[Seeler_Rebeiro]

Hi all - Wanted to share my experience of getting a new sedan. After 14 years of driving the Palio, 8 yrs with the 1.2, and 5 years with the 1.6 Stile, it was time for an upgrade. And so the search began ....I'll keep it short.

My priorities were
1) A budget of around 9L OTR Mumbai. After selling my old car, I expect to shell out around 8L max.
2) Decent enough rear room space. I'm 6 feet 2, and all the men in my family are 6 feet and above.
3) Safety (Airbags, EBD etc a must)
4) Sufficient features (min - auto mirror folding, climate control, rear vents)
5) Petrol efficiency - At least 10 km/litre in Mumbai city driving conditions.

Which cars
1) Volkswagen Vento - Solid car. Well put together.
What suited my priorities
1) Good build. Had a similar feeling to the Palio. Nice.
2) Very good engine and driveability
3) Good enough feature set
What did not
1) Restricted rear space.
2) High price. Costly.

2) Skoda Rapid - Did not test drive. I had colleagues who were ripped off by dealers for simple spare parts.

3) Fiat Linea (Not T-Jet) - Since I owned a FIATs before, I did look at the linea a couple of times. Its really good if just 2 people are driving. The back seats are not at all comfortable, especially for tall people. Other wise it ticked all the boxes, especially features & budget. The two reasons I did not go for the Linea were a)I was not sure where FIAT was heading. In the last 3 years, I have seen 4 service centres close down, or change from FIAT to either Honda/ GM etc. b) The turning radius bothered me. Although it fit in my parking spot, it would be a daily chore to negotiate.

4) Honda City - Costly, and still does not come with Climate Control. Great car, good rear room space, great engine, ticked everything; but rejected due to budget & feature list.

5) Renault Duster : One sitting in it, and I felt I would be downgrading instead of upgrading. The interiors are very poor, almost rustic. Still we took a test drive, and could not get the interiors off my mind. None in the family liked it either. There is a huge boot space, but the rear seats are really cramped (renault could just have provided a little more rear room, and a little less of that humongous boot). My wife who is 5 feet 8, was not too comfortable at the rear. The ergonomics also did not do it for me, with some controls placed behind steering wheel, and having to guess what you are trying to locate. It's a best seller for Renault, but did not do it for me (I liked the styling and was expecting much better interiors).

6) Renault Scala : Wow. My son sat in it and would not get out. I made up my mind to go for the Scala ...acres of space, with all safety features, sufficient kit (leather seats, alloy wheels, electrically adjustable mirrors, rear vents, climate control, steering mounted controls, keyless entry, stop-start button, large boot (second only to ETIOS) ..). However very rude staff. I guess they are satisfied with DUSTER bookings. Not willing to negotiate on the Scala.

7) In comes the Caaar : The family could not get Scala out of the mind. I knew that the Scala was similar to the Sunny, but did not like the Sunny's looks. But was not willing to put a premium on the Scala over the Sunny. Decided to check out Nisssan. Went to the showroom ...There was a gleaming blue (we wanted white) Sunny on display. It did not look bad (or was my mind playing tricks on me trying to justify my rejecting the Scala)..The staff were super courteous..And best of all were the offers
1) Insurance free
2) Exchange bonus of Rs 50,000/-
3) Throw in rear view camera + mudflaps etc.

It was too sweet a deal to resist. I did not take the finance option. I ran through the team-bhp PDI checklist, verified the VIN number etc.
The staff at Torrent Nissan, Andheri were more than willing to assist in any such queries. My car is Oct make vehicle, based on the VIN.
Every visit to the showroom, we were treated courteously (huge difference from my experience of booking my earlier FIATs). The Sales person even came a couple of times to my apartment for the test drive, as I needed to be sure the car would fit in my parking slot.

The delivery was on the promised day. We reached the showroom and everything was ready for us. Zero waiting time. They gave us about 5 litres of fuel, a complementary box of chocolates, a framed picture of my family recieving the car & all the documenatation including
1) Warranty booklet
2) Extended Warranty booklet
3) Warranty for the reverse camera
4) For the tyres and battery, they did not give the warranty. I also did not insist.
5) The Insurance documents
6) The RC card will be delivered to my home after 45 days (time it takes for RTO to get one created)

We took delivery of the car, and the ODO read 28 kms, again a big change from my FIAT times when I was handed over cars with 100+ kms on the ODO.
I had all the plastic covers removed. Don't like to sit on plastic. I am posting some interior pics below.

The accessories that were available included leather seat covers, side lights on ORVM , CASKA Music system, spoiler and some chrome bits ; none of which I took.
I will perhaps decide on seat covers later, maybe around 6 months later (I prefer the Scala seat covers).

