Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V Review

One of the biggest complaints with our long-term 2007 Nissan Sentra SE-R, which we sent home about 18 months ago, was its fun-sucking CVT. The gearless gearbox did not endear itself to our staffers, who were perplexed by its inclusion in what was supposed to be a sporty sedan. This gearbox conundrum does not exist in the SE-R Spec V, however, as it gets a proper three-pedal six-speed manual. So, with the gearbox issue solved, does the Sentra become a legitimate sport-compact player?

Here are the details in parts:

Renderings Of The Nissan Juke

I may be bombarded for saying that the upcomming Nissan Juke looks more like a joke out of Disney channel (when viewed from the front) because of the saying that goes "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" but I guess I will just have to live with that. Here is the rendering & article by Autoexpress. :

Nissan's Juke is out of the box! Just last week the Japanese manufacturer released a first official teaser shot of its all-new baby Qashqai, and at the same time revealed its name - 'Juke'. And now, using that image as a guide, we have the most accurate pictures yet of the firm's all-new crossover.

With the mould-breaking Qashqai, cut-price GT-R and now this compact SUV - designed to steal sales from traditional family hatchbacks - Nissan is fast earning a reputation for offering interesting alternatives to established models in the market. And judging by our exclusive images, the Juke's compact footprint and Tonka-toy looks mean it has every chance of mirroring the Qashqai's incredible showroom success.

Slotting in between the Note and Qashqai, the Juke will expand Nissan's broad range even further. And when it goes on sale in October, it should provide a welcome boost for the UK car industry too - it will be built alongside the Qashqai and Qashqai+2 at Nissan's Sunderland plant.

The Qazana concept car's swollen wheels arches have been carried over, along with the narrow, elongated headlights and oversize fog lights underneath, while the roofline have taken on a more angular profile.

Full details on the newcomer will be realeaed at the global media unveiling on February 10th, but it's public debut won't be until the Geneva Motor Show in March.

NIssan NV200 Panel Van's Price Revealed In UK

The entry-level NV200 van is priced at £13,867.50 & it features a standard CD/Mp3 audio system plus keyless entry. Upgrade to the SE trim & Nissan will throw in electric windows & a full steel bulkhead. Both variants are powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder diesel engine that returns a combined fuel economy of 54mpg UK (44.9 mpg US or 5.2lt/100km) with CO2 emissions of 137g/km. If one finds the standard kit list a little too short. Nissan offers various optional extras such as air conditioning for £575, glazed rear doors for £150 and a safety pack that includes air con for £1,000.The combi Version will be launched in February 2010.



Source : Carscoop

Novel Idea To Spur Electric Vehicle Sales

Speaking of Electric cars, Israel-born entrepreneur Shai Agassi started a company that aids consumer confidence in purchasing an electric car. At Better place, robots in charge of replacing depleted batteries located under your vehicle much faster than the time to fill up your gas tank.

Agassi said “When electric cars are more affordable and convenient than gas cars, consumer adoption will tip the market,”. Better Place proposes building a network of curbside charging stations where owners can top off their vehicle batteries. Agassi’s idea generated $300 million in venture capital and sparked international interest: Cities in Israel and Denmark hope to have the first robotic change stations running in 2011, and the company aspires to expand operations to Australia, Canada, Hawaii and California in 2012. In late September, Better Place signed a deal with Renault-Nissan to put 100,000 electric vehicles on the road in Israel and Denmark by 2016.

So here is how the system functions :

• Better place will own the batteries along with the infrastructure for servicing them. Hence the owner does not need to worry about worn out battery performance over a period of time which is extreemly costly to replace.
• Those have some time to spare can opt for an electric plug so that drivers can top off at curbside charging
• Gps-enabled software in the car will alert drivers when they are running low on battery power which then directs them to the nearest quick-charge station along their route.
  

The following shows how the whole process is completed within 1 minute 30 seconds on an apparently Electric Nissan Rogue.


The electric 'Fueling Station' will solve many if not all the issues afflicting the future of electric vehicles especially high density areas where most of its residents lives in high rise buildings. The need of having an electric socket in every parking lot is eliminated along with the risk of electric theft. Kudos for making the world....a Better Place.

Source : Popularmechanics.com

Manual Transmision Nissan Navara Adds To Line-up In Malaysia

The Nissan Navara was given the moniker "The Mother Trucker" when it first arrived in Malaysia because it is bigger than the other trucks available here. The version that made it to our shore is the top of the line Navara that is imported from Thailand. That had cause the Navara to be priced above the 100k mark (RM 105,800 to be exact) and deterred budget conscious consumers. With the manual transmission now available in Malaysia, 400Nm of Torque seems to be more within reach.

Two versions of the 6-speeder is on sale. One is the basic Navara 2.5L 6M/T and another is the Navara 2.5L 6M/T SE. According to Nissan's press release, SE stands for Safety Edition.....perhaps Nissan is coaxing its customers into getting the 'pricier + safer version'. Anyway, This new “Safety Edition” also gets the necessary airbag software updates that resolves the bad crash test results in early 2008. The base 6M/T does not have the dual SRS front airbags, ABS brakes and EBD and the 6M/T SE model has.

The manual transmission Navara has the YD25DDTi 2.5 liter engine producing 174 PS and 403Nm of torque (identical to the automatic version). The Navara M/T also gets the Shift-on-the-Fly 4WD system as the 5A/T, which allows 2WD/4WD shifting using a dial at speeds of less than 100km/h.

For the smaller price tag Nissan has featured some downgrades for your stick shift Navara. The xenon headlamps are replaced by halogens, the seats are fabric, the rearview mirrors lose their auto-dimming function, the CD changer is replaced with a single-CD, and the 6 speaker system has been downgraded to 4 speakers (they probably removed the 2 tweeters).Some plastic bits in the interior which used to have a silver finish have been replaced by the same beige interior colour. On the outside, the door mirrors have their chrome finish replaced by body colour. The only thing I don't like about the Navara is the upright rear passenger seat. So far the most comfortable back seat is available on the Mitsubishi Triton.

Nissan Navara 2.5L 6M/T – RM89,800.00
Nissan Navara 2.5L 6M/T SE – RM94,800.00
Nissan Navara 2.5L 5A/T LE – RM105,800.00



Source : Nissan

New Nissan Micra With Colours

The Nissan Micra is previewed a year ahead of its official launch in the UK. Autoexpress presents us with these photos taken from a top-secret event held in Tokyo & it seems the overall exterior styling can be summed up with 2 words. (safe + mundane). The next generation Micra does look like an evolution of the current one but the new Micra actually sits on a new V-platform which according to Nissan is lighter & offer more cabin space. Nissan added that an all new Note that is due in late 2o11 will be build upon this versatile platform. It is common to see cars putting on some weight as the proceed from one generation to another but the new Micra is actually 50 kg lighter than the outgoing model. There will be a new three-cylinder engine & CVT auto gearbox to go along with the new Generation of Micra. Thrown in a start-stop system and you will end up with a sub-120g/km CO2 output with fuel ecomnomy of 60mpg. Sales will commence in October 2010.



Source: Autoexpress

Nissan's Sales, Production and Export Results

The economic downturn have taken a toll on Nissan's performance throughout the Globe excluding China which shows a good amount of growth there. Here is the press release :

Nissan's global production in September decreased 8.5% year-on-year to 289,422 units.

Production in Japan decreased 15.6% year-on-year to 100,653 units.

Production outside of Japan decreased 4.2% year-on-year to 188,769 units.

In the U.S., production decreased 22.2% year-on-year to 36,565 units.

In Mexico, production decreased 24.3% year-on-year to 33,685 units.

In the U.K., production decreased 7.2% year-on-year to 40,570 units.

In Spain, production decreased 56.9% year-on-year to 5,460 units.

In China, production saw a big increase of 62.9% year-on-year to 55,174 units, setting a record for a single month production.

Production in other regions fell 13.3% year-on-year to 17,315 units.

April-September
Nissan's global production in the April to September period decreased 20.9% year-on-year to 1,398,144 units.

In Japan, domestic production fell 29.5% year-on-year to 458,305 units.

Production outside of Japan decreased 15.9% year-on-year to 939,839 units.

In the U.S., production decreased 38.2% year-on-year to 177,409 units.

In Mexico, production decreased 26.9% year-on-year to 182,602 units.

In the U.K., production decreased 15.2% year-on-year to 179,601 units.

In Spain, production decreased 68.6% year-on-year to 27,489 units.

In China, production increased 49.8% year-on-year to 285,884 units, marking a record high for the April-September period.

Production in other regions fell 3.8% year-on-year to 86,854 units.

2. Sales

September
Global sales increased 0.7% to 312,509 units compared to the previous year.

Including mini-vehicles, Nissan sold 67,693 units in Japan, down 0.2% year-on-year, compared to the same level in the same month last year. Market share was 14.2%, no change compared to the same month last year.

In Japan, vehicle registrations in September increased 3.7% year-on-year to 55,245 units due to increased demand for models that qualified for preferential tax exemption which includes Serena and Cube. Nissan's share of the domestic market registrations in September was up 0.1 percentage points year-on-year to 17.2%.

Domestic sales of mini-vehicles were down 14.2% from the previous year to 12,448 units.

Sales outside of Japan increased 0.9% year-on-year to 244,816 units.

Sales in the U.S. fell 7.0% year-on-year to 55,393 units.

In Europe, sales decreased 7.6% year-on-year to 54,831 units.

China saw a record month in September with sales up a significant 63.8% year-on-year to 75,209 units due to continued demand for Teana, Sylphy and Tiida.

Sales in other regions were down 27.0% from the previous year to 39,393 units.

April-September
Global sales decreased 10.5% year-on-year to 1,689,456 units.

Including mini-vehicles, Nissan sold 285,003 units in Japan, down 10.3% year-on-year, however, the sales in the second quarter were kept at same level to the same period last year. Market share was 13.1%, no change compared to the same period last year.

In Japan, vehicle registrations decreased 10.2% year-on-year to 226,450 units. Market share of the domestic market for registered vehicles in the April-September period was down 0.1 percentage points year-on-year to 16.2%.

Sales of mini-vehicles in Japan decreased 10.9% year-on-year to 58,553 units.

Sales outside of Japan decreased 10.5% year-on-year to 1,404,453 units.

Sales in the U.S. decreased 21.4% year-on-year to 405,529 units.

In Europe, sales decreased 18.5% year-on-year to 249,301 units.

China saw a significant increase with sales up 48.1% year-on-year to 396,826 units, marking a record high for the April-September period.

Sales in other regions were down 27.3% year-on-year to 239,570 units.

3. Japan Exports

September
Nissan's exports in September decreased 30.6% year-on-year to 49,077 units.

Exports to North America decreased 5.4% year-on-year to 26,747 units.

Exports to Europe decreased 46.7% year-on-year to 4,493 units.

April-September
Nissan's exports decreased 43.3% year-on-year to 226,907 units.

Exports to North America decreased 14.4% year-on-year to 134,417 units.

Exports to Europe fell 70.0% year-on-year to 17,790 units.

Nissan Fairlady (370 Z) Is The Funnest Car In Japan

The car that has captured the hearts of sports enthusiast for 30 years was given coveted award of the funnest car to drive among the categories of Car of the Year Japan 2009-2010. This is the second time the Nissan Fairlady (370 Z) series has bagged the Car of the Year Japan’s Most Fun Award since 2002-2003. Winners were announced at the Car of the Year Japan Special Exhibition commemorating its 30th Anniversary located at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show. If you ask me, I will say that Nissan should be given the award of the best Japanese Sports Car maker too.









Source : Nissan

Nissan GT-R gets better

Nissan's best sports machine to date receives some update & among them are a revised navigation system, recalibrated suspension settings and an improved-flow via hexagonal meshed catalyst cells that reduce ventilation/airflow resistance. The new Nissan GT-R also get a new HDD-based CARWINGS navigation system which support the 'must have' i-pod.

Being a real driver's car Nissan has upgraded the suspension to offer better ride comfort without sacrificing the GT-R road hugging capabilities. According to Nissan, the front shock absorbers and springs has been increased and the stiffness of rear suspension radius rod bushings has been strengthened. Rear diffusers with cooling ducts, previously available only on the GT-R SpecV, have been expanded to non-SpecV models thus improving cooling performance around the rear floor area.

What the Spec V GTR has over its less expensive siblings are the Dunlop tires. Prices in Japan starts at 8,610,000 yen & making its way up tov15,750,000 yen for the flag
ship variant. The GT-R will be available on December 7th 2009 in all Japanese Showrooms.













Source : Nissan

2010 Nissan Fuga at Tokyo Motorshow

The Nissan Fuga as it is called in the land of the rising sun has another name in the US, the Infinity M which was preview earlier in California at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The Luxurious Nissan Fuga be showcased at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show & it will be available with either the VQ37VHR 3.7-liter V6 or the VQ25HR 2.5-liter V6 powerplant. Among the list of technology Nissan wants to boast about is ‘Double Piston Shock Absorbers' (frequency responsive) that employ a double piston construction to improves handling and ride quality. Next on the line is  what Nissan claims as a world-first ‘ECOpedal'. When the eco-pedal system is on, each time the driver steps on the accelerator, a counter push-back control mechanism is activated if the system detects overly zealous throttle work, helping to inform the driver that they could be using more fuel than required. If I could recall this feature was available on the Kia Optima/Lotze that receive a minor facelift not too long ago.

Moving on to the interior which I personally feel is the best looking part of the Fuga actually has pure silver powder applied alongside the premium wood grain panels to yield immaculate mirror finish. Another Nissan's first would be the Climate control system which take cares of pretty much everything from temperature, humidity and even surppress undesired cabin odour. Audiophiles will take note of the Bose® Surround Sound System, which drives 16 speakers with a 14-channel digital amplifier, will ensure premium sound quality.

There will be a hybrid model joining the line up which employs a 3.5-liter V6, high-power Li-ion batteries and a highly efficient one-motor-two-clutch parallel hybrid system solely developed by Nissan, this model generates the fuel consumption of a compact C-segment car. This model will be launched in the Japanese market from 2010 autumn.
 
SPECIFICATIONS
Overall Length (mm) 4,945
Overall Width (mm) 1,845
Overall Height (mm) 1,500
Wheelbase (mm) 2,900
Seating Capacity 5.

Source : Nissan