Nissan Magnite in SA (2021) Launch Review

Nissan’s new Magnite budget crossover has arrived in South Africa and we had a brief opportunity to sample the range-topping 1.0 Turbo Acenta Plus automatic derivative in Cape Town. Let’s take a quick look at what Nissan’s newcomer brings to a burgeoning segment of the new-vehicle market…

There’s been considerable activity in the budget crossover (entry-level compact family car) segment in recent months and the new Nissan Magnite is the latest product to come to market.

It wasn’t too long ago that the Ford EcoSport dominated this corner of the market but a flurry of new cars such as the Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Toyota Urban Cruiser, Kia Sonet and Haval Jolion have all since come to the party to meet the growing market demand for practical and, most importantly, affordable small SUVs.

With the arrival of the Magnite, local buyers now have even more choice. We spent one short day with the newcomer; we bring you some of our initial impressions below…

What does the Nissan Magnite look like?

Nissan MAgnite
The Magnite is a Datsun that became a Nissan. How do you feel about that?

Datsun Go, is that you? The most pronounced aesthetic feature of the Magnite is indeed its grille. The Magnite was actually designed to be a Datsun, but because Nissan has decided to scale down its budget brand globally, the Japanese manufacturer took over the Magnite project, which is why the budget crossover you see here proudly wears a new Nissan badge, which actually looks quite slick.

This range-topping 1.0 Turbo Acenta Plus automatic arrived clad in a dual-tone paint job (Vivid Blue with a Storm White roof), which is perhaps the most striking colour combination on offer in the range. Overall, we think the Magnite’s styling will divide opinion – it might not be to everyone’s taste, but you can let us know if you like the look. Let’s hop inside for a closer look…

What’s the interior of the Nissan Magnite like?

Nissan Magnite interior
This range-topping Magnite has many attractive features including a 360-degree camera and a wireless smartphone charger.

The Magnite’s interior is certainly one of the livelier cabins in the budget crossover segment. What’s more, the specification sheet on this range-topping derivative is quite impressive. For a start, the partial cloth/leather seats have an interesting quilted-look design and the configurable arcade-like 7-inch TFT Advanced Drive-Assist Display (instrument cluster) adds welcome dashes of colour and pep.

Infotainment is provided by an 8-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility. The top-spec Magnite is also equipped with a 360-degree Around View Monitor (AVM) camera system which is a boon in this segment and particularly useful for manoeuvring in and out of tight parking spaces. But that’s not all, there’s also a wireless charging pad for your smartphone, very fancy!

Space for rear passengers is more than adequate and a central rear armrest provides a pair of cupholders and space to store a smartphone. As for the load bay, it is said to offer 336 litres of luggage space and, should you need to transport longer or bulkier items, you can free up more room by folding down the 60:40 split rear seatback.

In terms of safety, the Magnite is equipped with 2 front airbags, ABS with EBD, brake assist, electronic stability control (including traction control), hill start assist and a tyre pressure monitoring system.

Despite its impressive feature set, the Magnite’s perceived interior build quality is perhaps its biggest drawback; it just doesn’t feel quite as well screwed together as its rivals and some of the trim looks iffy.

What’s the Nissan Magnite like to drive?

Nissan Magnite rear
The Magnite’s engine is punchier than its rivals and delivers good overall performance.

While most of the Magnite’s rivals employ naturally-aspirated engines, Nissan’s newcomer is powered by a 1.0-litre 3-cylinder turbopetrol engine that packs 74 kW and 152 Nm of torque. The 3-pot motor can be paired with either a 5-speed manual transmission or, in this case, a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT).

The Magnite weighs just over a tonne and we were surprised by how briskly it scooted between traffic-light intersections on the daily commute. Acceleration from standstill is good and under normal driving conditions, the engine and transmission work well together to deliver a pleasant driving experience. The Magnite, therefore, does not feel as obviously sluggish as some of its naturally aspirated rivals.

Under hard acceleration, the level of mechanical noise increases noticeably, but this is not out of the ordinary. CVTs are often criticised for being “droney” even if we believe the Magnite’s transmission is better than most of its equivalents. The CVT also has a “Low” setting for when the car needs maximum oomph to ascend uphills (when fully laden) or traversing trickier sections of gravel roads.

The steering feel is light, which is great for inner-city driving, but it’s also quite vague and perhaps not as responsive to inputs as we’d hoped it would be. The ride quality, however, is reasonably pliant on tarred roads. Although we didn’t get a chance to drive the Magnite on a dirt road, we’d imagine that the 205 mm of ground clearance would be useful if the Nissan ever needed to traverse gravel routes.

In terms of fuel efficiency, Nissan claims an average consumption of 6.0 L/100 km and, during our brief drive, we saw returns of around 6.5 L/100 km, which is right on par with vehicles of this calibre.

Summary

The Magnite makes a strong case for itself if you are willing to accept its weaknesses.

Overall, the Nissan Magnite range is competitively priced against its main rivals. An admirable combination of easy drivability, willing performance (matched with good economy), a pliant ride quality and a comprehensive feature list makes the newcomer quite worthy of consideration. However, some buyers might be put off by the model’s Datsun-inspired styling and average-to-marginal perceived build quality. Nissan does, however, offer a comprehensive warranty and a 3-year service plan, both of which should provide prospective buyers with some peace of mind.

Considering the market’s enthusiastic response to Toyota Urban Cruiser and Suzuki Vitara Brezza, it will be interesting to see how well the Magnite will be received in Mzansi in the coming weeks and months. We do, however, look forward to having the Magnite on test for a longer period so that we provide you with further useful insights. Look out for a thorough review coming your way soon!