Nissan Evalia Review
Car tested: 2012 Nissan Evalia XV
Price (ex-showroom Delhi): Rs. 9,99,000/-
Renault-Nissan are on a roll. The joint venture company will soon see their market share in India increase significantly. Renault launched the Duster compact SUV, which seems to be working wonders for them. Now its Nissan’s turn to conquer the market with the Evalia. First unveiled in India at the Auto Expo earlier this year, the Nissan Evalia is a hugely promising MPV, which has proven its mettle overseas (as the NV200). This Nissan vehicle is the New York taxi and could soon replace the black cab as the London taxi. This itself says a lot about the car. We drive the Nissan Evalia on Bangalore roads to find out, if it has the capability to do a Duster for Nissan.
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Exteriors – In order to set the sales chart on fire in the MPV segment, you don’t really have to be a looker. The Nissan Evalia looks very van like and is quite boxy. Nissan itself calls the NV200 a global small van in international markets. When viewed head-on, the Nissan Evalia looks quite decent. The front grille merges with the headlights, which are swept back marginally. The front bumper is huge and has twin slat air dams on the lower half, finished in black. The v-shaped grille is the real noteworthy element at the front.
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Coming to the side of the Nissan Evalia and you will immediately notice the flat design of the body panels. There are very little cuts or creases on the Evalia but Nissan has tried to incorporate some lines on the middle doors. The front door frame has got some curves and the front windows are shaped in a unique way. The fuel filler is below the drivers door. The second row doors are sliding type. The windows of the second (butterfly flap) and third row are designed in a way to look like a single piece. There is a small black strip below the rear windows which houses the sliding mechanism of the doors. The alloy wheels are 14-inch units which have 10-spokes. The spare wheel doesn’t have an alloy.
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At the rear, the Nissan Evalia has a big tailgate, which has hydraulic struts for opening and closing. The no-nonsense styling continues at the rear and the Evalia has two piece lights, brake lights stacked vertically while the reflectors are stacked horizontally. A high mounted rear stop lamp is present but there are no wiper, washer or defogger at the rear. For India, Nissan has added chrome over the number plates, however they should also consider adding chrome over the tail number plate. Overall the styling of the Nissan Evalia is very neutral and is certainly not going to grab attention. However the simple styling helps in space maximization on the inside, something which gives the Evalia the amazing room.
Head over to the next page to read about the interiors of the Nissan Evalia.
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Interiors – The Evalia is big on space and the clever engineering ensures maximum interior room for passengers. The MPV’s underpinnings are very different from its biggest competitor, the Toyota Innova. While the Innova is a rear-wheel drive with a body-on-frame layout, the Evalia is the exact opposite. The Innova is longer and wider, but the Nissan Evalia is taller. The rear suspension of the Evalia is compact which helps in to pack more luggage in the boot. The rear doors slide open, which gives better entry to third row passengers. The fuel tank is placed below the front seats, resulting in a flat floor. So does all this help in making the Evalia class leading in terms of space and comfort?
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Certainly yes. The Evalia is the most spacious vehicle in its segment. It is the only vehicle which offers proper seating for adults in the last row. The seats are comfortable and the visibility at the front is very good. All the seven seats recline and offer excellent headroom, legroom and knee room but not the best under thigh support. The rear windows are a tad small and don’t roll down, instead open like a flap, which is extremely inconvenient. The middle row of seats have no sliding option either and there is no AC vent there either. Instead the AC vent for rear passengers is placed in the third row and it does manage to cool both the second and third row very effectively.
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Right behind the front seats are trays with cup holders. This has been added so that second row passengers can eat on the go. There are 10 cup holders too, nicely positioned across the three rows. Every passenger has a cup holder. Even with the last row seats up, the Evalia can swallow significant amount of luggage. Flip down the last row of seats, and you can carry furniture. The loading bay is wide and low which helps in easy luggage retrieval.
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The dashboard is quite basic and features two-tone arrangement. The steering wheel is from the Micra and so are the side AC vents. The center console has silver finishing along with a 2-din audio system (Aux port present but no USB), flanked by vertical AC vents. None of the sun visors have a mirror. The Evalia has iKey and one need not insert the key to start the car. However there is no engine start stop button but instead there is a knob which needs to be turned to switch on the car. There is something similar to the Sunny but a cheaper alternative. While the Sunny has a clutch lock (car won’t stop till clutch is depressed), the Evalia doesn’t!
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The instrument cluster has a simple arrangement divided into three distinct sections. The left most is almost always blank because that is where the tell-tale lights are displayed. At the centre is a large speedometer with two buttons. One button is to activate the follow me home headlights, while the other button is to navigate through the cars information display. This information display is displayed on the left most side. It features many interesting things such as trip meter, distance to empty, real time fuel efficiency, average fuel efficiency, digital fuel gauge, digital tachometer, clock, shift indicator and reverse guide camera.
