Let’s say you’re an up-and-coming sales executive, and you just got
word that there’s yet another bun in the oven. You’ve bought the
clothes, refurnished the smallest room in the house and sold off your
nameless D-segment sedan for a decent coin to a trader named Sam. With
money in hand, you’re ready to ply the new route as a family person with
a comfortable, dependable MPV.
Trouble was, until recently there was a rather large chasm between the basic, utilitarian sub-RM100k people movers (Toyota Avanza and Innova, Nissan Grand Livina) and the posher European alternatives (Peugeot 5008, Volkswagen Cross Touran) costing upwards of RM150k – just a little
too rich for both your blood and your wallet.
The respite came last year in the form of the Nissan Serena S-Hybrid – with duty exemptions afforded by its CBU hybrid vehicle status, it snuck in at just under the RM150k mark (since then, its biggest rival, the Mazda Biante, slotted into the market at around the same price). With the tax breaks set to end at the conclusion of 2013, however, many people wondered if its space in the marketplace would last.
Well, it has, and then some. Edaran Tan Chong Motor (ETCM) bit the bullet and assembled the now-facelifted S-Hybrid locally at its plant in Serendah to take advantage of the incentives the government continues to dole out for CKD hybrids.
As such, the Serena is now even more affordable than before, but has
the lower pricetag spoiled the car in any way? We drive it to Melaka and
back to find out.
Revisions brought on by the facelift are almost entirely limited to
the Serena’s exterior. At the front, there are new LED headlights, split
by a chrome accent that drops to frame the revised slatted chrome
grille. The look is fairly reminiscent to that of the also
recently-facelifted Elgrand, although it definitely is less brash and
in-your-face without the latter’s full-length grille. The front bumper
has also been reprofiled with new fog light surrounds.
Along the sides, the lower rocker panels now feature a kinked
character line, while the rear has been graced with new S-shaped
internal graphics for the LED tail lights. The 16-inch wheels have a new
diamond-cut multi-spoke design. Overall, the improvements bring a more
premium aura, but there’s no escaping the fact that the Serena is still
pretty much a box-on-wheels.
One major improvement is found underneath the car, under where the
front passenger sits. There, you will find something the pre-facelifted
model never had – a spare wheel. Nissan says that it added a fifth tyre
in response to customer feedback, and it would certainly bring far
higher levels of reassurance and peace of mind to owners compared to the
tyre repair kit of old.
Built on Nissan’s C platform, the bones of the last-generation G11 Sylphy (the latest B17 Sylphy has been moved to a stretched version of the
Almera‘s
V platform), the Serena is one of the longer cars in the segment. At
4,770 mm long, it’s 55 mm longer than the Biante, 240 mm longer than the
5008 and a massive 364 mm longer than the Cross Touran. It is also the
tallest by some margin at 1,865 mm.
Nowhere is the impressive dimensions and boxy looks more evident than
in the cabin, where the Serena offers acres of head- and legroom – even
the third row, usually as spacious as a pet cage on smaller MPVs like
these, is plenty serviceable on most journeys. The boot is also a fair
bit more capacious than you’ll find on the European cars with all the
seats up.
However, at 1,735 mm, it is the narrowest in the segment, compared to
the Biante (1,770 mm), Cross Touran (1,799 mm) and 5008 (1,837 mm).
This does mean that centre passengers on the second and third row will
find it rather cramped in terms of elbowroom, but it at least makes
manoeuvring the Serena through confined city streets much more
manageable than its rivals.
Nissan advertises that the Serena’s seats can be configured in 14
different ways, including being able to recline the backrests of either
the first two or last two rows of seats flat. You can also fold the
third-row seats and tip them up against the van’s bodysides to create a
tall, flat load bay with a low sill.
The sliding central second-row seat is particularly ingenious –
folding it flat turns it into an armrest with a lidded cubby hole and a
cupholder that can also be slid forward to be used by the driver and
front passenger. Doing the latter will also enable the left second-row
seat to be slid inboard, greatly easing entry and egress for those in
the third row. That seat can then be slid forwards, allowing, for
example, a child to be closer to their parents in front.
Coupled to that, there are a myriad of cubby holes (including two
glove boxes) and cupholders scattered around the cabin, as well as two
flip-up picnic tables behind the front seats. Brightening up the
slightly dour interior design is a natty, almost sci-fi digital
instrument cluster, which sits above the steering wheel (
à la Peugeot 208) and features an Eco-drive Navigator that guides drivers to achieve better fuel economy.
