If looks and performance are both important to you - MUST BUY

Exterior

The best in class in terms of looks, it is the only small car that turns heads. It gives that 'foreign car' look and feel. Smooth rounded lines and the Mickey Mouse front makes it a fun young car without looking juvenile. 

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

The interiors are neat and simple. Ours is a red coloured car and it came with beige and light grey interiors. The clearly marketed USP is the keyless entry. Just keep the keys in your pocket and you can unlock the car, start it and drive! The climate control panel is round with large clearly marked buttons which makes it easy to use even while driving. The air conditioning is extremely effective and despite driving in the Dehi summer we rarely have to put the temperature below 24 degrees. The front seats are comfortable like most hatchbacks, though not as much as a large sedan. Leg room in the rear is decent. This comes at the cost of a small boot, which is big enough to fit 2 small suitcases (cabin baggage size) or maybe 1 large one. Didnt bother us much as me and my wife just drop the back seat in case we have a lot of luggage to carry.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

The petrol engine is top notch and performs well in city and highway driving. The gear change is smooth. Though I feel the second gear is a little sluggish. Nothing too much to complain about. Fuel economy is decent and I get around 12-13 kmpl in city driving. However, I just completed 1000 kms so after the first routine service this will improve. I havent had a chance to drive long enough on a highway to know the economy.

Ride Quality & Handling

 I enjoy the ride thoroughly and dont feel that it is strenous in city traffic. The small turning radius (best in class) helps manoeuvre through traffic easily and the power steering only makes this simpler. One amazing feature which is not talked about much is 'brake assist'. It is difficult to explain here but read up about it online. Basically, it helps you break better in a sudden braking scenario.  

Final Words

A lot of people are scared of buying this car as they think that Nissan is a new brand in India and not as trustworthy as the other established players (Maruti, Ford, Skoda, even VW). Having lived abroad I know the quality of Nissan cars is at par if not better than the other brands. The criticism around a small dealer network is valid to a degree. I have a dealer/service location within 10km so its not a big deal. Also Nissan has a tie up with TVS for emergency support, pan-India with 1-2 hours irrespective of how remote a place you are in. Nissan is here to stay - they plan to open another 100 dealerships in the next 1-2 years. So dont be afraid to experiment with this car. I know its a big decision to pay an extra 50k for this when compared to some of the other cars on offer, but if you care about how you look when you drive then that money is well spent. The car is the talk of town wherever I go and people are usally impressed when shown the features.   

Areas of improvement  

 I dont really have much to suggest as improvements.

 

shape, exteriors, features, city driving comfortboot space, pick-up