Nissan Sunny CVT: How it holds against competitors

Automatics are steadily gaining popularity in India. With traffic conditions going from bad to worse with every passing day and 'stop-and-go' gradually becoming the perennial mode of driving in every city, big and small, self-drive car buyers can be increasingly seen looking and opting for the more convenient alternative of automatic transmission systems instead of drive-intensive manual gearboxes in cars.

And that probably is the reason why the country's car-industry has lately been so busy hosting launch parties for automatic cars. Not long ago had the Indian arm of the French automaker, Renault, launched an automatic version of its sedan bestseller Scala, and now its sister company, Nissan, has gone ahead and introduced its own flagship sedan Sunny in an automatic avatar.

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Keeping the rest exactly the same as before, for the new Sunny CVT, Nissan India has simply replaced the car's manual transmission gearbox with the same cutting-edge fourth generation X-Tronic CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) system that was introduced in Renault Scala CVT towards the beginning of this year.

Although the manual line-up of Nissan Sunny features both petrol and diesel models, the autobox for the car has been introduced only on the solitary mid-range XL petrol variant, to be tagged with a price of Rs 8.90 lakh.

Powered by the same 1.5-litre, 16V, HR15 petrol mill that drives its manual siblings, the newly-launched Nissan Sunny CVT generates a higher power output of 99.62bhp at 5600rpm as against the 97.7bhp at 6000rpm that is delivered by Sunny manual.

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The torque ratings, however, continue to remain the same in this model, at 134Nm at 4000rpm. Where fuel-economy is concerned, Sunny CVT has left all competition behind by promising to return class-leading mileage of 17.97kmpl (ARAI-certified), which makes it an all the more attractive buy in the current scenario of raging fuel prices.

In other words, a sedan that used to be a hot favourite of the chauffeur-driven elite of India, thanks to its class-leading rear-seat comforts and spaciousness, has now been provided with the perfect set of tools to carve a distinct niche for itself even with the self-drive sedan buyers of the country.

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All that is left to be seen now is how effective these tools actually prove against those contenders who have had a much longer time in comparison to the newly-launched Nissan Sunny CVT to establish their foothold in the market, and that is exactly what we try to figure out here.

Renault Scala CVT v/s Nissan Sunny CVT

Launched towards the beginning of this year, Renault Scala CVT features the same X-Tronic automatic transmission designed by Nissan that has been loaded in the new Nissan Sunny CVT, and hence both the cars stand exactly at par with each other where technology is concerned.

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In terms of fuel-economy too, automatic versions of both the Sunny and the Scala stand together at the very top in the entire segment, offering best-in-class mileage return of 17.97kmpl (ARAI-certified).

However, as soon as the discussion turns to power figures, Sunny CVT is seen taking a clear lead over its sister car whose 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder, 2-valve, XH2 petrol mill generates a top output of 97.7bhp at 6000rpm along with a peak 134Nm of torque at 4000 rpm (same as the Sunny CVT).

Even on monetary grounds, Sunny automatic proves to be a much better option in comparison to Scala CVT that has been tagged with a price of Rs 8.99 lakh for the RxL and Rs 9.89 lakh for the RxZ model.

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Ford Fiesta AT v/s Nissan Sunny CVT

While Nissan Sunny CVT is one of the only two sedans (other than Renault Scala) in the Indian market to have received the next-gen X-Tronic CVT system to pair up with its powermill, Ford Fiesta AT is the only ride in the entire segment to get a dual-clutch transmission gearbox.

In fact, with the six-speed character, the dual-clutch 'box gets one step ahead by facilitating cruising at much higher speeds as compared to the 5-speed X-Tronic transmission.

Not only this, but the power and torque figures too place the Fiesta a level higher than the Sunny.

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With a 1.5-litre, 16V, DOHC, In-Line petrol mill sitting under the hood of the American ride, the car promises to generate top power and torque outputs of 107.5bhp at 6045rpm and 140Nm at 4500rpm respectively, which are notably higher than those of the Sunny CVT.

However, the tables here take a complete turn when it comes to price tags and fuel-economies. Offering a fuel-efficiency of 16.97kmpl (ARAI-certified), Ford Fiesta automatic falls a step behind the class-leading mileage offering of Nissan Sunny CVT.

Similarly, in terms of pricing, the Rs 9.28 lakh and Rs 10.01 lakh tags that come attached to the Fiesta's AT Style and AT Titanium Plus models make it lose a couple of odd points against the extremely competitive pricing of the Sunny CVT.

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Honda City S AT v/s Nissan Sunny CVT

The toughest hurdle that every new competitor of Honda has to encounter in India is the exceptionally loyal fan-following that Honda Cars India have created for themselves here.

And the same holds true for Nissan Sunny CVT as well. In fact, for the Sunny CVT, the competition gets even tougher as the competitor that faces it is Honda's best-selling model for the past 10 years, Honda City.

Other than a massive fan-base, Honda City S AT also masters much better power and torque ratings, of 116.4bhp at 6600rpm and 146Nm at 4800rpm, in comparison to the Nissan entrant thanks to its brilliantly-engineered 1.5-litre, 16V, SOHC, i-VTEC petrol engine.

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However, it is the mileage where the City falls behind the Sunny. Mated to a 5-speed automatic transmission gearbox, the powermill of Honda City S AT delivers a fuel-economy of just 15.6kmpl (ARAI-certified), which is much lower than that of the Sunny CVT.

On the grounds of pricing too, the Sunny CVT emerges as a much more affordable deal than the City S AT that comes tagged with a price of Rs 9.25 lakh.

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