Interior fit and finish is best described as robust – there are hard
plastics pretty much everywhere you look, but everything feels solidly
screwed together and will no doubt withstand the test of time and
everything children will be able to throw at it.
Coming in at RM138,800 for the regular Highway Star model, the
new Serena comes with a lot of kit for the money, retaining virtually
the all the standard equipment of the old CBU model. There’s twin
power-sliding doors, i-key keyless entry and push-button start, cruise
control and leather-wrapped steering wheel. About the only thing that
had been changed was the digital rear climate control unit on the
outgoing car, which has been replaced by a more basic slider-type item,
but retains automatic blower control.
As is typical on recent Nissan models sold here, the Serena is also
available with a host of optional accessories at extra cost. These
include the familiar TCAT Multimedia Navigator with a 6.5-inch
touchscreen, DVD playback, Bluetooth and a reverse camera (RM3,300), a
10.1-inch roof-mounted LCD panel (RM700), combination leather seats
(RM2,800), a rear spoiler (RM800), door visors (RM400) and a choice
between V-Kool Elite Security (RM4,600), Armorcoat (RM2,950) and Solar
Gard (RM1,500) tints.
If you like the sound of all of these items, you would be better
served by opting for the Premium Highway Star trim instead, which nets
you all the above (including the most expensive V-Kool Elite Security
tint) for what the previous fully-imported Serena S-Hybrid Highway Star
was retailing for – RM149,500,
a RM1,900 saving over buying the accessories separately.
Given that the Serena is advertised as an eight-seater, it’s perhaps a
shame that it is only offered here with two airbags. Families with lots
of smaller children may also be disappointed to hear that Isofix child
seat anchors are only fitted on the two outer middle row seats, down on
some of the Serena’s European rivals, many of which can fit three kids
abreast safely secured (and sometimes even another two in the third
row). However, Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) is at least fitted at
standard.
Under the bonnet resides the same MR20DD 2.0 litre direct-injected
twin-CVTC four-cylinder mill as before, mated to an Xtronic CVT equipped
with Adaptive Shift Control (ASC), which detects corners or hills
through the vehicle’s lateral acceleration sensor, matching the ratios
to suit different driving conditions. Maximum power is rated at 147 PS
at 5,600 rpm, while torque output is a decent 210 Nm at 4,400 rpm.
Supplementing the engine is an upgraded version of the regular
Serena’s ECO motor, itself a beefed-up starter that controls the car’s
Idling Stop function and serves as an alternator during deceleration. On
the S-Hybrid, the motor’s capacity has been increased from 1.0 kW/150
A to 1.8 kW/200 A, enabling it to provide a “torque assist” function – a
50 Nm boost for up to one second when moving away from a standstill.
A separate 27 Ah battery that powers the car’s accessories like the
radio, wipers and lights has also been added alongside the regular 64
Ah cell that energises the motor. With the engine no longer having to
run the electrics
and move the car at the same time, the
S-Hybrid manages a respectable fuel economy figure of 15.2 km per litre
on the Japanese JC08 driving cycle, which is said to be best-in-class.
The first thing you notice when you set off is how smooth and quiet
the engine at anything other than full load. In regular driving, all you
will ever hear is a low, monotone hum that steps up or down as you
modulate the throttle (which sort of reminded me of the engine sound of
an eight-bit racing game), accompanied by a distinct lack of vibration.
This is matched neatly to the buttery CVT, which helps the Serena whisk
itself off with nary a jerk or forceful pull.
There’s little in the way of urgency when stoked, however – the
leisurely responses from the transmission mean that the engine can
struggle to cart along all 1,660 kg at a reasonable pace, and makes
itself heard quite a bit when pushed. Once it gets going, however, the
S-Hybrid does manage to pile on speed rather effectively, surging past
the national limit on highways with ease.
Four-up (including Izwaashura Sadali of our sister site
InfoKereta.com),
we managed an average fuel consumption figure just shy of 12 km per
litre, but that included large stints of fast and spirited driving. We
suspect that a much lighter-footed driver can get fairly close to
Nissan’s claimed figure. The start-stop system is one of the better ones
out there both in terms of speed (0.3 seconds) and smoothness of
startup.
