The Nissan Gravite, launched in February, 2026, is among the most affordable three-row MPVs sold in the country. In May, Nissan started offering the Gravite with a dealer-level CNG kit, and we’ve now subjected it to our performance and real-world fuel efficiency tests to see how it performs.
Nissan Gravite CNG Exterior Design and Engineering
A badge-engineered Renault Triber with minor changes.
The Gravite is another product to emerge from the Renault-Nissan alliance, but unlike the Magnite and Kiger twins, which utilise completely different top hats to carve out distinct identities, this is essentially a badge-engineered version of the Renault Triber. As a result, the differences are largely cosmetic, limited to redesigned bumpers, a new wheel design and unique upholstery, and underneath, it continues to use the same CMF-A+ platform as the Triber. Unsurprisingly, dimensions remain virtually unchanged.
Up front, the Gravite wears a more assertive face with a large gloss-black grille carrying Nissan’s new 2D logo. The sculpted bonnet features prominent ‘Gravite’ lettering, while the LED headlamps on top trims get a unique daytime running light signature to help distinguish it from its Renault sibling. The bumper has also been reworked, featuring large C-shaped elements at the outer edges that lend it a slightly more rugged appearance.
The top-spec Launch Edition further spices things up with orange highlights on the front and rear bumpers, and body decals along the sides. In profile, the changes are more subtle. The biggest visual giveaway is the new design for the 15-inch wheels, although they’re actually wheel covers cleverly styled to resemble alloy wheels. Functional roof rails are carried over too and can support up to 50kg of load.
Around the rear, the revisions mirror those at the front. There’s a redesigned bumper with matching C-shaped inserts, ‘Gravite’ badging across the tailgate, and beak-shaped tail-lamps. The overall silhouette remains unmistakably Triber, but the styling tweaks do enough to give the Gravite a slightly more distinctive identity. However, the model featured here is the mid-spec Acenta, and as such, it misses out on the LED headlamps, roof rails, orange highlights and body decals as seen on the top-spec Launch Edition, and it gets smaller 14-inch wheels.
Nissan Gravite CNG Interior Space and Comfort
Versatile cabin can seat 7 adults; CNG compromises boot space.
Step inside the Gravite and the similarities with the Triber are immediately apparent. The dashboard architecture is largely carried over unchanged, although Nissan has retained the older Triber layout, with the AC vents positioned above the touchscreen rather than flanking it. To give the cabin a distinct identity, the Gravite gets a dual-tone black-and-beige dashboard, while the seats on the range-topper are trimmed in an ivory-and-blue combination of suede and leatherette. The upholstery certainly lifts the ambience, although the light-coloured finish is unlikely to stay pristine for long. The Acenta featured here, meanwhile, gets largely black fabric upholstery with some contrasting white elements.
The front seats are generously cushioned and provide adequate support despite their relatively flat contours, making them comfortable over longer journeys. The addition of a driver’s armrest on higher trims further enhances comfort behind the wheel.
The middle row continues to be one of the Gravite’s strongest suits. There’s enough width to seat three adults in reasonable comfort, helped by the almost-flat floor, a sliding bench and reclining backrests that allow occupants to prioritise either legroom or luggage space. The outer passengers also get adjustable headrests, while features back here include rear AC vents with blower control and a 12V charging socket.
It’s the third row, however, where the Gravite’s packaging impresses the most. Access is via a tumble-folding second-row seat, and while entry requires a bit of flexibility, the amount of space on offer is genuinely surprising. With the front and middle rows adjusted sensibly, even adults can sit comfortably in the last row for shorter journeys. The third row also gets adjustable headrests, dedicated AC vents and a 12V socket, although the close proximity of the tailgate to occupants’ heads does leave you feeling slightly exposed. The presence of the CNG tanks in the boot also means that the backrest doesn’t recline as much as in the petrol version.
