[SDP]

Congratulations for the new workhorse! Was waiting for this review for a few weeks (I believe, you mentioned it in the April sales analysis thread). The car looks bulky at the rear, but does have road presence that is at least a segement higher. Good chice of color, time for you to head to Rudra's detailing thread . Loved the write-up, especially the way you have reasoned the decision to go for Sunny.
Wish you and your family a long comfortable stint with the Sunny.

PS: (Completely OT) Does your chauffeur know about tbhp and you being 'the' GTO? It would be interesting if he does give 'gyan' about cars the way many chauffeurs do.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

You chauffeur has a big handlebar moustache?

Yep, you spotted my car indeed.

We also got ourselves a beater car: the skoda octavia TDI.

If you got a well-maintained example, the Octavia will prove to be a solid workhorse. Congrats!

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Really testing the Japanese reliability here, when such a car is in between a Have-no-clue technicians.

Actually, the best part of Japanese cars is, they seldom require anything other than oil & filter changes. They are simpler to maintain than troublesome cars.

Originally Posted by octane1002

This car has the potential to change Nissan's fortunes in India.

Indeed, it has the potential to become a segment buster.

If only Nissan can set up a consistent network of dealerships across the country.

More than anything, if their dealers continue providing shoddy service, it's going to erode the brand.

The engine is a proven workhorse and I surely would'nt be surprised if this one stays on with you post a lakh of kms. troublefree.

I used my Esteem for 2.0 lakh kms. My Jeep has touched 2.0 lakh kms and counting. I'm pretty sure the Sunny is in for the long haul.

With all due respect to your views on the dislikes on this car, some of the points you have complained about are to be taken with a pinch of salt if I may say so.

To the readers of my ownership review, it is my responsibility to list all the negatives...whether you agree with their severity or not. If you are looking at a purely positive review, Team-BHP isn't the place to look up car opinions on.

1. Brakes : A known weak spot with the Sunny & Micra. Do search on the forum and you'll see innumerable complaints on the same.

2. Gruff engine at high rpm : The competition is powered by a more contemporary 16V DOHC diesel which is substantially smoother above 3,000.
That includes the Dzire, Manza and even older cars like the Fiesta.

3. High speed behaviour : We have to understand that high speed dynamics are NOT only for enthusiasts. Say, the average joe faces an emergency manouveur at 100 kph (realistic speed on the Indian highways of today). If he is in a Fiesta, Linea or Rapid, he's more likely to end up safe than in a Sunny. Remember, better handling also means safer cruising on the expressway. A poor handling car can lose control more easily on the expressway than one that's planted.

you shouldnt be weighed down by the (comparitively) sedate driving characteristics of the engine on the E-way/gruffy engine note/tyre noise etc.

I'm not "weighed down" by it, and that's precisely the reason I bought the Sunny . Remember, my need was not a corner carver, but a chauffeur-driven family sedan.

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

I am surprised that the Sunny is not doing way better than it should, but then I read about the pre-sales and dealership experiences and that explains it.

Perhaps. I can only imagine how many potential sales are lost due to dealer incompetence.

I guess I will just be careful when a Sunny is tailing me aside from a Fortuner till they fix the brakes.

Originally Posted by honeybee

GTO, if you were looking at hatchbacks, the Pulse would have been a worthy contender instead of the Swift.

Yeah, but after the family's comments, I knew a hatchback just wouldn't make the cut.

Originally Posted by kamboj

Never buy a car without actually Test Driving it

Well said. Needless to say, I have 100% faith in the Team-BHP Official Reviews. Remember that restaurant with the board reading "The owner of this restaurant also eats here"?

but I am wondering if you thought about buying used Verna diesel (both New and Old gen)?

The ol' Verna was a below-average sedan. And the Fluidic is too new to offer a choice in the used market. 2 years down, it would have definitely been on the shortlist. My brother is in love with the Fluidic BTW.

Originally Posted by Driving_Nomad

I am running out of words in my vocab to make an expression of how much I loved reading this! A true unbiased ownership thread (expecially when you spoke about panel gaps, interiors and other stuff). I love the critic you have in you!

Thank you.

Just a thought that crossed: Can you let out why Verna, Vento and Linea weren't considered

Neither the Vento nor the Verna were offering any more chauffeur-driven comfort for the additional moolah. The Linea wasn't considered because of shaky reliability, lesser space and being under-powered.

