Seems that the year of the Rat brings a lot of new cars into my family. My other brother-in-law, my wife’s sister’s husband, also bought a new car this year. The 2008 Nissan Grand Livina.

One first look at the Grand Livina and the Nissan Murano comes to mind, thanks to the unmistakable front grille.

The car is the 1.6 litre version, 4-speed automatic transmission. The car really looks big on the outside.

The exterior looks great for a 7 seater, very much akin to the Toyota’s Wish and Honda’s Stream, albeit at a much lower price, below the RM100K price tag. (Both the Toyota and Honda cost above RM100K)

How does it look on the inside? In short, PLASTIC GALORE! Although everything looks clean and well-designed, the use of plastic was very obvious.

Ahem… that’s my legs there.

The dials were clean and straight-to-the-point. No fancy lights or digital speed indicator. In short: boring.

Actually the cabin is very small for a car this big. Bear in mind that this car is targeted at the mid-sized family that should consist of a few kids. So a car of this size is really not considered big enough, IMHO.

Air-cond for the back passenger! Standard accessories for all 7 seaters, the absence of which will result in my ultimate ridicule! However I would prefer that the air blows from above instead of this position. Hot air travel upwards, so the air-cond blowing from underneath will only defeat its purpose. Pity also for those skirt-wearing lady passengers who happen to sit right in front of the air-cond vent! Ahem….

Great looking door handle on the inside. Modern looking interior that has its obvious roots from the recently launched Nissan Latio.

If you have noticed, it has a slightly sloping rear end and high ground clearance that results in a lower headroom for the rear passenger. I have personally climbed on board the back row, and let me tell you, it was nightmare! The place was very clearly designed as an after-thought where form takes precedence over function. The ride at the back is bumpy, and the floor board is too tall for a full-grown adult like myself. I do not have long legs, among Asian men, I am not considered tall. Even at that height, I can feel how cramped that place is.

However all is not lost. The Nissan’s saving grace seem to be from the spirited drive from the small-but-able engine that could.

The front engine compartment seems too small to accommodate such a powerful engine, but it would have seem that the engineers at Nissan has done a great job in this aspect. On paper, the aluminum engine can produce 116 ps and 166.9 Nm of torque, better than the 1.5 litre Toyota Avanza or the Rush. And in real life performace, the engine proves to be preppy and light on the pedal. One little jab on the accelerator and it lifted off obligingly. Truly a job well done!

So how does the Grand Livina compare against the other competitors? It’s definitely targeted to counter Toyota’s advance in the sub RM100K 7 seater segment, the Avanza and the new Rush. However I do not think that it will be able to beat these vehicles. Different story though once Proton comes out with its own 7 seater next year. That we’ll have to see.

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