Car Comparision : Toyota Innova vs Nissan Evalia

Here are the answers to some of the questions you’ve had about Nissan’s new Evalia and how it holds up against the Toyota Innova.

WHICH HAS MORE SPACE?


The Evalia definitely scores big here. It has plenty of headroom and knee room in the middle row. There’s enough space for a couple of large suitcases at the back even with the third row up. We haven’t actually measured the car yet but it appears to offer more space than the Innova in every respect perhaps with the exception of the third row knee room. The large sliding doors make for easy ingress but the windows that only open a crack will be an issue.



HOW ARE THE ENGINES?

The Evalia is down on the Innova when it comes to powerplants. The Innova uses a 2.5-litre diesel engine good for 102PS and 200Nm of torque. The Evalia on the other hand uses the 1.5-litre K9k diesel engine that makes 85PS of torque and a similar 200Nm. However the Nissan’s power deficit should be balanced out by the fact that its monocoque chassis makes it considerably lighter than the ladder frame Innova.



WHICH IS MORE EFFICIENT?

Fuel efficiency makes for a big part of the buying decision in this segment. The Innova returned an overall efficiency of 11.8kmpl in our tests. Nissan however claims the Evalia goes upto 19.3kmpl on a litre of diesel. That’s significantly higher than any of its competition but we can only confirm how efficient the Nissan is after we put it through our tests.



WHAT DOES THE EVALIA DO BETTER?

So why would you chose the Evalia over the Innova? Well the Nissan is very spacious and promises to be quite frugal. It’s a practical and easy to drive vehicle that doesn’t feel as large as the pictures suggest. It’s also quite a dramatically styled car that’s going to turn a few more heads than the Innova. Better looking though? I’m not so sure.





HOW ARE THE DEALER NETWORKS?

Nissan is the newer brand in our market but they’ve been working round the clock to set up a comprehensive dealership network. As of now they have a respectable (considering they set up in 2008) 64 dealerships. Toyota however has nearly three times more with a total of 178 dealerships across the country, so if after sales service is important to you the Toyota is a bit of a no brainer.



WHAT ABOUT THE PRICES?


The Innova range starts at Rs 9.5 lakhs and goes upto to 15 lakhs (on- road Mumbai). It is without doubt an expensive vehicle. We expect the Nissan to be considerably cheaper with prices ranging from Rs 7 to 9 lakhs. If the Evalia is priced well it should give the Innova an honest run for its money. How much of a run? Find out next month.

Car Comparision : Renault Scala vs Nissan Sunny

Car siblings are a relatively new phenomenon in India. Volkswagen and Skoda started it and now we have the brotherhood of Renault and Nissan. The French-Japanese connection is still finding its footing in India though it’s the French who are now coming into prominence with the recently launched SUV, the Duster and now the soon to be launched sedan, the Scala. It is a rebadged Nissan Sunny, just like the Renault Pulse is a rebadged Nissan Micra. So if you had to pick between the two brothers, which one would you choose? With the underpinnings for both the cars remaining the same how does one differentiate? Let’s try and simplify it.

RENAULT SCALA
NISSAN SUNNY


WHAT’S IN A NAME?


To tell someone you own a Scala would need at least a couple of reiterations. Brother-in-law or aunt? Unless you are the type who likes to order ka-bur-nay so-vee-nyo (Cabernet Sauvignon), Scala will be a bit stressful to pull off.

To tell someone you own a car called Sunny wouldn’t need any elaboration. The Sunny is a name with which Indians are comfortable with. Most of us know a boisterous friend called Sunny.



LOOKS


The Scala is like Veronica from Archie comics when compared to the Sunny. The Pulse-inspired front end looks stylish with the smaller grille and sleeker headlamps with the Renault badge split halfway on the bonnet and the grille. From the side the Scala gets a chrome strip outlining the windows at the bottom. At the rear a thick chrome strip connects the tail lamps adding to the premium look. In India, chrome is cool and Scala has been sprinkled with it generously.

The Sunny is like Betty. Doesn’t attract attention but doesn’t bother you either. The big grille and the large horizontal air dam give a lot of bulk to the front end of the Sunny. The side is without any distinguishing character. From the rear too the big bumper and big tail lamp assembly add to the bulky feel of the car.



INTERIORS AND FEATURES


The Scala interiors are a copy of the Sunny. There are no tweaks to make it feel more premium. The only plus is that the top-end variant gets leather seats while the Sunny has to make do with fabric. As for features, refer to the Sunny, it’s the same.

The Sunny interiors are quite spartan and doesn’t feel premium and that round centre console still takes some time getting used to. It gets electric mirrors, integrated stereo with aux-in input (no USB), driver seat height adjust, automatic climate control, steering mounted stereo controls, keyless entry, stop start switch, rear air blower, ABS and front driver and passenger airbags.




POWER, HANDLING, RIDE QUALITY, NVH


The Scala diesel produces 86PS at 3750rpm and 200Nm at 2000rpm. It has sufficient torque for the highways but getting up a slope with four passengers, especially if you have come to a stop, requires using the clutch to build up the revs. The ride is plush over most surfaces except when the roads are really bad. The NVH levels are quite refined and you can hardly hear the diesel clatter.

There is no difference.




DEALER NETWORK
Renault has 80 dealerships out of which 50 are service centres.

Nissan has, as of today, 64 dealerships and service centres across the country.



PRICE
The prices for the Scala haven’t been revealed yet but we expect the top end variant to be around Rs 9.70 lakh. We are using the Micra-Pulse difference in price as a reference.

The top-end diesel Sunny costs Rs 8.93 lakh, ex-Delhi.



SO WHICH ONE?
Renault Scala has much more appealing looks than the Nissan Sunny. The sleeker front fascia, alloy wheels and chrome spattering will appeal to the Indian customer. The Scala also gets leather seats. But with hardly any other features to justify the premium the Scala will charge over the Sunny, Renault will have to come up with a solid marketing campaign to get its numbers up. You can’t stretch the caaaaaaar too far.