[SankalpDesai]

Wonderful and honest review of a true workhorse. Had been waiting for this review from long - since I first read about it in one of your posts.

I test drove the Micra diesel while I was contemplating on my first buy. Found the engine good enough at low revs but coarse when red-lined. No wonder the story continues in the Sunny as well. The Sunny diesel screams of practicality from every angle and Indians would love it, more so now as the Petrol prices are on a rise, again.

Could never understand the inaction or lack of interest on the part of managers in managing their brands' market perception from the dealer point of view. Dealers are the face of the brand in any market and it is how they treat the customers which says a lot about the brand and its values. Being a management grad only pains me more when I hear about such live cases of Corporate Harakiri in action. High time Nissan folds up it's sleeves and shows some concrete action improving the dealerships or lose their ground to worthy rivals like when the Honda comes with it's diesel Brio, Jazz and City.

Good luck with the car and keep us updated on the miles it crunches.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by SankalpDesai

The Sunny diesel screams of practicality from every angle and Indians would love it

I consider it a Corolla Diesel at 1/2 the price. Save for some extra fittings, there is nothing that the Corolla offers more.

Originally Posted by sups

Can you please confirm me one point? Is Nissan's back seat suspension more comfortable in city speeds compared to Etios?

Both are extremely comfortable (along with the Manza), have sufficient space (Sunny has more) and superb ride quality. That said, the Etios has a suspension that's better sorted. The Toyota has far lesser body roll and is way more fun to drive. An enthusiast can have a lot of fun in the Etios petrol.

Originally Posted by SDP

Does your chauffeur know about tbhp

He does have a vague idea

[aaggoswami]

Congrats GTO!
This is a very very practical sedan. When I had visited RTO for passing of our Baleno ( CNG kit installed ) and Innova, I was able to spot a atleast 10 units of Sunny each time. I am able to see a lot of Sunny in Vadodara and A'bad.

Recently my friend had asked me to accompany him to TD Sunny ( he is having budget ranging from 2 to 15 lakhs and is considering all cars! ). I found out that after me sitting in driver's seat, my friend who is 6'2" could sit behind me without complain.
Excellent rear seat space, mainly legroom. And it doesn't feel claustrophobic also which is nice.

However, I could bottom out the Sunny in my test drive. Did you face any bottoming out problem in your trip ? Brakes are not good and after driving Sunny when I braked in Wagon R, there was a jerk as Wagon R brakes are quite sharp.

Another thing I observed is that rear has a tendency to step out a bit. Did you find any similar behavior ? A small child cyclist jumped road divider resulting me into braking hard at 85 ( indicated ) and rear did step out a bit.

[bluevolt]

Congratulations GTO on getting the Nissan Sunny.

Nissan has Sunny days ahead with this car especially the diesel variant.

At 8.80 Lakhs (Diesel) in Gurgaon this car is VFM. My dad was shocked when I told him that this car starts @ 6.50 lacs. With the Bada size my dad thought that this car should be around 15 lacs+. I see number of Sunnys on road here in NCR. A practical no-nonsense car. And Practical has to be boring just like Corolla/WagonR.

Have a great time with this car and keep the thread updated.

Wishing you years of happy and safe driving.

[Ash_vtec]

Any reason why you didn't consider the Ford Fiesta ? The older one in its present "classic" guise makes for a brilliant beater in the diesel form. And from what you say about the Sunny (i haven't driven one) would be nicer to drive as well.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by GTO

Attachment 936818


Driving the Sunny on the Highway


No issues whatsoever with the ground clearance. On our Deolali trip with a full load of passengers & luggage, the car didn’t scrape anywhere.


[/ATTACH]

Fantastic un-biased review GTO. I am surprised the GC is good given the long wheelbase . Is it comparable with Vento,SX4?
After going through your review now i feel if we made a mistake in buying a Vento instead of Sunny or atleast should have given it a shot. We would have easily saved a lakh ,still get all the features and a bigger car .

You said the A/C is very good. Does switching on A/C takes toll on the engine?

[shivasuma]

Originally Posted by Ash_vtec

Any reason why you didn't consider the Ford Fiesta ? The older one in its present "classic" guise makes for a brilliant beater in the diesel form. And from what you say about the Sunny (i haven't driven one) would be nicer to drive as well.

For someone who is going to be chauffeur driven, Sunny scores over fiesta. Its easily one size bigger than the fiesta. If it was to be driven by GTO alone, then the fiesta would be a no-brainer.

