Nissan New Global Saloon spied

These are the first pictures of Nissan's all New Global Sedan’ the Sunny, caught testing in India. Shot by our very alert reader Vijayalakshmi near Chennai, these pictures show it being paced by a Tata Manza in an effort to get fuel economy right. Known as the Sunny in China and some other countries the saloon will go on sale first in China and then progressively across 170 countries worldwide under different vehicle brand names.

The all-new saloon is based on Nissan’s versatile 'V' platform and sports all-new styling and looks very different as compared to the Micra. This is the second model to be based in this platform after the Micra.

The 'New Global Sedan' will make its Indian debut in the second half of 2011, which will also be rolled out from Nissan's plant at Oragadam, Chennai. It will compete with the likes of Maruti Swift Dzire, Volkswagen Vento, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Verna and Chevrolet Aveo

The name "Sunny" holds a very strong heritage in Nissan's history; this moniker was used by Nissan for its small saloon since 1966 for many decades. However, it is not clear if the Sunny moniker will be used for India as Bajaj has rights to the name (The Bajaj Sunny is a scooterette launched in the 1990s but  now discontinued).

The 'V' platform, on which the saloon is based, has been designed primarily to make financial sense in emerging markets, while being sophisticated enough for Western Europe. Engineered by Nissan in Japan, the V-platform project focuses on reductions in both weight and in the number of components that make up the future models. The Sunny will come with two engine options for India; a 1.5 litre four-cylinder motor producing around 100bhp and the 1.5 litre diesel that will be shared with the Micra hatchback.

When the saloon hits Indian shores, expect Nissan to price it competitively in the price range of Rs 4.85 – Rs 6.10lakh.