There hasn’t been a lot of action from Nissan in the Indian market lately. The last launch was the Kicks exactly two years ago in 2018, and that didn’t really set the sales charts blazing. But now after a hiatus,  the Japanese car maker is joining the compact SUV party with this, the Magnite, a product Nissan says is made for India. The Magnite is a make or break deal for Nissan’s India operations . The compact SUV segment is challenging but winning in tough times is sweeter isn’t it? Does the Nissan Magnite live up to expectations?

Nissan Magnite Exterior

The Nissan Magnite is based on the CMF-A+ platform that also unpins the Renault Triber. Renault’s upcoming compact SUV, the Kiger will also share this platform.  Coming back to the Magnite, from the time the concept was unveiled to the time we saw the production version, our views never altered. It does look striking and is a very good-looking car, no two ways about it. The front large grille shouts Datsun and in fact, the Magnite was initially slated to be a Datsun model. With the uncertain future of the Datsun brand, it went the Nissan way.  The sharp LED headlamps look the part, the  L-shaped DRLs are neatly integrated into the front bumper and there are projector fog lamps along with a skid plate as well.

Coming to the side, the Magnite has a very balanced look. The squared wheel arches with the black cladding give it a beefy stance. Along with that, a ground clearance of 205mm and dual tone16-inch alloys wheels add to the compact SUV credentials. Also a nice detailing is the Magnite badging on the side above the front fenders.  The rear is simple yet not dull by any stretch of imagination. However, the tail lamps aren’t LEDs, and that’s a downer. Also notice how the tail lamps resemble those of the Renault Triber.  And brownie points to Nissan for including rear wiper with washer as standard across all variants. Also thrown in are roof rails and roof spoiler. The centre of the tail gate features large Magnite lettering, while the rear bumper is finished in two tone.  The chrome is used in right proportions. Its good to see Nissan hasn’t strayed away from the concept design. There’s also a nice palette of colours on offer for the Magnite including  four dual tone options.