[bijims]

Originally Posted by INDIAFIRST

AMT model should give an upswing- good move.

Why dont they bring in a corresponding Triber model? This brings sister Renault 1500 monthly sales! Would retooling not make business sense?

Regarding the prescribed panacea of 'bringing other models' its important to note only SUVs will sell that too a minimum delta of 1000 monthly nos should be the bare ask. Now do you really think that's possible with X Trail, a premium model.

Nissan does have a Triber Twin in its plans, we will have to wait for its launch though. Nissan is hanging by a thread, the Magnite facelift will give it some numbers, and a Triber twin with the turbo engine would also be a good proposition. Nissan's premium SUVs have a good market in the middle east and can provide good margins even if sales remain on the lower side.

[GTO]

Drove the Nissan Magnite AMT (XV Premium variant) over the weekend and here are my observations:

• The Magnite does look good and its styling is definitely a draw for the monthly ~2,500 customers who buy the car.

• The Nissan crossover has something that left us pleasantly surprised - a 4-star GNCAP rating! (Related Thread).



• Must say, the Magnite 1.0L NA has an extremely powerful air-con. I started the car at around 1.30 in the afternoon of peak Mumbai summer and the AC cooled the car very quickly.

• For a budget car, the speakers are of pretty decent quality. Something for Maruti, Mahindra and Honda to learn from Nissan. This is a stock ICE system, but the speakers aren't bad keeping the car's price in mind.

• Here's a small usability failure - The Magnite gets cheap 1980s-style stalks on the door for locking / unlocking. In an ideal world, you would never have to use them, but this car doesn't have auto-locking when you start driving or auto-unlocking when you switch off the car. So, when you pull on the door handle, after parking, ideally the door should be unlocked, but it's not. You first have to pull the ugly stalk up and then, pull on the door handle to open the door.



• Fire the engine up, and especially when cold, it's not a refined experience. You can feel the typical 3-cylinder vibrations in the cabin.

• What's more irritating is that on full steering lock, when I was moving out of the parking spot, there was a very strange vibration coming from the front end of the car. At least this was the case with our test car. Only when the steering was fully turned, I noticed this vibration a couple of times. Once on the move, at regular steering angles, there was no such issue.

• Like with most AMTs, this Magnite is best driven with light to medium throttle inputs. Enjoy the fact that there's no clutch and you aren't rowing through the gears. You should not try driving aggressively or with a heavy foot because you will just end up getting frustrated. The engine gets noisy, you notice the lag of the AMT gearbox and the delays in shifts. This is no torque converter or a DSG. You bought the AMT purely for price + convenience, so enjoy it as a commuter in the city.



• Even in Automatics, I like knowing what gear I am in. So I appreciate this aspect of AMTs where the display on the console shows you the current gear.

• Suspension is compliant, but there is a firm edge to it. It's not a soft / floaty suspension at all. Regardless, it is compliant within the city and I don't see owners complaining about this aspect.

• I dropped the tyre pressure to 31 PSI. It still had a firm edge to it, but on most roads, it was more liveable. But yes, you feel the bad roads.

• Steering is just the right size, thick enough and super light to use in the city.


• No doubt that the Magnite is well-priced for what it offers. This AMT variant is a lot of car for the money.

• That being said, you do feel the cost-cutting in many areas and the Magnite does feel cheap. This isn't a car you'll be bragging about, or one that's high on the feel good factor (like say, a Sonet or Nexon Facelift).

• The variant to buy on the Magnite though is the 1.0L turbo petrol with the CVT. This 1.0L NA + AMT isn't appealing at all, and the only buyers who'll go for this are the ones who can't stretch their budget. But if you can, that turbo petrol and CVT option is far superior and the one of choice. It's worth the premium. Moreover, it is a USP for the Magnite / Kiger CVT in a segment that has many jerky AMTs.

[nikvint]

Magnite is a wonderful car. I have tasted Turbo CVT and I was blown away by the driving dynamics, space management and smoothness of engine and gear box. Lot of things are done right in the car and package. Only sour point as mentioned by you is the quality of interior.

Magnite is in the market since long and it's time to give it a proper face-lift like XUV-3XO. If Nissan can do this, with improvement in quality of Interior and few good interior colour options like Black & Beige, Black & Tan, Black and Brown, it can sell like a hot cake.

Now people looks value proposition with better quality and features. To take game forward, Nissan has to make their product appeal to wider section of mass and not only to Value for money minded people.

I will buy Magnite eyes closed, if they give good quality product with reasonably good features and interior quality & colour, even if they charge 50k extra over current price of Turbo CVT.