Thereafter I drove to the 3M showroom in Andheri, and got installed the mud mats, the underbody coating & the sun control film (almost transparent shade to avoid hassles with the cops). Will do the paint protection in a couple of weeks.

Some interior pics

Image 1) Front seat pulled back for my 6 ' 2" frame


Image 2) Here I have moved to the rear seat, and see the amount of leg room available. 2 six footers can travel in comfort sitting one behind the other


Image 3 & 4) Here are the 3M floor mats which I have used in the car. One for the rear is one complete piece, and the one for the front seats is cut out to the exact contour of the front floor. The dust/dirt and water all get absorbed, and all you have to do is to shake the mats outside the car to clean. The driver side also has an arrangement to keep the mat in place(you need to drill a hole in the mat, and there is a screw system to lock it in place)



Image 5) Simple dashboard lines. I like clean sweeping dashboards. Not a fan of cubby holes, and storage areas on the dashboard.


Image 10) View of the contoured steering wheel. It is a very ergonomic design. Also the MID shows the required information. The other meters are what Nissan calls fine display meters, and the intensity of the display can be adjusted via the MID switches.


Image 11) View of the music system, and the Climate Control. Initially, the space ship kind of ACC looks wonky, but it is so ergonomically designed and easy to use. The buttons are huge, and you can easily find your way around. The AC itself is a very very effective. I am saying this after having driven the Palios (which on a very hot day, the AC would be rendered inefffective), and also having sat in a few other cars.
Relating to the music system, I have read that the system is very basic, which it is (no USB, but comes with Aux inputs). However, I must say that the sound quality is quite good for normal listeners. After adjusting the BASS, TREBLE, FADE and BALANCE, a normal person, not a music aficionado will be very well satisfied. No need for an upgrade. My bro-in-law, who has pumped up his car with Amps, and special speakers etc says that the acoustics work well with the material and the interiors of the car. Yes, if you have your music on a USB stick, you will be left feeling frustrated.


Image 12) High quality switches. One thing sorely missing is that in the dark, only the driver window switch is illuminated. My Palio had all the switches illuminated.


Image 13) Place to store your mobile phone, next to the hand brake.


Image 14) Rear seats - Will make you feel like you are travelling business class. My son uses the cup holders, as his toy holders. Less junk on the seats and floor mats. I am pleased.


Image 15) Both sun visors come with vanity mirrors.


Image 16) Map light, and rear seat lights. Quitely efficient.


Image 17) Rear view camera provided with the car. This is not stock.

Image 18) Engine bay - Notice the sound deadening lining put around the suspension systems etc


Image 19) Full view of the engine bay.. Notice the large radiator.

Now to the initial driving experience

It has been just a few days since I have the car, and it is still in the break-in period. So my experience is limited. Few things that I noticed

1) Fantastic to drive in the city. The steering is light, and I can even make turns, where, in my Palio, I would have to do a three point turn.

2) Engine is silent, or at least the cabin is silent. Engine quite responsive unto 2500 rpm. I have not revved beyond that, as it is still in break-in period. I have heard reports that the engine is not so great after 4500 rpm. Will need to check that out. But for most practical purposes, a normal driver would not rev past 4000 rpm..

3) Suspension is beautiful - It absorbs the small potholes with ease. You will feel very comfortable in the cabin. I read reports of body roll in this forum, but i did not experience any till about 90 kmph on my recent drive from Andheri to Colaba and back via the Sea-Link. I have not driven above that due to break-in period, but I can say that it handles quite well at these speeds.

4) Reverse gear - Is disappointing. Not enough torque, and you need to press the accelerator to reverse. Parallel parking on a slope is quite a challenge. I am comparing this to my Palio which had good torque in reverse.

5) Fuel efficiency - I was getting a mind boggling 19.5 km/litre on average when I was on the highway at 70 - 80 speeds. This settled down to 11 km/litre when i got onto city roads, with signals, and bumper to bumper traffic with 100% A.C. on, and temp set to 22 degrees. Quite pleased. My sales advisor said this should improve after a while. Lets see.

6) Braking response - I was worried about the brakes. I read on various forums, and it was also true on the test drive vehicle. There was a lot of play to the brake pedal. The braking response as such was good, but due to the play no stopping power would go to the wheels until the brake was depressed at least 2 inches and beyond. Fortunately this is not present in my vehicle. I guess Nissan must have corrected this based on feedback received.

7) Start stop - Took some time getting used to. Now, I think I will find it difficult to go back to cranking the engine via the key. It's similar to opening car via key, vs keyless entry.It's a really convinient feature, after you get over the initial fumbling.

