Recalling The Nissan Evalia | When Nissan thought ahead of the time

After the SUVs, people moving vehicles are the second most sought-after category in the Indian automobile market. Back in 2012, Nissan India stepped forward to introduce a well-engineered MPV, Evalia, in India. The deal back then looked fairly promising but still was not able to break the ice. But what was it like to be Nissan Evalia? Let’s have a look.

Peek Under the Hood

Nissan Evalia is a big, full-grown MPV that was powered by the same powertrain as the Sunny. It had a 1.5litre, K9K turbo diesel engine that produces 86ps of power and 200Nm of peak torque. The MPV came with a 5-speed manual gearbox, with some tweaks. Considering the power on paper, Evalia might seem a bit underpowered but let me tell you, it was ample for its size and weight.

Though an 86ps powertrain, it was more than adequate to ride on straight roads and mountain roads. This suddenly changes when the MPV was loaded with all the seats occupied and a weekend load luggage. The engine suddenly felt strained and one needed to keep working the gears to extract the most out of it. With that said, Evalia was Okay with 4 people on board with their luggage.

How was the car from behind the wheel?

Any people’s mover or an MPV has to be comfortable enough with suspensions on the softer side. Well, the situation here was kind of a mixed bag. When traveling out on the highway, the Nissan Evalia felt right at home. The things were quite different when the car was shown in some corners. The tall body along with leaf spring suspension at the rear gave the Nissan too much body roll. When it comes to the city driving, again it was a good deal when commuting.

Were the Interiors good?

Well, the interior majorly came with plastic but it was a good quality one and with amazing fit and finish. The light-coloured cabin made the roomy cabin of Nissan Evalia ever so more opened. The gear lever though on an odd position felt right at hand when it came to ergonomics.

Features

This is where Nissan Evalia was right next to its rivals. When it comes to the driver aid features, the MPV came with rear parking sensors along with a reversing camera. The ORVMs were electrically adjustable, coloured MID for the driver, engine immobilizer with the smart key. When it comes to safety, the car came equipped with ABS, EBD, BA, and Dual Airbags. For the rear passengers, there was a dedicated cooling system with AC-vents for individual rows.

Verdict

Nissan with its Evalia wanted to take over the likes of Mahindra Xylo and the king, Toyota Innova. It was quite a promising deal with practical interiors and decent exteriors. But the exterior was something more commercial like which was not appealing for the family car buyers. Still, the Nissan Evalia had a decent equipment list and ample safety features.