even. Same with Renault as well.

[wolf_lone]

This car desperately needs a 1.2L 4 Cylinder engine. Until then it will keep selling less & less.

[84.monsoon]

Good to see Nissan introduce the AMT across all variants. In the case of the Renault Triber, the AMT is available only on the two highest variants. Guess the company has to give their Nissan dealers some kind of lifeline to survive. When shopping for a basic car for my mom, went to a Nissan showroom and its was pretty dead. The one and only car they have to sell is the Magnite! Renault was slightly better as they had three cars to sell - the Triber, Kiger and Kwid.

It is a sad to see a brand, that has such a broad range of vehicles to offer across markets, including sports cars, true-blur SUVs, sedans and cross-overs with such a pathetic range of just one car in an important market like India. Despite many announcements to bring multiple SUVs to India, nothing is happening on the ground. Don't know ho much longer the dealerships will hold on - some will definitely exit soon as they are sitting on prime and expensive real estate.