[DeKay]

Originally Posted by GTO

No doubt that the Magnite is well-priced for what it offers. This AMT variant is a lot of car for the money.

Based on your initial impressions, do you think this car will hold up well over 7-8 years if purchased new, in a city like Bombay? Will the interior materials and everyday touch-points maintain a quality feel, or does the car seem less durable?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by DeKay

Based on your initial impressions, do you think this car will hold up well over 7-8 years if purchased new, in a city like Bombay?

No man, it definitely feels cheap & IMHO, won't be ageing well. That's why I wrote:

• That being said, you do feel the cost-cutting in many areas and the Magnite does feel cheap. This isn't a car you'll be bragging about, or one that's high on the feel good factor (like say, a Sonet or Nexon Facelift).

[ads11]

Originally Posted by GTO

No man, it definitely feels cheap & IMHO, won't be ageing well. That's why I wrote:

Thanks for this! We've a 2015 Micra automatic that mum bought. It's pretty much entirely consigned to city runs and it's really rather good for it. I love the well put together interiors and refined driving dynamics. BUT the big elephant in the room is that ponderous CVT it came with and the resulting atrocious mileage.

In fact so poor is the mileage just this week my dad was wondering whether it's worth trading in the Micra for a new Magnite and my immediate response was that the interiors of the Magnite are probably going to feel very low rent compared to the build of the Micra. Also do you think the turbo petrol with CVT will be any different in behaviour to the Micra? I don't think my sanity could handle another similarly behaving gearbox tied to a relatively rev happy engine.

Other than that I will concede the Magnite makes a compelling package, I guess with those interiors it'd become the beater option in the garage.

[vamsi.vadrevu]

I have the Magnite Turbo CVT. I bought it specifically because the basics were fantastic. Good power, safety, and smooth CVT. The lag is very minimal. Even the mileage is decent. 10 to 12 in City and 16 to 20 on Highway.

I've driven about 7500km now and I don't regret the purchase.

As for the interior quality, i was coming from Alto K10 2013 model year. I found the plastics on the Magnite same as Alto K10. This is where the cost cutting is evident. But it is perfectly functional. And I've not seen the rattles that many others have complained about. Either my tolerance for noises is very high or i got lucky with a well put together piece.

[84.monsoon]

My aunt and Mom jointly own a Renault Triber, which shares the same NA engine. It has a manual gearbox and the drive experience is pretty good for the price paid (About 7.5 lacs on-road TN for the variant one level up from the base). It is a bit shaky at start up, but smoothens out once you get moving. The graring is short and boy, this car can pull 7 people and luggage easily uphill, and pick up a lot faster than I imagined a 70 HP 1.0 NA engine can ever do.

I think many of the observations I had echo what GTO noted. The ride is very absorbent and the car can cruise at 90-100 kph all day with ease. I have a new respect for the Renault Nissan 1.0 NA engine after driving this car. Yes, the interiors are cheap, but well screwed together and there are no rattles or squeaks so far. The FE is a bit lower in the city than expected, due to the short gearing but out on the highway, it easily returned 16-17 kph. Supremely comfortable in the second row, and medium sized adults can travel in reasonable comfort in the third row, if the middle row oassengers can slide their seats a bit to the front. Yes, it does have sliding second row - Mahindra to note - for your XUV and ScorpioN priced 3-5 times as much, but do not get the sliding middle row. IMO, the Triber is one hidden gem that the taxi operators have not yet discovered.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by kit_dennis

Could you please tell at which shop (and location) these accessories were fitted?

Hey, sorry for the delay in the reply.

Alloys were fitted from Tyrex in Ernakulam - https://g.co/kgs/NQfv2QJ

All other accessories were fitted in The Car Shoppee in Ernakulam - https://g.co/kgs/uoHfqB8

[Transmission]

Originally Posted by vamsi.vadrevu

I have the Magnite Turbo CVT. I bought it specifically because the basics were fantastic. Good power, safety, and smooth CVT. The lag is very minimal. Even the mileage is decent. 10 to 12 in City and 16 to 20 on Highway.

I've driven about 7500km now and I don't regret the purchase.

As for the interior quality, i was coming from Alto K10 2013 model year. I found the plastics on the Magnite same as Alto K10. This is where the cost cutting is evident. But it is perfectly functional. And I've not seen the rattles that many others have complained about. Either my tolerance for noises is very high or i got lucky with a well put together piece.

Exactly my thought too.