8) Auto-Lock - I have enabled this feature. No need to go to the service station. You can do this yourself. With the start-stop engaged, just depress the door lock switch for about 15 seconds. The hazard light will blink twice, and you are set. The doors will then auto-lock at 10kmph. You can also enable unlock of all doors on engine off. I have not done that yet.

Thanks for reading .. Will update more as the kms roll-on.

Here are the pics of the exterior.

[callvvijay]

Originally Posted by Seeler_Rebeiro

Few pics for now. Will upload more later.

Let me the first to congratulate you on this awesome purchase. Sunny in white looks just fantastic. Looks like you have given yourself a nice new year gift!

Would you mind sharing what was the final OTR?

[Seeler_Rebeiro]

callvvijay,
In Mumbai, Sunny Petrol XV is being offered at 9.47L with 2 years extended warranty. Basically got 50K (exchange bonus) + 90K (old car value) = 1.4L. Zero Dep Insurance free = 24K

OTR = 7.83 L with reverse camera + some mudflaps/mudmats. I discared the mud-mats and went for 3 M mud mats instead.

Regards

[a4anurag]

Hello buddy.

Please post this thread or REPORT this thread to the moderators to move it to the "Test Drive & Initial ownership thread". This part is not for car reviews.

Apart from this CONGRATULATIONS for the Sunny caaaaar.

Simple colour choice and waiting for a review on their after sales.

Anurag.

[amitwiz1]

Congratulations on purchasing the Sunny. Looks like you got good deal out of it. Good move by Nissan!

And she sure does look stunning in white!

[MetalBuff]

Congratulations to you on your White Beauty!!

Wishing you many more happy miles with her. As, we don't have many Petrol Sunny's in the house, this ownership review will be much looked upon by prospective petrol Sunny buyers

Whats the FE you've been getting off late?

[Seeler_Rebeiro]

Originally Posted by MetalBuff

Congratulations to you on your White Beauty!!

Whats the FE you've been getting off late?

Too early to tell (only 400 kms on the ODO), but on a recent highway run the MID was showing around 19.5 km/litre. On Avg in Mumbai city traffic I am getting between 10.5 to 11.5 km/litre.

[Vid6639]

Moderator's note: Thread moved to Initial ownership section from Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[arup.misra]

Congratulations on you white caaar. Looks nice.

Out of curiosity, since you mentioned in your opening post that you drove from Andheri to Colaba, is this your regular route? If so wouldn't a diesel be better bet. Especially as Sunny Diesel is getting quite a reputation of being a workhorse.

3M mats looks goods too. Have used the same during the rains and its super effective keeping the slush away from the carpet.

Wish you thousands of miles of hassle free ownership. Drive safe!!

[VishnuNarayanan]

Congrats on your New CAAAAARR !
The mileage that you are getting in the city and highways seems to be good considering the size of the car.
Wishing you a happy niggle free ownership throughout.
Drive Safe.

[girishglg]

Congrats on your new ride and yes those mats look really neat. Thanks for bringing that point upfront. Was just curious to know your preference for the petrol power.

As per GTO's report as well, the diesel Sunny is a very well tuned and frugal car and is one of the best work horses in that league hence was it not considered at any point of time?

Good luck and many happy miles in your new car!

[Seeler_Rebeiro]

Arup - My daily commute is from Andheri to Goregaon. I barely do more than 350 kms a month. This was just a weekend trip with family for a dinner.

[Seeler_Rebeiro]

Originally Posted by girishglg

Was just curious to know your preference for the petrol power.
As per GTO's report as well, the diesel Sunny is a very well tuned and frugal car and is one of the best work horses in that league hence was it not considered at any point of time?

My monthly commute is just 350 odd kms with an occasional Mumbai-Pune run once in 6 months or so.
Ofcourse, with a diesel you get better FE, lesser costs for the subsidised fuel, better resale in today's environment - but cannot say 8-9 years down the road (that's how long I intend to keep the vehicle) & how the govt's diesel pricing policy changes. And most of all I was on a very strict budget. Besides that, had the petrol engine been coarse, I would not have gone for it. In fact, I found it to be quite good (only upto 2500rpm tested) except for reverse gear. The diesel engine ofcourse has more torque; I test drove the diesel too, and it is a tried and tested engine (Meru cabs) but I thought was a bit noisier.

[nkrishnap]

Congrats on getting home the Sunny. After the underbody coating, how is the road noise/tyre noise? Which tyres came with the car?

Enjoy many more happy miles with the car.

[Seeler_Rebeiro]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Congrats on getting home the Sunny. After the underbody coating, how is the road noise/tyre noise? Which tyres came with the car?

The road noise at the start itself was quite low, and i could not notice any difference after the underbody coating. The Sunny came shod with Bridgestones,and i know these tyres are noisy. Had them before. But not too much noise gets into the cabin.