Nissan Magnite Turbo CVT Long Term Review: Introduction

It’s raining crossovers all over CarWale’s HQ. Having big farewell to our long term Kia Sonet after six months and testing over a dozen different new models during the same period, here we have our new long term crossover and it’s come from Nissan India. I have actually long mused over the Magnite’s value proposition and now that I am about to spend four months with it, I am looking forward to assessing its positives and negatives in the ‘real world’.

So why would you pick the Magnite over the ridiculously popular Sonet or the Venue, you may ask? For a start the Magnite is priced extremely well in any variant or form. Our Turbo CVT test car finished in ‘Vivid Blue with Storm White’ comes in at Rs 11.63 lakh on-road Mumbai. That’s considerably less expensive than the top-end Sonet petrol automatic which costs Rs 15.26 lakh. The Magnite also undercuts the Toyota Urban Cruiser petrol auto (Rs 13.39 lakh) and that’s a much older car underneath.

And it’s not like you are missing out on features or aesthetics because of the lower price. The Magnite’s interior is up to date with plenty of modern touches and design elements. More importantly, you get a lot of kit as standard for your money. There’s a fully digital instrument cluster, a tire pressure monitoring system. Then there’s the 360-degree camera view which no other car in the segment offers. You also get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto which is super handy.

Our Magnite even has the optional ‘tech pack’ which adds more features like LED scuff plates, a wireless charging pad, air purifier, a six-speaker JBL sound system, ambient lights and puddle lamps.

We will get to the drive experience in detail in the next report but after 300km of mostly urban driving, so far I have been averaging between 10.5kmpl and 12kmpl out of the 1-litre, three-cylinder turbo petrol/CVT drivetrain. These are decent economy figures and with four months ahead of us, I'll be driving it a lot more to see how efficient the Magnite turbo petrol can really be so stay tuned.

Pictures by Kaustubh Gandhi

Vehicle log

Odometer – 2,206 km

Kilometres this month - 300

Displayed Average – 11.2 kmpl