I have driven over 12k on my 2023 Magnite Turbo CVT. A very well sorted out car (if the Nissan Service centers around you aren't bad). A smooth CVT in a sea of jerky AMTs (and DCTs/DSGs that I dont trust for reliability in a car that that does about 20km in heavy traffic everyday)

Wireless android auto, 360 parking both are very useful features for a car thats used in the city.

I think the cheap looking (comparing to other cars in the same price segment) interiors are putting off a lot of people.

[ads11]

Originally Posted by Transmission

I think the cheap looking (comparing to other cars in the same price segment) interiors are putting off a lot of people.

I guess I fall in this boat. I don't doubt the car is tremendous value for how feature loaded they are and in fairness we only just waved goodbye to our beloved Santro Xing which had truly low rent interiors. But those interiors stood up well over 15 years to being the beater car in the family, from teenage antics by yours truly, various random drivers when it was loaned out to family and friends for gatherings and events.

If the Magnite ages gracefully and proves to be reliable I think I could be swayed. My dad's main concern is the mileage, he's loathe to replace the Micra for another guzzler. Ultimately though given it's mums car it'll be her call.

I will say that the Magnite has quite the loyal following which I think is a good sign to why it ticks along in sales numbers at a fairly consistent clip despite not setting the charts alight.

[Transmission]

Originally Posted by ads11

I guess I fall in this boat. I don't doubt the car is tremendous value for how feature loaded they are and in fairness we only just waved goodbye to our beloved Santro Xing which had truly low rent interiors. But those interiors stood up well over 15 years to being the beater car in the family, from teenage antics by yours truly, various random drivers when it was loaned out to family and friends for gatherings and events.

If the Magnite ages gracefully and proves to be reliable I think I could be swayed. My dad's main concern is the mileage, he's loathe to replace the Micra for another guzzler. Ultimately though given it's mums car it'll be her call.

I will say that the Magnite has quite the loyal following which I think is a good sign to why it ticks along in sales numbers at a fairly consistent clip despite not setting the charts alight.

I do not drive with a light foot, and I get an average of 10km/l on my city-only traffic-heavy route with AC on full time (21c, fan anywhere from level 1-3).

My long term average (city + long distance) is ~12kmpl. On my longer drives between Bangalore - Mangalore which includes the Mysore expressway (high speed) and western ghats (up and down hills) I average ~15-16kmpl.

I was measuring mileages across different modes when the car was new: with a light foot on a flat highway (Bangalore-Hyderabad) I could hit 21-25kmpl. I dont particularly care about mileage - more so since I was willing to buy a more expensive car (had booked both the MG Hector and XUV 700 AX7L AWD) but ended up buying this one and saving a lot of money from the planned budget - so I havent checked the best-case mileage after the first oil change.


I got a seat cover and the "tech pack" from the dealership and and it makes the car suddenly feel so much nicer. The seat cover adds a more upmarket look to the interiors and the Welcome-lights on the door are nice (and always get asked about , not that it matters to me). The tech pack also adds a nicer speaker set (quite an improvement over stock), ambient lighting (nice to have, but its not a big deal) and wireless charger and a perfume-dispenser (dont care for me).

The downside is that the installation of tech pack was terribly done and they tore the vapour barriers in the doors like dogs and that caused minor "rattles" in the interiors that I had to fix myself (because the 1 good mechanic in the service center near me left his job and the new ones are no good). The car was super silent when new but got these rustling noises/minor rattles after the tech pack install.

[ads11]

Originally Posted by Transmission

I do not drive with a light foot, and I get an average of 10km/l on my city-only traffic-heavy route with AC on full time (21c, fan anywhere from level 1-3).

My long term average (city + long distance) is ~12kmpl. On my longer drives between Bangalore - Mangalore which includes the Mysore expressway (high speed) and western ghats (up and down hills) I average ~15-16kmpl.

Thanks for the detail, much appreciated! Sounds Way better than what we get currently on the Micra and more importantly sounds like it's an engaging drive too, which is a big factor as almost all our cars are primarily driven by us (drivers only on rare occasions unless it's the family beater).

[I got a seat cover and the "tech pack" from the dealership and and it makes the car suddenly feel so much nicer..

Ah interesting. I'm personally no fan of seat covers, I've still simmered with grumpiness at our erstwhile Santro and our Linea having seat covers unilaterally fitted by an overzealous mechanic. The other tech pack features aren't that big a draw. What I appreciate though is your warning about how shoddy workmanship introduced rattles into an otherwise rattle free car. I haven't personally checked the feature breakdown on the Magnite but contrary to the current fad for features like sunroofs, for me the main things I'd consider necessary are auto climate control, rear wiper (at the very least, wash if possible too), auto retracting ORVMs, and drivers seat height adjust. Others like ventilated seats, auto headlamps and auto wipers are nice to have.

