On Friday, Nissan India announced that its soon-to-be-launched sub-4 metre SUV, the Magnite, will be powered by the HRA0 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine. This made-in-India engine is claimed to have a fuel efficiency of 20 km/litre and produces maximum power of 100PS and maximum torque of 160Nm. In the Magnite, this engine will be mated to two gearbox options—the manual five-speed gearbox and the X-Tronic CVT automatic gearbox. “The HRA0 is a first-of-its-kind turbocharged petrol engine in the country to offer such robust performance,” said Biju Balendran, MD & CEO, Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt Ltd. Rakesh Srivastava, MD, Nissan Motor India, added, “The Magnite embodies our philosophy of Nissan-ness, which stands for empowering people through breakthrough products and technologies.”
The Magnite will also get the B4D naturally-aspirated petrol engine. It produces maximum power of 72PS and maximum torque of 92Nm. This engine will be paired with Nissan’s dual-VVT system. This engine is claimed to have a fuel efficiency of 18.75 km/litre. The Magnite, developed under the Nissan NEXT strategy for India, will enter the highly-competitive segment dominated by Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Hyundai Venue and Kia Sonet, among others. For the Magnite, Nissan’s engineers, it appears, have benchmarked all existing sub-4 metre SUVs and tried to better those. This gets reflected in the exterior design. Barring the huge Datsun-like front grille—which may elicit mixed reactions—the SUV looks well-proportioned and well built. Its ground clearance is 205 mm, and turning radius of just 5 metres.
The cabin is where the Magnite tries to stand out. The seat fabric is firm, there are plenty of functional storage spaces, the dashboard is quite distinctive, and Nissan claims it is the most spacious SUV in its segment—including 336 litres of cargo space. Top-end variants of the Magnite will get a ‘tech pack’ that includes a wireless charger, air purifier, puddle lamps and ambient/mood lighting, and speakers from JBL.