Practicality has always been one of the Triber’s biggest strengths, and the Gravite carries that forward unchanged. Storage spaces are plentiful, with twin gloveboxes – including a cooled lower compartment – a cooled storage box between the front seats, a dedicated smartphone tray in the centre console, large door pockets and several smaller cubbies spread across the cabin. However, the Acenta variant misses the top glovebox and the cooled centre storage box. With all three rows in place, the boot is only large enough for a couple of backpacks, but the removable third-row seats remain a unique feature in this segment, expanding luggage capacity to 625 litres (petrol version) when taken out.
Folding the second row in a 60:40 split further improves cargo-carrying flexibility. However, with the CNG tanks and the third row in place, there’s virtually no cargo space. So, if you have to haul any luggage, you’ll have to remove either one or both third-row seats, depending on how much space you need. But with the tanks in the boot, you still get an underbody-mounted spare tyre.
Elsewhere, there are few compromises. The driver’s footwell feels cramped, there’s no dead pedal to rest your left foot on and the steering linkage is exposed. Material quality is also clearly dictated by cost, with hard, scratchy plastics, a simple woven roof liner and basic cabin lighting. None of these feel particularly premium, but considering the Gravite’s positioning and pricing, they’re easy enough to overlook.
Nissan Gravite CNG Features and Safety
Well equipped in relation to its aggressive price point.
The Gravite’s equipment list is fairly comprehensive, especially in top-spec Tekna+ guise. It comes with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a 7-inch digital instrument display, wireless phone charging, push-button start/stop, cruise control on the manual variant, automatic LED headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, front and rear parking sensors, a rear-view camera and a cooled glovebox. Safety equipment is equally respectable, with six airbags, traction control, hill-start assist, a tyre pressure monitoring system and a rear-view camera offered as standard on the range-topper.
This Launch Edition builds on that feature list with a JBL audio system, front and rear dash cameras, configurable ambient lighting, an air purifier and a handful of cosmetic additions. The JBL setup, however, doesn’t quite deliver the punch you’d expect from the badge and sounds fairly average. The Acenta featured here is also respectably equipped for the price, featuring manual AC, front power windows, the 8-inch touchscreen with smartphone integration, six airbags, rear parking sensors and more. So, there’s little to complain about when it comes to equipment, and the Gravite packs in enough features to feel competitive for its price point.
Nissan Gravite CNG Performance and Refinement
Underpowered engine is adequate for city use, but struggles on highways.
Under the bonnet, the Gravite uses the familiar 1.0-litre, three-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine that’s shared with the Renault Triber, Kiger and Nissan Magnite. It produces 72hp and 96Nm of torque when run on petrol, and an estimated 63hp and 72Nm when run on CNG. Since the CNG is a dealer-level fitment, there are no official figures available as yet. The CNG also can only be had with all trims of the 5-speed manual and not the 5-speed AMT automatic.
As mentioned, the Gravite CNG is a dealer-level fitment that costs approximately Rs 83,000 over the ex-showroom price. The retrofit CNG kit comprises two 25-litre (water capacity) CNG tanks, stacked vertically. Nissan says the CNG kit is an ICAT-approved system for certified safety and reliability, and it has been developed and quality-assured by Motozen. Nissan is also offering a 3-year/1,00,000km third-party warranty on the kit components.
With modest outputs on paper, performance is best described as leisurely. The Gravite on CNG completes the 0-100kph sprint in 21.74sec, while petrol mode takes 18.29sec. It’s a similar story for in-gear acceleration as well, with 20-80kph in third gear taking 15.84sec and 13.84sec on CNG and petrol respectively, while 40-100kph in fourth requires 21.58sec on CNG and 18.9sec on petrol.
Around town, the engine feels just about adequate enough in CNG and copes decently with daily commuting, but its limitations become more apparent on the highway, particularly with a full complement of passengers. Overtaking manoeuvres require a lot of planning, and you’ll have to downshift a gear or two to extract what little performance is available. So, for everyday city driving, the Gravite CNG does the job. We even tackled a steep hill with four people and luggage on board, with the AC on, and it made steady but slow progress up.
