Nissan Magnite India First Drive Review

Magnite offers a lot of value for money and Nissan have made sure it is a good mix of everything.

We have earlier talked about the Magnite in our first look and it was mostly regarding the exteriors and interiors along with the features. Here we will talk about the engine and the overall driving experience of this new compact SUV. The Magnite is pretty much the most important car Nissan have made and they have poured everything into it. We will start with the looks before we drive and here it is very crucial to get this one right. Fortunately, Nissan has, as it is a funky yet well proportioned compact SUV with emphasis on the word "SUV" and less a crossover. It has all the textbook rules being followed with a large grille, full LEDs with the slim headlamps and even the L shaped DRLs plus even the fog-lamps are LED. Then you have cladding plus functional roof-rails along with a generous 205mm ground clearance and 16inch wheels. While I find the grille a bit too big, the rear styling to me is the best angle with the slim tail-lamps extending well into the design and the fact that it has a broad stance. For me this blue with the white dual tone effect is striking and looks really good though you can also get a red with black dual tone plus more. The Magnite is a decently sized compact SUV with a length of 3994mm. Inside largely it is a very good effort and in design terms the cabin is well proportioned. Being based on the same platform as the Renault Triber, you can see the practicality. The glovebox is large while there are plenty of storage spaces. The boot is a big 336l while the USP of the Magnite is the rear seat space. Simply put, the Magnite beats some compact SUVs here quite easily. The cabin feels airy and even for a 6ft tall person like me, it was easy to sit comfortably behind the driver seat adjusted to my height. Headroom is very good and so is overall legroom. Three might be tight due to the shoulder room being a bit less but in terms of overall space, the Magnite is amongst the best. Nissan have added some cool touches like a weave like design on the dash along with funky looking air con vents. The 8inch touch screen is of high quality and the fully TFT 7inch instrument cluster with its various graphics looks lovely too and is fun to use. However a slight negative is the cabin quality with some hard plastics robbing the car of a premium feel. In terms of features you get a touchscreen with the usual smart phone connectivity, 6speaker audio, climate control, cruise control, rear ac vents plus a n around view monitor which is useful in parking and something you do not find in others. There is also a tech pack which has features like wireless charging, air purifier, puddle lamps and ambient lighting. Onto the driving and here the Magnite would be petrol only but you will have two options and plenty of choice with the engine/gearbox configurations. Standard is a 1.0 petrol with 70 bhp and 96Nm which having sampled it in the Triber, would not quite be the engine to buy as it lacks torque and power so the one to go for is the one we drove- the 1.0 turbo petrol. You have 98 bhp and 160Nm for the turbo 5-speed manual while the CVT makes slightly less torque. We drove the turbo manual first and it is certainly the more fun car to drive. Yes you feel the lag at first and in the city, at low rpms, you do require the odd downshift, but the gearbox is easy to use plus the same for the clutch. You do get a bit of a three cylinder vibration though but the fun begins when you get to the mid-range and have the strong power delivery. The Magnite does feel fast and while the manual is more engaging, you do have to deal with the slight turbo lag in city traffic. Ideally though the CVT automatic Magnite is the biggest strength of this SUV. Some of the other compact SUVs in this class either have expensive DCT gearboxes or an AMT; hence the CVT of the Magnite really shines here. This is one of the better CVTs and in traffic, it is very smooth and offers a comfortable driving experience. For everyday use, I liked the CVT more than the manual. There are no paddle shifters but there is a mode to quicken shifts and also to hold gears when on hilly terrain etc. The steering is light while the suspension is faily absorbent when it comes to potholes and bad roads with the 205mm ground clearance coming in India. Even though the Magnite feels a bit light when pushed past triple digit speeds, we did not find anything to complain. In the safety department you get Hill start assist, traction control plus ABS and dual airbags of course. We do not know the prices yet but we do expect the Magnite to be priced much lower than other compact SUVs with a Rs 5.5 lakh starting price and the top-end CVT being well below Rs 10 lakh. Knowing that the Magnite offers a lot of value for money and Nissan have made sure it is a good mix of everything. We like the styling, space and the funky interior while the CVT plus turbo is our pick of the range . On the other hand, it misses out on certain equipment plus interior quality could have been better. Hence Nissan needs to price it in a way to tempt those who would be thinking of buying the lower spec Venue/Sonet; in that regard you are getting a lot more here in the Magnite. A good product that brings Nissan back into the game. What we like- Looks, space, turbo petrol engine, CVT automatic What we do not- NVH could be better, interior quality could be better