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Upgraded to the Nissan Magnite Turbo CVT from an Alto: My impressions

29th June 2024, 15:06 by Ananth Iyer

Overall, I'm reasonably satisfied with the car as a daily commuter. It looks fantastic, has sufficient performance for day-to-day duties and is safe enough.

BHPian vamsi.vadrevu recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I had been contemplating on writing down my experience with my Nissan Magnite (CVT) for some time but I didn't think I had sufficient time behind the wheel to have understood the car fully.

I also wanted to see how the service experience was before I put my opinion here. So I waited until the first service.

This is going to be a very long review covering the buying experience, ownership, service experience.

Buying Experience:

My father had an Alto K10 and I learnt driving on it. It is a fantastic little pocket rocket and is still in use 11 years later. I thoroughly loved driving it. But I was looking to get my own car last year and my requirements were thus:

Decent Safety (at least 4 star or above)
Decent Performance (at least as good as Alto K10)
Good Looks
Features
Should be sub 4 meters (I'm in Hyderabad and some roads are very congested)
Should have enough ground clearance.
A Proper Automatic

Even though I would have loved to own a sedan (Honda City was my default choice), the roads in my area have always been dug-up (for the past 3 years!) and I'm glad I didn't buy a Sedan. The peace of mind of not having to scrape the car is very underrated.

So the choice was between Nexon AMT, Brezza VXI AT, Magnite XV Premium Turbo CVT and Kiger RXZ Turbo CVT. I did not have the option of Mahindra 3XO AT or Nexon DCT back then (else I would have gladly bought either of those!). I hadn't even considered the Venue/Sonet twins because they weren't crash tested.

I had test driven Brezza, Kiger and Magnite CVT. The nearest Tata showroom didn't even provide a test drive vehicle, so it was dropped. I had almost purchased the Brezza if not for it's exorbitant pricing. And the vehicle didn't provide sufficient acceleration and didn't feel zippy enough.

Finally, after multiple test drives I decided to get the Magnite CVT XV Premium variant. (The cabin of Kiger felt claustrophobic and some ergonomic issues were present and they weren't offering cruise control or 360 camera at that time)

I did a thorough PDI (using the PDI Checklist from TeamBHP) and took the delivery on 13th June 2023 without any accessories except the 3d floor mats which seem durable and are still in use without any wear and tear.

I got aftermarket seat covers and boot mat and later purchased window curtains from Nissan dealer because they seemed most durable.

Apart from these, I installed a 70-Mai dashcam myself (and it has recorded a minor rear-end too!).

Ownership Experience:

In the initial few months I used to take the car out every night for a drive in order to run through the break-in period (1500 Km) as early as possible. I was gentle with the throttle but varied the inputs gradually increasing the RPM that I hit.

I didn't find any improvement or reduction in performance or mileage because of the "carefully considered approach" to break-in.

The CVT is a boon in city traffic. It clears steep inclines without ever rolling backwards thanks to the hill-hold assist! I think this should be a mandatory feature in all cars (including manual transmission cars)

The performance in the city is decent. However, there's a slight lag between when we mash the accelerator pedal and the vehicle responding. This could cause a change in your driving style.

I used to drive the alto K10 by closing every single gap in the traffic. With the Magnite, I'm more relaxed in driving and hence I'm less fatigued at the end of the drive in heavy city traffic. However, I've come to realize that this is really not my style of driving! I like the vehicle to respond as soon as I give inputs to it. But for a daily commuting car, I can't find much fault.

The performance on the highways could be hit or miss. Even with sports mode, sometimes there isn't much power left after you cross 100kmph. On roads like Hyderabad ORR, the speed limit is 120 and I usually drive at around 110. And if I find slow moving vehicles, I try to over-take and this is where I find that the Magnite doesn't have sufficient power left. The progress beyond 100kmph is slow. And the fuel efficiency is also very low beyond 100kmph. The engineers at Nissan have tuned this engine and CVT transmission for maximum efficiency between 60kmph and 100kmph.

In city I have been getting around 10kmpl. And on highways I have seen between 15 and 18kmpl. For a turbo engine and with my driving style, I think this is as per expectation.

Service Experience:

I purchased the vehicle from Lakshmi Nissan at Nagole and I got my first service yesterday. The service advisor didn't push for any extra items other than "Engine Cleaning" which turned out to be "lacquering the engine". I half-heartedly agreed to it. They merely asked me if I had any complaints with the vehicle and I reported none. Since I had the prepaid maintenance package for 5 years, the following items were already covered.

Engine Oil 3.6liters
Oil Filter
Cabin Air Filter (AC filter)
Wheel balancing and alignment
Vehicle cleaning inside and out.

What was not covered was the Engine Air Intake filter (which I asked them to replace as it was Rs 500 and it would prevent dust from entering the engine and keep it clean and engine could breathe better. The existing filter was not in a very bad shape but it is such a cheap consumable that it makes little sense not to get it replaced at every service. Indian road conditions are dusty and in such cases, it is recommended to get it replaced) I was surprised that it was not part of the regular 10k service schedule. Below is the pic of their service bulletin

I noticed that they had slightly over filled (topped up distilled water in engine coolant reservoir) above Max level. I was even charged Rs 95 for it! I think this was absolutely unnecessary. However, I was in no mood to fight on this. I'm not sure what damage it causes to the engine.

I was mostly present at the workshop except during lunch time and they managed to put a small dent on the passenger side rear door. When I called them out they didn't accept their fault but removed the charges for the engine "Lacquering" which again I should have refused but I wasn't paying enough attention.

The dent is small enough that I didn't think it would enough reason to make unnecessary noise.

What I've realized is that the free service literally means changing the engine oil, oil filter and the cabin filter and wheel balancing and alignment at 10,000 Km. Only at 30,000km they change the engine intake filter. They do not check the CVT fluid condition as well.

I've realized that vehicle maintenance at authorized service centers is a joke. They do the bare minimum. Since I didn't have any complaints they probably didn't even check the condition of the suspension components, fuel lines, brake fluid or even brake pad condition. They do not truly adhere to manufacturer recommended practices described in the maintenance manual. Even if this doesn't cause immediate harm, it might in the long run reduce the vehicle life.

I'm thinking if I shouldn't have purchased PMP and instead done the service myself (The only thing stopping me is lack of space and a hydraulic stand).

If my vehicle continues to function with such minimal maintenance even after 1 lakh Km, then I'll be mighty surprised with Nissan's engineering prowess! However, this remains to be seen!

Overall, I'm reasonably satisfied with the car as a daily commuter. It looks fantastic, has sufficient performance for day-to-day duties and is safe enough. However, I sometimes get fleeting thoughts if I should have gone for a sedan (by throwing all reasonable thoughts out the window!)

My original intent was to get a petrol car until Electric vehicles become mainstream. But looking at the pace of EV growth, it seems very un-likely to happen in the next 10 years. Until such a time, I intend to maintain my Nissan Magnite as best as possible.

I've attached a few pics for your viewing pleasure!

I apologize for the long write-up if it got boring!