The engine also needs to be worked hard to make brisk progress, and that’s when refinement begins to suffer. Push it towards the upper end of the rev range, and the three-cylinder note becomes quite prominent inside the cabin. The engine also has a bit of a lumpy idle in CNG mode in comparison to petrol mode. What’s nice, though, is that despite it starting in petrol mode every time, it reverts to whichever mode you left it in while shutting off.
The manual gearbox isn’t without its quirks either. The clutch pedal is springy in nature and has a relatively high bite point, so it takes a little time to get accustomed to. Gearshifts also require more effort than they ideally should. Braking performance, however, is reassuring, with the Gravite coming to a stop from 80kph in 24.62 metres.
Nissan Gravite CNG Fuel Efficiency
Real-world efficiency in petrol and CNG modes is impressive.
We also subjected the Gravite to our instrumented, real-world fuel efficiency tests on fixed city and highway loops. We tested the MPV’s efficiency in both CNG and petrol mode.
In CNG mode, the Gravite delivered 15.9km/kg in the city and 25.1km/kg on the highway, for an overall average efficiency of 20.5km/kg. When refilled from empty, we managed to fill 7.73kg of CNG, although this can vary depending on pump pressure and ambient temperature. Based on our average overall efficiency of 20.5km/kg, one can expect a real-world range of 150-160km on a full tank of CNG.
In petrol mode, the Gravite returned 11.9kpl in the city and 16.5kpl on the highway, for an overall average efficiency of about 14.2kpl. While the city efficiency is good, an auto engine start-stop feature would have boosted it further. Thanks to the taller 4th and the 5th gears, the highway efficiency is quite impressive. Ambient temperatures were also above 30degC throughout our test, which affected the efficiency. With an overall average fuel efficiency of 14.2kpl and a 40-litre fuel tank in the Gravite, one can expect a real-world range of around 560km on a tankful of petrol.
With a combination of the two, one can expect a range of about 720km before needing to refuel. As such, the Gravite impresses with its real-world efficiency and is a good option for high-mileage users who want to keep running costs low.
Nissan Gravite CNG Ride Comfort and Handling
Ride quality is composed and handling is predictable.
From behind the wheel, the Gravite is easy to drive. The steering is light at low speeds, making city driving and parking effortless, although it doesn’t offer much in the way of feel once you’re out on the highway. Through corners, there’s a fair amount of body roll, as you’d expect from a tall, narrow MPV, but it remains stable and predictable.
Ride quality continues to be one of the Gravite’s strengths. Like the Triber, there’s a subtle firmness to the suspension setup, but it never feels overly stiff. In fact, with a full load of passengers on board, the suspension settles down nicely and the car feels more composed. And this is despite the fact that no changes are made to the suspension to account for the added weight of the CNG. High-speed stability is particularly impressive, especially considering how light the Gravite is. While sharper road imperfections and larger potholes do make their presence felt inside the cabin, the suspension absorbs them without feeling harsh. One thing you do have to be wary of, though, is crosswinds on the highway while doing triple-digit speeds.
Overall, the Gravite delivers a level of ride comfort and composure that belies both its compact dimensions and relatively low kerb weight.
Nissan Gravite CNG Price and Verdict
CNG MPV stands out for its excellent packaging, well-equipped interiors and value-for-money proposition.
The Nissan Gravite CNG is an impressive package for the price - Rs 7.51 lakh, ex-showroom (Acenta CNG). It has carved out a niche for itself, and for decidedly hatchback money, you get a proper 7-seat MPV within a compact footprint. There are drawbacks, like the underpowered engine, the lack of boot space given the CNG tanks, and the evident cost-cutting in places, but then the Gravite stands out for its excellent packaging with a genuinely usable third row even for adults and a composed ride quality. CNG further sweetens the deal by offering great efficiency and even lower running costs than the petrol. As such, the Nissan Gravite CNG represents a great option for those who do a lot of running and want a practical and versatile people mover that’s affordable to run.
Gavin DSouza
Lenny D'sa
Sergius Barretto
Saumil Shah
Nikhil Bhatia
