[arvi86]

A fantastic unbiased ownership review of the Sunny, thanks GTO for this wonderful thread! As if I and all the other forum members haven't known yet, your critic sense is just fabulous.

I completely agree with your views on the Sunny. For the price that it commands, there is no better car that offers as much space, comfort and features for the family. The car, with the light clutch and absolutely no turbo lag, is supremely comfortable to drive in the city.

A major negative were its brakes. The less we talk about the brake pedal, the better. As you rightly pointed out, I was shocked the first few times when I applied the brakes. It definitely took some time getting used to it. Maybe because of that, I still think that the Sunny's stopping ability is questionable unlike your comment that the car's braking ability is as good as its competitors.

[Vid6639]

After reading this review, I'm tempted to tell dad to sell off the Altis petrol and pick up a Sunny. The Altis is almost similar to the Sunny being a boring but comfortable car.

At the price point I will probably shell out not more than 1.5-2lakhs to exchange the Altis Petrol for a Sunny Diesel.

My current monthly petrol expenses is to the tune of 12-14K. With that mileage and diesel prices monthly expenses will reduce to 4K.

Excellent ownership report GTO. Worth the wait.

[MAS]

Excellent review GTO.

Congrats on owning the must practical "beater" car amongst the sedans. I liked the Kinetic blue colour of your car, but it is going to be tough to maintain it, especially when used as a beater car.

Request you to keep us posted and update this thread frequently. After reading this review, I'm sure there will be many new owners of the Sunny diesel.

Drive safe and wish you a million kms of enjoyable ownership.

[Turbokick]

Lovely ownership report GTO. I was waiting for this.

I have mentioned it earlier also and I am stating it again 'Nissan has given Indians a car they actually need'

How ?
- Lagless and powerful diesel engine.
- Extremely spacious and practical.
- Well priced and decent equipment
- Expected Japanese reliability
- Comfort and ride

What more does an average Indian wants ?
This car can actually be a lession for few struggling car companies that what it takes to be a winning combination.

What I personally don't like about this car :
- Styling. I just can digest any of Nissan cars sold in India
- Wafer thin network
- Car is huge. For some reason I always want cars to be compact and SUVs to be big.


I would like to ask you few questions :

- Indigo Manza almost offers everything that Sunny has got (if we keep the reliability/service thing aside). Space,good engine,comfort,ride and price. Your view?

- Engine is a workhorse and that's the way diesel engines should be. Nobody buys a diesel to rev it to redline. Not even the DDiS that I own. Its all about using the torque available. Lagless power delivery is a boon. Is this the best in class diesel engine ? Refinement, power and economy being top class.

Thanks again for sharing the report. Wishing you happier miles ahead

[scopriobharath]

Originally Posted by GTO

Taxi?

Yes, the Sunny Diesel is soon to debut in the commercial segment with an entry-level variant. Come to think of it, the Sunny D is the ideal taxi. Good space, comfort, durability, fuel efficiency, boot space and pricing. Keep this in mind if the taxi image bothers you.

Hey GTO - Congrats on the purchase and happy motoring.

QQ - Did not the "taxi" image bother you. I honestly dislike the taxi image. My favorite buy was the innova but have moved on to Fortuner just because of the Taxi Image (Saving money for TFORT ).

It is interesting to know that brand image does not bother you. I personally would have avoided Verito, DZire, Manza and Etios (Meru & Meru Plus, Tab Cab etc). Since you have mentioned Sunny is expected in the taxi segment, why did you but it. just curious

[carwatcher]

Nice Review GTO,
For some time I forgot that I was reading ownership review rather than an official review.
The lines about broken your own rules reminded me of my ownership thread.

I think you made a mistake by selling your Indigo to some cab driver, you could've auctioned it on T-BHP and would've got surprised by seeing the bid amounts.

Nissan has definitely an advantage in the Indian market by it being a Japanese company. If not anything, the car will be reliable and in today's scenario, reliability seems to be the biggest factor.
As regards dealership, I can only say that here in Goa, as there is only one dealer for Fiat (due to obvious reasons) I am facing exactly the same things.

The Ad theme of CAAAR has definitely clicked and has done wonders for Nissan. I wish Fiat gets some nice Ad like this.
Enjoy your latest ride.

[SmartCat]

In 2010, it was close to impossible to find a decent diesel car equipped with airbags & ABS in the used car market at a good price (that's why I eventually settled for the Civic). I'm surprised the situation is still more or less the same in 2012.

So, Nissan Sunny huh? If it helps, the Sunny looks weird only in the photos. On the road, it doesn't look bad. You might even say it has some street presence.

[AbhiJ]

Great review GTO.

I actually find the rear seat blower extremely useful here in Kolkata. If you get in the car after its been parked in the hot sun for a few hours, the blower very quickly makes the temperature and humidity bearable for the rear passengers. For the sheer amount of air it moves to the rear of the car, it is actually better than a dedicated vent!

P.s. I have the XL too, and my car auto-locks at around 15 kmph.

[greenhorn]

GTO, just curious why the Verito did not figure in the list? Though dated, It's perfect to be a beater car. I'm guessing its image killed it?

[musicmanaman]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

GTO, just curious why the Verito did not figure in the list? Though dated, It's perfect to be a beater car. I'm guessing its image killed it?