[Transmission]

Originally Posted by ads11

...
I haven't personally checked the feature breakdown on the Magnite but contrary to the current fad for features like sunroofs, for me the main things I'd consider necessary are auto climate control, rear wiper (at the very least, wash if possible too), auto retracting ORVMs, and drivers seat height adjust. Others like ventilated seats, auto headlamps and auto wipers are nice to have.

Magnite CVT Turbo top-end model has auto-climate, rear wiper with wash and defogger (stock rubber wiper is very noisy), powered ORVMs (but do not auto-retract when car is turned off - you have to press the switch) with the ability to flip forwards if hit by someone going past like a careless biker and manual driver's seat height adjust.

I recommend an extensive test drive or two and a consideration of the local service center before any buying decision, obviously.

[raghu67]

In January 2024 I was in the market looking for an automatic for my wife as she is complaining about the hard clutch and the left leg pain driving our Fiesta diesel in ity traffic.
Few points about our Fiesta, as it was the reference car.
1. Being a diesel, it had a very strong feeling of power in the first 3 gears and then the 4th and 5th are for high speeds.
2. Engine noise was high in the 1st gear, but then it would settle into background once the car gets moving.
3. I have replace the music system to Pioneer AVH-299BT with the stock speakers, and the music felt very very good. The bass was strong eneough to vibrate the outside rear view mirrors in their housing.
4. AC is like an instant magic, no matter the season or the time of the day.

Now coming to our test drive experience with Magnite XV Premium.
We have driven both the NA and Turbo variants.
Our observations which are common to both the engine and gearbox combinations are:
Pros:
1. Good ground clearance and we don't have to worry about bad roads with full 5 people in car as we used to in Fiesta.
2. Car looks big and is spacious in the back seat compared to Fiesta (better legroom).
3. Feel good features like 360 camera, fully digital instrument console, LED DRL, LED Headlights (I say LED Headlights as feel good because I feel Halogens are still better for night time highway drives in all conditions. Its my personal feeling).

Cons:
1. AC felt as if non existant. I was sweating for the majority of my drive time (approx 45min).
2. Airflow adjustment is not really good and I didn't get a proper air flow towards me in the driver seat.
3. Music from the OEM unit is not good. I got to know that there is an official accessory of JBL Speakers which costs some 16000/-.
4. The overall interior didn't give me that sense of occassion.
5. Looking from the outside of the car, the rear drum brakes felt very small and didn't look good with the alloy wheels. Even old Fiesta drum brakes were larger than Magnite’s. (I am not saying a smaller drum unit is inefficient. From the visuals it felt something is not suited).

We have requested for a Test Drive of the AMT model as wife was keen on the AMT model as per the budget in hand (she doesn't want to go for an EMI. Can't change that decision of hers).
The Test Drive car from Laxmi Nissan, Himayath Nagar was surprisingly a new car with just 200KMS on the ODO.

Pros:
1. No more pain in the left leg as there is no clutch to worry about.

Cons:
1. Observed the engine noise is very high when the Test Drive car arrived at our home.
2. While driving, the engine noise in the cabin felt more than the diesel Fiesta.
3. The AMT box felt very much reluctant in changing the gear to a higher gear irrespective of how I tried to drive (light foot and heavy foot).
4. The AMT tuning felt more like the old Honda City CVT I used long long ago. It was not shifting the gear at 2000 or 2500 RPM, its going to nearly 3500 before shifting the gear and at 3500 RPM, I didn't feel the car is pulling any good except the noise.
5. Definetly not going to be half as good as the Fiesta on highway runs.

Some confusions about the car after reading our forums and user experiences:

1. The engine is E10 compliant and there is a discussion about shift to E20 by 2025. There is no information about Nissan's engine being compliant to E20 (as far as I have read in the forum and on internet).
2. The car is rated 4 star, but it didn't feel like a 4 star car.
3. There were some talks of a facelift coming this year itself and I don't want to end up being one of the last customers of old model as the same happened with Fiesta. The new 2012 model was launched just 3 months after I bought the car with better styling and more powerful engine.
4. The biggest dilema is will Nissan stay in India with just 1 car in its portfolio. (Could have gone with Kiger, but wife felt it was just like a Kwid and she had bad experience driving the 800cc Kwid long ago.)