The market for automatics is one of the fastest growing categories in the passenger car market. Though the growth is really on a small base and in absolute numbers, the category is still possibly less than 5 per cent of the passenger car market.
With such a small number of buyers choosing automatics over manual transmission, you’d think they must all be homogenous in their expectations, right? Wrong!
There are those that seek high value and more bang for their buck, those that seek the flexibility and feel of manual shifting in an automatic and then those that look solely for comfortable personal transportation to go from point A to point B.
The resistance to autos has always been due to their higher price tag and the lower mileage these cars offer. But, what if the automatic gearbox version can actually deliver more mileage than the manual variant? Suddenly, the equation can look attractively poised in favour of the automatic, especially when you are in the midst of the kind of traffic we are faced with in most of the metros today.
Somewhere in that calculation, there are compromises to be made for the sake of the convenience and comfort of driving an automatic. One of them is a lower level of feedback from the gearbox that is typical in a manual and in non-CVT auto gearboxes. Apparently, Indian buyers are tiring of the gear shift judder from not just manual gearboxes, but also from conventional automatics. And more importantly, this is not just when the car owner is driving the car himself / herself, but also when he/ she is being chauffeured around. So, the solution is the CVT (short for Continuously Variable Transmission) gearbox. Combined with other tech, the CVT can make driving so simplistic and shake-free that it will seem like the engine’s power is being directly fed to the wheels without the interference of a gearbox like in an all-electric.
Nissan’s well-known prowess in this field was first put to test when its Alliance partner Renault plonked the CVT gearbox in the Scala. Now, after the clone got the transmission first, the original – the Sunny sedan, joins the auto gearbox party with its own version. The new Sunny XTRONIC CVT will be launched in April this year. But here is my initial driving impression after a brief circumnavigation of Chennai and its suburbs in the Sunny CVT.
Design and performance
The Clones look similar overall, but the design of the Sunny and the Scala have many hints that point buyers to some underlying intention. The Scala looks sportier and the Sunny looks more spacious and practical. Obviously that hasn’t changed in the CVT. The only differentiator in the new Sunny CVT versus its manual transmission sibling is the XTRONIC CVT badging at the rear. Everything else looks exactly the same outside. The new CVT version will be offered only with the petrol engine and only in one trim (XL) level initially. A more loaded XV version will follow suit later this year.
The interior of the Sunny CVT is again all too familiar. There is no change versus the MT (manual) variant except the gear shift stick. Instead of the manual gearbox’s 5-speed shifter, the CVT now sports the auto gearbox’s shifter with the PNRDL positions. Yes, there is a low gear setting and actually also a sport setting. With the Sunny sporting the same essential gearbox as the Scala CVT, can the experience of driving the car be very different? It isn’t.
I step into the ‘Caaaar’, punch the engine start/ stop button, dump the er…handbrake and step on the throttle and that is it. The engine is the same refined HR15 DOHC unit from the Sunny MT. The 1,498cc engine delivers the same power and torque characteristics, though how it delivers and how much it delivers is now determined by the mapping for the automatic gearbox. Maximum power generated continues to be 99 PS at 6,000 rpm and the peak torque generated too stays at 134 Nm at 4,000 rpm. Of course, these performance parameters are reached through a whole new range of maps and ratios in the auto gearbox.
CVTs fundamentally have an infinite range of gears to operate in and so can’t be rated as a 5-speed or a 7-speed. CVTs as a result intrinsically work on the principle of choosing the right gear for every operating condition.
In the case of the Sunny CVT (like in the Scala CVT too), Nissan engineers have included an auxiliary gearbox that manages to expand the gear ratio range. This powertrain features the highest transmission ratio of 7.3:1. Compare that to the Sunny manual transmission’s 10.1:1. This powertrain also features an integrated clutch and sub-planetary gear. The overall result is a reduction in friction by 30 per cent, while weight is down 13 per cent compared to conventional CVTs. Compared to the manual transmission Sunny, the CVT is only marginally heavier (less than 2 per cent).
Stepping on the throttle what I hear first is the mild wheezy whine from the gearbox. The Sunny CVT eagerly accelerates and there is absolutely no shift shocks or lurches as the CVT goes up the range of gears. This is something that apparently the rear benchers in the car will appreciate while they are trying to concentrate on their laptop.
Nissan officials say that the team of sensors and the control unit are programmed to learn from the driver’s driving style. So based on inputs, the auto gearbox is programmed to deal with the driver’s demands.
Though based on this level of programming, there must technically be a huge range of ratios to choose from, Nissan engineers have also built in a low gear and sporty driving mode too. Choosing L activates low gear mode for hilly or high torque driving conditions. Pressing the button just under the gear knob activates sports mode for high acceleration conditions.
There are no changes to the Sunny’s suspension settings and all other features inside the car remain the same too. The ARAI rated fuel efficiency of the Sunny CVT is 17.97 kmpl compared to the Sunny manual transmission’s 16.95 kmpl. That should be reason enough for the switch!
To be launched in the coming weeks, the Sunny CVT is likely to be priced in the region of Rs 8 lakh to Rs 8.5 lakh. The Scala CVT is nearly Rs 9 lakh, ex-showroom.
muralidhar.s@thehindu.co.in