Lofty price tag not doing top-end Nissan Magnite any favours

When the Nissan Magnite made its debut in 2020, few would have predicted that it would be the brand’s local torch bearer, by some distance, five years down the line.

Back then the Nissan stable was bursting at the seams with a bunch of bakkies, hatchbacks, SUVs and a sedan. While there are plenty in the pipeline, the hard reality is that the Japanese carmaker’s current local portfolio consists of exactly four vehicles. Two of these, the ultra-plush Patrol and X-Trail combined, don’t even manage to move a combined total of two dozen a month, while the Navara is struggling for market share in the cut-throat bakkie space.

This leaves the Nissan Magnite with a tough task, but one the compact crossover/SUV manages to pull off quite admirably considering the vast number of offerings in the segment. Its January sales of 698 was more than production sibling the Renault Kiger (396) and like-for-like segment newcomers the Mahindra XUV300 3X0 (494) and Hyundai Exter (329).

Funky fresh looks

The manufacturer introduced the facelift Nissan Magnite towards the end of last year in Cape Town, where The Citizen Motoring sampled both engine and transmission options the nine-model line-up has to offer. Last month we had to chance to spend a week in the top-of-the-range Nissan Magnite in 1.0T Acenta Plus CVT guise.

The facelifted Magnite definitely looks the part. A new headlamp design, honeycomb grille pattern, imitation skidplate and realigned foglights give the front end a good injection of attitude.

Blacked-out taillight clusters, new bumper and skidplate feature at the rear with the crossover riding on new 16-inch diamond cut alloys.

In keeping up with the Jones’ (AKA Chinese), the updated Nissan Magnite features a new eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto along with a revised seven-inch digital instrument cluster.

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Plenty of creature comforts

Reserved for the Acenta Plus is a two-tone leatherette option which is a combination of black and brown which won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. The upside is that Nissan claims a heat-resistant coating will keep the seats cooler after standing in the sun for a long time.

Other features in the Acenta Plus include ambient lightning, keyless start/stop, remote engine start, air purifier and 360-degree monitor.

Safety comes in the form of six airbags, rear parking sensors, vehicle dynamic control, hill-start assist and cruise control.

A three-pot turbocharged 1.0-litre petrol engine that sends 74kW of power and 152Nm of to the front wheels via CVT powers the flagship model. It is a big power bump from the more affordable free-breathing 53kW/96Nm 1.0-litre mill. The naturally aspirated engine is hooked up to either five-speed manual or five-speed automated manual gearbox.

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Nissan Magnite too thirsty

We felt that the blown mill looks more impressive on paper than it actually performs on the road. It is burdened by lots of turbo lag which is very frustrating if you are looking for faster acceleration. It’s easier to live with once on the go with the recalibrated CVT keeping a low profile, always a good thing.

The suspension is solid, but spongy brakes let the ride down. The brake pedal needing lots of force to achieve the desired effect is probably something you can get used to, but was slightly concerning nonetheless.

We didn’t get even close to the claimed fuel consumption of 5.27 litres per 100km. While the 300km we covered admittedly included very little open road driving, we felt that a small car like this should not be as thirsty as 9L/100km.

With the Nissan Magnite range starting off at a very competitive R246 200, the Acenta Plus’ R410 700 price tag is likely to be its biggest drawback. While the overall package is solid with the backing of a trusted legacy badge, that price range brings just too many rivals to the table. And that is not good for Nissan’s already dwindling stock.