NISSAN EVALIA

When?: July 2012

How much?: Rs 8 to 12 lakh

Variants: 1.5 dCi diesel

Nissan's NV200 MPV for India, the Evalia will hit showrooms closer than you might think. Production of the Evalia has begun and you can expect it to be on sale from late-July this year.

The Evalia is a petty conservative looking MPV – nothing futurustic about it, but nothing offensive either. It's a proper 7-seater, with the front and last row being individual seats and the middle row being a bench. The Evalia sports twin sliding doors (i.e. sliding doors on either side of the cabin) for the middle row and interior space, typical of all current-gen Nissans is pretty good.

The gear lever is of the joystick variety (as previously seen on the Honda CR-V), which means it's mounted on the dashboard, hence freeing up space on the cabin floor. With the last row in place, the Evalia can accomodate two large suitcases with ease and the count goes up to five large ones with the last row folded.

The Evalia is 4.4 metres long with a height of 1.88 metres and the width being 1.69 m. The wheelbase is 2725mm – just short of the Innova's wheelbase. Standard on the features list is the electric power steering unit and Nissan claims car-like handling and ride comfort for the Evalia. Interestingly, the fuel tank is placed beneath the floor, under the driver's seat with the fuel filler cap located on the B-pillar, behind the driver's door. The Evalia features strut-type suspension at the front that is mounted on a rubber insulated subframe with an anti-roll bar. The rear suspension is a single leaf spring affair mounted on a subframe. The shell is very rigid and it's equipped with reinforced sills and four crossmembers.

On the engines front, the 1.5-litre dCi diesel motor is going to be on offer. It may either produce 86 bhp (like in the Sunny) or 104 bhp. We think it could be the former owing to the economy factor and the fact that MPVs don't warrant spicy acceleration numbers. If Nissan gets it right, just like it did with the Sunny, then expect it to mount a serious charge on the Innova.

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