In case you haven’t noticed, the subcompact crossover segment has boomed exponentially over the last few years. For those who need more evidence, the Raize has consistently been in top ten best-selling list since its launch, and the Sonet has been doing the heavy lifting for Kia sales in country.
Let’s not forget the platoon of offerings from China that are aimed straight at those looking for a reasonably priced car with decent ground clearance. If anything, the money is in the budget end of the subcompact crossover class, and the numbers don’t deny that.
Which is why it’s no surprise that Nissan wants in on the action, too. During last year’s Philippine International Auto Show, the humble little Nissan Magnite was previewed during the four-day event. It was mainly to gauge customer reaction and feedback, but deep down, we knew they were going to sell it.
OTHER STORIES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:
Libreng sakay: MRT-3 offers free rides every Wednesday of August*
MMDA: SM Megamall Busway Station construction to partially close EDSA northbound lanes
A few months ago, the Land Transportation Office published the car’s homologation papers, somewhat confirming its local launch. With that, what can we expect from the upcoming Nissan Magnite?
For starters, it won’t look like the model shown during last year’s motor show. Since then, the Magnite has been given a facelift inside and out, so it will look similar to the versions sold in India and the Middle East. That means a new set of headlights, a wider grille, smoothed out bumpers, and a redesigned tailgate.
Inside, it still appears similar to the pre-facelift model, although some markets get special seat trims called Heat Guard Tech. It would be nice if it were made available for the local version given our blazing hot summers. If so, we’re likely to see that for the top-spec variant.
Based on the spec sheet of overseas versions we’ve seen, the Magnite is not available with any advanced driver assists. The most we saw was the availability of cruise control, and not much else. That said, we saw other features of interest such as rear air-con vents, 360-degree cameras, and six airbags standard across the range.
According to the homologation papers, the Philippine-spec Magnite will use a turbocharged 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine and not a 1.2-liter naturally aspirated mill. It’s identical to the one found in the Almera, and it’s good for 99hp and 152Nm. It’s likely that a manual transmission won’t be offered and the sole choice is a CVT.
Other things you need to know? We can expect two variants, namely the 1.0 VE and 1.0 VL, the latter serving as the top of the line model. Those wondering about ground clearance might like the fact that it has about 205mm of it, while the cargo capacity is rated at 336L with a maximum of 690L with the rear seats folded.
So far, there haven’t been any teasers for the Nissan Magnite yet. However, we’re expecting it to be launched locally before the end of the year. At least based on the specs abroad, it looks like a promising challenger to the Raize and Sonet.
More photos of the 2025 Nissan Magnite:
