The Evalia, a new MPV from Nissan, is a box full of practicality. Should the competition be worried?
WITH THE EVALIA,Nissan barge into the fl ourishing multi-utility vehicle (MPV) segment of India.
It is already an established model internationally, known as the NV200, although more commonly spotted in the commercial vehicle space. In fact, this uber-practical Nissan might replace the ageing yet iconic black cabs of London very soon. But here in India, the Evalia has the humongous task of playing a dual role: an urban utility vehicle to ferry happy families from the cinema hall to shopping malls and the serious business of commercial fl eet-owners.
Designing an MPV is defi nitely not an easy job. It’s a challenge to make the extra long and tall vehicle appear proportionate and, more importantly, desirable. Thankfully, the Evalia has great detailing on its front design, as the sleek headlights merge effortlessly merge with the smart front grille. However, the expanse of sheet-metal on its sides and its boxy tail-end make the MPV look very utilitarian. And the rather small 14-inch wheels (165 R14 97/95) don’t really enhance its style quotient either. The silver lining here, though, is the aerodynamic design and a light weight of just 1,426 kg, about 200 kg lighter than the Toyota Innova, which helps the Evalia achieve a good fuel effi ciency of 19.3 km per litre (as claimed, under ideal test conditions).
The large front doors and smooth sliding rear doors make ingress and egress trouble-free. There is a large boot lid with a low storage compartment fl oor that make stowing luggage an easy task. Even with three rows of seats upright, the boot can hold two large suitcases. The cabin itself is very spacious with plenty of headroom. All the three rows of seats offer generous legroom and can happily accommodate seven well-built adults. Being an incorrigible backbencher, I started with the last row. It has two full-size seats with ample knee-room and these can be folded sideways to make room for more luggage. It also gets bottle holders and separate air-conditioning vents with a regulator. The reclining middle-row seats are comfortable and can seat three people, but the bench is not adjustable nor does it have separate a-c vents. The biggest complaint is that the windows of the sliding doors do not roll down, but are butterfl y-type that open to offer a narrow slit. In other words, when travelling with rear seat passengers, you’ll need to keep the a-c on all the time.
The driver sits high, as in most vans, and gets a clear view thanks to the large windscreen and windows. The two-tone beige dashboard has a nice fi nish and has bottle-holders on the edge and also hosts a stubby gear-stick. Strangely, the large glove compartment doesn’t come with a lid which makes it appear rather shabby.
I drove the top-of-the-line ‘XV’ variant, which has a coloured driver’s multi-functional screen showing average and real time fuel economy, gear-shift indicator, snazzy digital tachometer and conveniently transforms as the display for the rear camera. The ‘XV’ bag of goodies also includes front power windows, ABS, EBD, Brake Assist, electronically adjustable outer rear-view mirrors, dual air-bags, follow me home lights and intelligent key.
Twist the ignition switch and the loud engine clatter announces that the oil-burner has come alive. This 1.5-litre K9K is the most popular diesel motor within the Nissan-Renault alliance and in the Evalia it churns out 86 PS of peak power and 200 Nm of maximum torque, similar to the sedan, Sunny. On paper these figures seem rather meek for a full-fledged MPV meant to carry seven passengers with their baggage. Interestingly, you won’t realise it while driving as the power seems quite adequate for the job. The engine has been tuned to offer strong low and middle range and there’s linear power flow, without any noticeable turbo lag, all the way up to the 4,000 revs red-line. There is enough thrust even below 1,500 revs and the smart gear ratios of the five-speed manual transmission makes sure you don’t loiter off the power-band either. The gear-shifts, however, are not that smooth and feel disappointingly notchy. The duty to bring the MPV to halt has being entrusted to a pair of discs upfront and drum brakes at the rear that work fairly well.
The steering of this MPV is pretty light and its turning radius of 5.2 metres is ideal for the city environment, making the Evalia easy to manoeuvre. Based as it is on a monocoque chassis, it drives more like a sedan in spite of being the tallest in the segment and the leaf-spring suspension has been set up to limit the body-roll and, at the same time, to soak up most road undulations.
The company will launch the Evalia late this September in four trims. The ‘XE’ would be the stripped down base variant with a simple music system and two speakers, while the ‘XE+’ will sport four speakers and dual air-bags. The next trim ‘XL’ gets all these, plus third-row a-c vents, central locking and a two DIN music system. Finally, the ‘XV’ that I drove had additional features such as coloured multi-functional display, alloy wheels, fog lamps and intelligent key.
The Evalia proves to be a well-rounded MPV – a true seven-seater with a spacious cabin, good fit-and-finish and better to drive than some of its rivals. Now everything boils down to Nissan’s pricing strategy. They will be aiming too high if they pit it against the Toyota Innova. However, Nissan can hit the bull’s-eye if the Evalia gets priced between the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and Mahindra Xylo.
Based as it is on a monocoque chassis, it drives more like a sedan in spite of being the tallest in the segment and the leaf-spring suspension has been set up to limit the body-roll and, at the same time, to soak up most road undulations
NEED TO KNOW
NISSAN EVALIA
PRICE Rs 8 lakh (estimated, ex-showroom)
ENGINE 1.5-litre, 86PS, 200Nm
TRANSMISSION Five-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Story: Sarmad Kadirii
Photography: Rommel Albuquerque