With such a tall, narrow body, the Serena wasn’t bound to excel at
roadholding, and our drive confirmed it as such. A hurried approach will
invariably result in a lot of body roll, while the steering is neither
particularly quick, precise or feelsome, making it fairly difficult to
accurately place the car through a corner. There’s also a shortage of
grip from the low rolling resistance Bridgestone Ecopia tyres – you’ll
definitely want to take things a bit easier.
But of course, this being a large, efficient people carrier, that’s
exactly what most Serena drivers will do. Besides, driving this Serena
down a winding road at considerable speed will quicker get your toddler
completely carsick than provide you with any sort of satisfying driving
experience.
Instead, drop back and enjoy the ride, because it’s here where the
Serena regains some sense of dignity. It glides over bumps and surface
imperfections with aplomb, transferring very little of the harshness of
our roads to the occupants. It’s not perfect, however – sometimes the
suspension can feel a bit too soft, with larger undulations causing the
ride to be a little bouncy.
Being slab-sided in appearance, it’s not surprising to find that the
Serena can feel a little wayward at speed and vulnerable to
crosswinds, as well as creating some wind noise around the A-pillars,
but it’s not too bad at a cruise, with engine and tyre noise kept to a
minimum. The seats offer excellent support – if not quite as comfortable
as the Teana‘s zero gravity-inspired seats on longer journeys – but little in the way of bolstering.
Seeing as the facelift has changed very little of the Serena
S-Hybrid, this practical and comfortable MPV is very much the same
machine as before, and buyers will have to temper their expectations to
suit. Those seeking a stylish, funky people mover with a modicum of
verve and driver appeal will want to look elsewhere, because in these
areas the Serena is bound to fall short.
If, however, you’re looking for something more serene (pun
unintended), something that will carry you and another seven people
across journeys long or short in the least intrusive way possible, then
this car will warrant a closer look, what with its smooth and refined
way of going about its business.
The outgoing S-Hybrid has been a minor sales success for Nissan over
here, and on this instance we can really see why. Coupled to the fact
that this new car’s sticker price is even more attractive than before,
all while keeping the high levels of kit offered the last time around,
and it is clear that the new Nissan Serena S-Hybrid will continue to
appeal to many more households throughout the country.
Q1: What is significant about Infiniti’s Q80 Concept with regard to future direction for the brand?
Q3: When will consumers see some of this beauty on the showroom floor?
Bartsch:
The recent satisfaction results that we got from J.D. Power and
Associates are incredibly encouraging. It really is a green light on the
approach we are taking to business. You know there are a number of
pillars to be successful. One is customer relations, your customer
experience. We are getting the touch points right with the IREDI
program; we are getting the substance of the experience right in the
dealerships, everything down to what sort of coffee we are serving.
“I
honestly didn’t think it would do that well. I was thrilled with the
20,000 views I had within the first week. I was like, ‘That’s it. It’s
done. Let’s do another video. Let’s do it again,’” said Aker.
Nissan
bought the ’96 Maxima from Aker in December 2013. Nissan also donated
$1,000 to Aker’s charity of choice, Wounded Warrior Project. Then, with
an old car on their hands, the company reached out to its fans on social
media for opinions on what to do next.
“Once
we had it, we thought, ‘Now what do we do?’ We kicked around a lot of
ideas, and ultimately the idea of restoring it and then coming back to
Luke to work with us seemed like a great way to tie it all together,”
said Robinson.
Akers
shot the second video, titled Luxury Re-Defined, for the 1996 Maxima at
Nissan’s North American headquarters in Nashville. Before leaving town
he mused about the brand – and walking out with a vehicle slightly
different than the car he sold to Nissan last year.
From
here this halo-vehicle for Nissan’s expanding range of bold crossovers
will see export opportunities in markets around the globe.
The
2015 Murano presents Nissan’s new design direction – including the
V-motion front end, LED boomerang lights and the unique “floating” roof.
Murano
is the eighth model produced at Nissan’s Canton Vehicle Assembly Plant;
assembly takes place on the same line as Xterra, Frontier, Titan and
Armada.
“When
you think just 11 years ago we had never made an automobile in
Mississippi, so the idea that we would be an automobile manufacturer was
something brand new to us,” said Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant.
Mississippi
production is just one engine for Nissan’s expanding manufacturing
presence in the U.S. Combined with Nissan’s vehicle assembly plant in
Smyrna, Tennessee, as well as a Nissan and an Infiniti powertrain plant
in Decherd, Tennessee, the company’s U.S. operations have produced
nearly 13 million vehicles and 8 million engines since 1983.
