The 2020 Nissan Almera‘s ASEAN debut is just around
the corner now, with Nissan Thailand releasing a teaser video of the new
B-segment sedan. Based on the countdown timer on the microsite, the Thai launch
of the Almera will be happening next week.
The teaser video is a dark one with moving light
shining on sections of the new Almera. Of note are the strong LED signatures at
both ends, something the aged current Almera does not have. The inverted LED
ticks in front are combined with Nissan’s signature V-Motion front end.
Moving to the sides, the new Almera may wear sharper
styling than its bulbous predecessor, but the shape is still of a very spacious
compact sedan. The design highlight on the profile is the visual connection between
the side daylight opening with the rear screen, bisecting the C pillars in the
process. Revealed in April as the Versa for the United States market, the new
Almera rides on the Common Modular Family (CMF-B) platform shared with the new
March and Renault Clio.
The interior has seen big change too; there’s a new
“Gliding Wing” dashboard lifted from the Kicks crossover. In the US, the Versa
is offered with features such as a large instrument display, a touchscreen head
unit with Apple CarPlay, keyless entry and start, auto climate control, heated
front seats and the Nissan Safety Shield 360 suite of driver assists.
These include autonomous emergency braking, lane
departure warning, auto high beam and optional blind spot monitoring and
adaptive cruise control, though it remains to be seen which of these systems –
if any – will make it to ASEAN. The US Versa gets a 122 hp/154 Nm 1.6 litre
HR16DE naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine paired to an Xtronic CVT.