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The gear knob extends from the centre console rather than being on the floor. The glove box has no cover, which is very surprising. There is a small storage area above the center console for storing files and papers. There is storage area near the hand brake too, where an inconveniently positioned charging socket is present. The driver also has a card holder near the door, right underneath the cup holder, which is placed below the right most AC vent.
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The interiors have been spruced up for India but are average in overall design and finishing. There are absolutely no arm rests in the car, which is a surprising omission. Lot of equipment has been skipped as well such as climate control and audio controls on the steering wheel. The Evalia doesn’t score highly in interior design but the high amount of space and comfort for seven passengers and their luggage makes up for it.
Head over to the next page to read about the driving dynamics of the Nissan Evalia.
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Ride, Handling and Braking – The Evalia is based on the Nissan B-platform. It is a front-wheel drive vehicle and uses a monocoque chassis. The front uses a fully independent strut type suspension mounted on a separate sub-frame while at the rear is a compact and lightweight leaf spring rear axle. Ride quality is good but the leaf springs do tend to give the rear passengers bouncy ride on really bad roads. The tyres are 165 section in width, while the Innova comes with 205 section tyres as standard. Clearly Nissan has designed the Evalia for mileage but even then the MPV does offer decent dynamics. You never feel the Evalia is under-tyred even with such puny tyres on offer!
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The Nissan Evalia is quite a tall vehicle but has fairly good high speed manners. Handling is good but there is some bit of body roll which can be felt on cornering with enthusiasm. The small turning radius is a boon, while the steering wheel is really light, making city driving a breeze. Braking is very good too and Nissan has equipped all the variants with ABS, EBD and BA as standard. This is indeed a commendable decision by the company and we hope other manufacturers follow a similar approach with their cars.
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Performance – The Evalia is powered by the tried and tested 1.5-litre dCi diesel engine, which produces 85 BHP of peak power output at 3750 RPM and 200 Nm of torque at 2000 RPM. This engine is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox and is the same motor which does duty in the Sunny and Renault Duster. We love the way this diesel motor works in the Sunny but were a bit worried when he heard the heavier Nissan Evalia features the same powertrain. On paper, this motor looks underpowered to move a car that weighs 1400 kgs, but on the road, this dCi motor is just about adequate for the job.
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The k9k unit is butter smooth throughout and pulls cleanly with negligible turbolag. Even at around 1200 RPM, the Evalia makes decent progress but its only past 2000 RPM does the MPV really move. The gear ratios have been chosen carefully to ensure the Evalia is very driveable both in the city and out on the highways. While the Innova is more powerful and boasts of a full 1000cc more, the Evalia’s smaller engine can keep up without any fuss. The Innova produces the same amount of torque and has 15 more horses than the Evalia, but is heavier too. The Evalia’s smaller engine and lesser weight will give it much better mileage than its competitors and Nissan is claiming an ARAI mileage of 19.3 km/l. This makes the Evalia the most fuel efficient vehicle in its segment.
Head over to the next page to read our conclusion on the Nissan Evalia.
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Conclusion – While the Nissan Evalia is not the most striking MPV on Indian roads, it is a very practical vehicle. Armed with a very fuel efficient engine and acres of space, the Evalia has huge potential among the large families in India. Nissan will price the Evalia right between the Xylo and Innova. While Mahindra sold 2401 units of the Xylo last month, Toyota managed to sell 6678 units of the Innova. Clearly the MPV segment has huge potential and the Evalia is here to take its fair share of the pie. As an MPV, the Evalia ticks all the right boxes and if priced right, it will definitely do what the Duster did for Renault.
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Whats Cool
* Passenger Comfort
* Mileage
* Boot Space
Whats Not So Cool
* Rear windows don’t roll down
* Not as feature loaded as competition
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Nissan Evalia Specifications
* Engine: 1461 cc, common rail, turbocharged diesel
* Power: 86 PS @ 3750 RPM
* Torque: 200 Nm @ 2000 RPM
* Transmission: 5-speed manual
* Top Speed: 150 km/h
* 0-100 km/h: 18.00 seconds (est).
* Fuel Consumption: 13-14 km/l (City), 17-18 km/l (highway)
* Fuel Type: Diesel
* Suspension: Independent Wheels Suspension with Mcpherson Struts (Front), Leaf Springs (Rear)
* Tires: 165/80/14 Tubeless Radials
* Brakes: Disc (Front), Drums (Rear), ABS, EBD, BA
* Safety: ABS, EBD, Dual SRS Front Airbags, Immobilizer, Reverse Camera
Nissan Evalia Dimensions
* Overall length x width x height: 4400 mm X 1695 mm X 1880 mm
* Ground clearance: 180 mm
* Turning Radius – 5.2 m
* Fuel Tank Capacity: 52-liters
* Kerb Weight: 1426 kgs