My Question to GTO would be the same, why not the Logan, it’s cheaper I suppose, the Boot is massive even the Sunny cannot match it when it comes to boot, and quite spacious as well.

[Turbokick]

^ Maybe because Verito is more or less 'Sunny of early 90s' with similar attributes.
Verito's interiors and styling is too crude and dated for a 2012 family car.

[Shreyas Aterkar]

Finally! Was waiting for this review since so many months, guess it was wise to put up a review once you put on some miles to give us your experience of living with this car. Very nicely written review as expected. Congrats for your "workhorse" and a "beater", enjoy many miles and years of happy cruising with it.

I think you have rightly put that it has the basic trait of an altis with 1/2 its price. I guess its the best VFM car to be driven in this side of 15 lakhs.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Practicality in leaps & bounds.
I do have 1 question though since you mentioned the rapid was considered - Why did the vento not figure anywhere ? Looking out on the streets todays its the obvious king of the segment and though i am not exactly a fan of it, it seems to do most things well, so why no vento ?
Pardon me if its been asked already, i havnt read any other post. Directly posting here after reading your ownership report.

[drvhplyevraftr]

Originally Posted by GTO

Strangely enough, the Sunny brochure states that the XL variant gets auto-locking doors. Doesn’t look like it's been enabled in my car. Guess we’ll have to wait till the 1st service.

GTO,

You can enable this easily at your end and dont need to wait for the first service. How to enable this is mentioned in the user manual. I dont
have the user manual with me at the moment but I think the sequence was something like, immediately after removing the keys from the ignition
hole, press the lock buttons (on the door and not on the keys) for few seconds. The hazzard lights will blink twice. This means auto lock is enabled
and will lock when car reaches 10kmph.

Similarly auto unlock all doors once we switch off the car and remove the keys can be enabled by the following sequence: immediately after removing
the keys from the ignition hole, press the unlock buttons (on the door and not on the keys) for few seconds. The hazzard lights will blink twice. This
means auto unlock is enabled and will unlock all doors when car is switched off and keys are removed from the ignition hole.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Mpower

On more than one occasion I have wondered how nice it would be if the Logan/Verito could be given a completely refreshed interior and a stylish exterior while keeping the strong mechanicals intact. Only now it occurred to me that Sunny is exactly that car (in a way)

So true, a Logan + modern clothes = Sunny. IIRC, the Logan had better high speed manners than the Sunny though.

Originally Posted by da_lowrider

did you consider the SX4 diesel at all?

Why Sunny over the SX4?

- Noticeably cheaper for the variant with ABS & Airbags
- No turbo-lag (SX4 has quite a lot of it)
- Soft, plush ride (SX4 is on the stiffer side)

Of course, the SX4 is a far superior handler, has better brakes, ground clearance and Maruti's awesome after-sales. It's all down to your individual preferences.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

The Altis is almost similar to the Sunny being a boring but comfortable car.

I'm telling you Vid...the Sunny is a cheaper Corolla. There is no difference in character.

Originally Posted by MAS

I liked the Kinetic blue colour of your car, but it is going to be tough to maintain it, especially when used as a beater car.

Prior to the Sunny, my garage had 3 black cars and 1 white. So I know a thing or two about tough-to-maintain colours .

Honestly, a good wash & periodic polishing is more than enough.

Request you to keep us posted and update this thread frequently.

Absolutely.

Originally Posted by Turbokick

Styling. I just can digest any of Nissan cars sold in India

Same here, all of them are weird (with the Teana probably being the only exception).

Indigo Manza almost offers everything that Sunny has got (if we keep the reliability/service thing aside). Space,good engine,comfort,ride and price. Your view?

100% agreed. Main issue is the Tata brand & suspect reliability. I was willing to put my money on it, but the family wasn't. Can't blame them after the horrible Indigo experience.

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

Did not the "taxi" image bother you.

Nope. The Sunny replaces my Indigo which is one of the best selling commercial vehicles in India.

Originally Posted by carwatcher

I think you made a mistake by selling your Indigo to some cab driver, you could've auctioned it on T-BHP and would've got surprised by seeing the bid amounts.

I'd never want to sell that wretched Indigo to a BHPian. Even at a better price.

Originally Posted by smartcat

You might even say it has some street presence

It does, actually. Looks rather substantial in person for an economy sedan.

Originally Posted by AbhiJ

I have the XL too, and my car auto-locks at around 15 kmph.

Thanks! Made a note to get it activated in the 10,000 km service.

Originally Posted by greenhorn

GTO, just curious why the Verito did not figure in the list? Though dated, It's perfect to be a beater car. I'm guessing its image killed it?

Originally Posted by musicmanaman

My Question to GTO would be the same, why not the Logan, it’s cheaper I suppose, the Boot is massive even the Sunny cannot match it when it comes to boot, and quite spacious as well.

Too old, too cheap, too basic, zero feel good factor. Also, the previous-gen Indigo definitely had better interiors, so would it be a step up or down?

Originally Posted by PlatzdaTurbo

I do have 1 question though since you mentioned the rapid was considered - Why did the vento not figure anywhere?

For the family workhorse, I was looking for maximum bang for the buck. When the Rapid gives me a Vento for lesser $$$, why would I bother?

Originally Posted by drvhplyevraftr

GTO,

You can enable this easily at your end and dont need to wait for the first service.

Many, many thanks. Highly appreciate it, drvhplyevraftr