Nissan Sunny facelift review, test drive

What the Sunny isn’t, is a great driver’s car. The light steering and soft controls are all very well if all you want to do is negotiate traffic, but try and drive the car briskly and you will be disappointed. The suspension and tyres don’t exert much grip on the road, handling is loose and laid back, and there isn’t much in the way of feedback from the steering either.

There are no mechanical changes to the car, so the 98bhp, 1.5-litre petrol CVT we are driving feels just effortless and responsive when you tap the throttle. This is great for cruising around. Ask for more performance, however, and you will be left disappointed. The CVT’s rubberband effect makes its presence felt, and the motor strains and sounds loud until the performance catches up with the stretching transmission. The 1.5-litre diesel is a bit better, and does appear to have been tuned differently for the facelift. There’s very little lag in town, the engine pulls well from low speeds, and there's more response in the upper end of the powerband as well. But the spike in power you associate with diesels is just not there, so it is best to keep shifting early. The diesel, however, is pretty refined and the cabin insulation appears to have been improved as well, so it's a fair bit quieter than before. 

Now nicer to look at, better equipped and more luxurious on the inside, the very spacious new Sunny delivers a lot of car. And priced just Rs 30,000-40,000 more than the outgoing car, you’re not paying a huge premium for the upgrades either. It may not be sporty or fun to drive and it may not be as mainstream as its other competitors either, but if you are looking for comfortable, spacious, well equipped, and relatively affordable mid-size sedan, this could be it.

SHAPUR KOTWAL