BTW, GTO, saw some discussion in other threads that the Linea t-jet was being offered at 7L OTR. Thats a super deal. Would you have bought it if you had that discount going on(assuming that the car did not have any rust issues considering they are/were in the dealers yards for a while)? I assume fiat dealers are not worse than Nissan.

[selfdrive]

Wish you safe miles ahead with the Sunny. Just a bit curious, did you not consider the Ertiga?
Or you did and rejected it?

[SS-Traveller]

Excellent review from an owner's perspective, not from a test driver's viewpoint. I have actually recommended this car to at least 3 people over the last couple of months, and I am personally impressed by the VFM package.

Originally Posted by GTO

Dealer Experiences
In one word, AWFUL.

I am surprised. The last time I went to a Nissan dealer was to check out options for someone to buy an X-Trail/Teana, and the sales staff almost bent over backwards to accommodate us and offer a test drive. Maybe they are nice to customers that look at the premium segment, and not for lower segments - that's bad!

[deetjohn]

GTO, congrats on the Sunny and thanks for the detailed review.

Silver would have been the colour for a 'Beater'.

I see a lot of Sunnys in Cochin, but not many in Bangalore. The Diesel FE & the dimensions have clearly captured the Kerala market.

Baffled to see the dealership standards for such a young brand. But if Nissan acts without wasting time, fixing the A.S.S won't be hard as the numbers are low. And they should, if they are serious about India.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

However, I could bottom out the Sunny in my test drive. Did you face any bottoming out problem in your trip ?

Originally Posted by PrideRed

I am surprised the GC is good given the long wheelbase .

Nope, not a single time in nearly 5,000 kms now. Just confirmed with my driver too.

Do note that we don't have the XXL Bangalore-type of speedbreakers in Mumbai.

Another thing I observed is that rear has a tendency to step out a bit.

I didn't, but I don't find it surprising. This is exactly what I meant when casting doubt on the Sunny's ability to handle emergency manouveurs at speed. It just doesn't feel stable / confident enough.

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Wishing you years of happy and safe driving.

Thanks Bluevolt.

Originally Posted by Ash_vtec

Any reason why you didn't consider the Ford Fiesta ?

Too small & too old. Buying a fresh product always has something special to it.

You said the A/C is very good. Does switching on A/C takes toll on the engine?

Nothing noticeable. Remember, the power / torque to weight ratios are much superior to the likes of the Dzire, SX4, Manza etc.

Originally Posted by shivasuma

BTW, GTO, saw some discussion in other threads that the Linea t-jet was being offered at 7L OTR. Thats a super deal.

If I were driving it myself, absolutely. There is no car as much fun to drive this side of the Skoda Laura TSI.

But for the intended purpose, no ways. Reasons for rejecting Linea mentioned in my previous post.

Originally Posted by selfdrive

did you not consider the Ertiga?

Don't need a 7 seater at all. And I've always preferred sedans over UVs.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

not from a test driver's viewpoint

. Thanks

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Silver would have been the colour for a 'Beater'.

True. Silver is just so easy to maintain.

[Mpower]

Nice review GTO. Living with a car for an extended period of time always gives you a deeper insight into its pros and cons.

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) Too bad they cant just borrow the brake hardware from the Logan as well.

Personally I think the hi-rpm gruffness and the 120+ stability can be forgiven considering its overall 'cruiser' image but the weak brakes are a serious issue and definitely needs attention.

Not only is the dealer service bad, I am shocked that there is only one dealer for the whole of Mumbai which is one of the biggest markets. Recall that moderator Navin also rejected the Teana based on this shortcoming (among others)

[da_lowrider]

As always, a fantastic review GTO! I am particularly interested cause our beater car - a 2004 Indigo - is crying out to be retired as well, we did consider the Sunny but the post sales experience is a major concern, we dropped the Etios from the equation as mum took one look at the interiors and went, "this is as bad as the Indigo! how can things not improve in 8 years?" And just like in your case, dad almost threw a cup at me when I mentioned the Manza! This brings me to my question, did you consider the SX4 diesel at all? We're pretty close to finalizing on it. It is pretty comfortable, pretty reliable, and a Maruti, so I'm guessing after sales shouldn't be an issue. If you did, any particular reason for not going that route?

Just wanted to know your views on the same. Thanks.