The upcoming Nissan sub-4 metre SUV could
be named Nissan Magnite. That’s according to recent trademark application
filings accessed by IndianAutosBlog.com. Nissan had filed a trademark
application for ‘Datsun Magnite’ last year. Now, the company has filed a
trademark application for ‘Nissan Magnite’. We can even confirm that it has
created a Nissan Magnite logo and filed a trademark application for the same.
Nissan will likely use the Magnite name
for its upcoming sub-4 metre SUV. The company has begun the marketing campaign
of the product with teaser images and is expected to conduct the launch in the
middle of the calendar year. The Nissan Magnite will likely be the
India-specific small SUV developed keeping in mind the lower GST on ICE
four-wheelers no longer than 4,000 mm in length. This SUV is said to ride on
the CMF-A+ platform, an extended version of the Renault Kwid’s CMF-A platform.
Like the Renault HBC, also an upcoming
length-restricted India-specific B-SUV based on the CMF-A+ platform, the Nissan
Magnite would employ the HR10 1.0-litre engine, as per media reports. The
turbocharged three-pot petrol mill is made in 100 PS/160 Nm and 117 PS/170 Nm
versions for the Nissan models sold overseas. Nissan has one more 1.0-litre
turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine. It’s the HRA0 unit that produces 100
PS and 152 Nm of torque. In conjunction with the Xtronic CVT, it returns an
impressive fuel economy of 23.3 km/l in the all-new Nissan Almera (all-new
Nissan Sunny) sold in Thailand.
Expect the Nissan small SUV in India to be
priced from around INR 7 lakh (ex-showroom). In addition to the Renault HBC,
this model will compete with the Kia Sonet, Maruti Vitara Brezza, Tata Nexon,
Mahindra XUV300 and the Ford EcoSport.
