Nissan Magnite has been awarded four stars in ASEAN NCAP and it becomes one of the cheapest models in India with high safety rating
Nissan Motor India introduced the Magnite compact SUV early last month and it has already been well received for its attractive price range. The most affordable model in its class has clocked more than 15,000 bookings since its debut and the waiting period simply soars to more than eight months in some places and the absence of the brand in many major cities has certainly been a downer.
The Magnite is claimed to have the lowest maintenance cost in its segment of just 29 paise per km and more than 1.50 lakh enquiries were made in the space of just two weeks. Adding cherry on top, the Magnite has been awarded four stars by ASEAN NCAP crash test organisation. While the key details of the tests are yet to be revealed, it looks to be the India-spec model as the Magnite is manufactured only in Tamil Nadu.
The New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP) performed an assessment on the Magnite recently and it was the second assessed model under the Nissan brand in 2020. Based on the overall score, the sub-four-metre SUV obtained a four-star rating. This makes the Nissan Magnite one of the cheapest cars around with a high safety rating in India.
The Magnite comes with a standard warranty of two years and it can be extended up to five years. It has created a niche of its own in the compact SUV space with a starting price of Rs. 4.99 lakh (ex-showroom) as the next affordable model in the segment is the Kia Sonet at Rs. 6.75 lakh (ex-showroom). It is based on the heavily localised CMF-A+ platform that also underpins the upcoming Renault Kiger.
Just as the Nissan Magnite, the Renault Kiger may also carry an aggressive price range as undercutting rivals has been a key strategy for the French manufacturer and we have seen it in Kwid and Triber. The Magnite competes against Kia Sonet, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Tata Nexon, Hyundai Venue, Mahindra XUV300, Ford EcoSport and Honda WR-V.
It derives power from a 1.0-litre three-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine and a 1.0-litre turbo three-pot petrol engine. The latter is paired with a five-speed manual or a CVT automatic transmission. The same powertrain will also be seen in the kiger.