When you think of Nissan, you think of the GT-R (Godzilla of the automotive world), the Patrol (true rival to the Toyota Land Cruiser), the Leaf (world’s first mass-produced electric car), the Sunny (the Caaaaar), and the Qashqai (sparked the global crossover craze).
You may think of the Magnite, but will unlikely think of the Gravite – an MPV that seems like a departure from Nissan’s iconic lineage. But spending a day with it made me realise that while it’s not an engineering marvel, it’s a practical car for Indian families on a budget.
Gravite and Triber
The Gravite is the newest car from the Renault-Nissan Alliance, built on the CMF-A+ platform that underpins the Triber, and yet there are some differences.
While the Triber has an understated European MPV look, the Gravite has SUV-like design lines.
The Triber has a standard audio setup, but the Gravite’s top variants come with dual dashcam and JBL audio system.
While the Triber ranges from Rs 5.76 lakh to Rs 8.60 lakh, the Gravite retails from Rs 5.65 lakh to Rs 8.93 lakh.
But the biggest difference is AMT prices – AMT is offered only in the top-end Emotion variant of the Triber (Rs 8.39 lakh), but starts at a lower price in the Gravite (Rs 7.80 lakh).
How does it drive?
Driving performance is average. It has the 1.0-litre naturally-aspirated 3-cylinder petrol engine (72 bhp, 96 Nm), which is noisy and sluggish, and struggles to overtake long vehicles on a highway or climbing steep inclines. It, however, is efficient, and lovely to drive in slow-moving city traffic – my test unit returned a real-world fuel efficiency of 14-16 km/litre in city traffic (claimed is 19.6 km/litre, which is doable on highways). The steering is light and well-suited for city use.
What about comfort?
If space is the ultimate luxury, then the Gravite is a winner. Barring the third row – which is for kids – there is midsize-SUV-rivalling space in this MPV. The second row, in particular, is very comfortable – even for three adults. The driver’s seat has enough room to move arms around.
Seating arrangement is modular, and you can convert it from a 5-seater to a 6-seater or a 7-seater. If you completely remove the third row, you get the maximum space for any sub-4 metre car – it opens up a huge 625 litres of boot space.
Should you buy it?
It’s an extremely good value-for-money choice for a price-conscious Indian family – six airbags are standard, and even the top-end variant is under Rs 10 lakh.
Despite being an MPV, it’s got city-friendly dimensions, and can be driven even in the tiniest of lanes.
Highway performance is average, but the car feels comfortable and stable at speeds of 80-100 km/h.
Why should you skip it?
It’s not a driver’s car, and may feel lethargic on new expressways where other cars will be speeding past you at 120 km/h.
The engine is noisy, and doesn’t feel as refined as 1.0-litre units of Hyundai or even Maruti Suzuki.
While its Rs 5.65 lakh to Rs 8.93 lakh price tag is inviting, if the aim is to have only an MPV or a van, the bare-bones Maruti Suzuki Eeco, starting at Rs 5.21 lakh, is even better value – no wonder, it sells more than 10,000 units every month. The Gravite, however, feels more modern inside and out.
