2020 Nissan Almera: What’s new?

A competitor for the all-new 2020 Honda City and Toyota Vios, the 2020 Nissan Almera is all set to cause a stir in the B-segment sedan market in Malaysia with its all latest upgrades. Nissan's official distributor, Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd has recently previewed the new Almera and detailed the impressive specifications of the sedan. 

Also read: 2020 Honda City: First Impression

From a new appearance to the engine, the new Almera is remarkably different from its predecessor. “The only thing carried over from the last Almera is the key fob,” said Christopher Tan, the company’s sales and marketing director. From what we analyze, he is right, the sedan received tweaks on every aspect. Let’s have a look at what’s all-new in the upcoming Almera to be available soon in three trims - VL, VLP, and VLT.

2020 Nissan Almera exterior changes

This time Nissan got the Almera styling on point, it just looks fresh and modern. The sedan’s awkward and bulbous design is replaced by a sleek, sharp, and sporty stance that echoes with the other latest Nissan models. The bold V-motion grille, arrowhead-shaped headlights, boomerang-styled tail lights, sharp lines, and floating roofline, all together make it a stylish sedan. 

The headlights are halogens on the VL and VLP, and LEDs on the VLT, while LED tail lights are standard across the range. The sedan runs on 15-inch wheels as standard, which can be upgraded to 16-inch two-tone wheels in higher trims.

Dimensionally, it is grown on all the fronts - 45 mm more in width, 70 mm more in length, and 55 mm in wheelbase. 

2020 Nissan Almera color options

The new color choices for the Almera sedan include Radiant Red, Monarch Orange, and Dark Metal Grey, while Brilliant White, Diamond Black, and Tungsten Silver from the previous palette continue to be on the list.

2020 Nissan Almera interior changes

The modern-looking interior of the new Almera features a full colour 7-inch semi-digital meter, which is surrounded by chrome, piano black, and carbon-fibre pattern finishings. The panel is teamed up with a sporty flat-bottom steering wheel, a shift knob with faux carbon-fibre accents, and an 8-inch Nissan Connect infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay support. Although base trim gets conventional analog gauges and AM/FM head unit with Bluetooth and USB.

2020 Nissan Almera engine

While Honda attempts to entice the crowd with its top-spec City RS trim that boasts a whopping peak torque of 253 Nm because of the new i-MMD hybrid powertrain, Nissan brings in the picture, the all-new 1.0-litre three-pot turbo engine across the Almera lineup. The new engine generates 100 PS of maximum power and 152 Nm of peak torque from 2,400 to 4,000 rpm. 

However, the numbers are not so impressive in comparison to its closest rival, the new powertrain is still capable of accelerating instantly courtesy of the electric wastegate that impressively reduces turbo lag. The sedan also drops the four-speed automatic transmission in favor of an Xtronic CVT with D-Step logic. The mill also adopts the Mirror Bore Coating Technology that reduces internal friction and engine knocking and enhances cooling performance.

Regarding the 2020 Nissan Almera Turbo fuel consumption, Nissan quotes a 5.43 litres per 100 km, equivalent to 650 km of driving range on a full tank of 35 litres. No performance specs have been announced yet.

2020 Nissan Almera safety features

Another area where the 2020 Almera stands strong is safety features. All variants get an intelligent forward-collision warning system with Intelligent forward emergency braking. Basically, it is an autonomous emergency braking, which avoids front collisions through brakes.

The VLP trims get four additional SRS airbags and a rearview camera, while the range-topping VLT will come with six airbags, an intelligent around-view monitor (I-AVM) with moving object detection (I-MOD), rear cross traffic alert, and blind-spot warning, making it one of the most well-equipped B-segment models in the country.

2020 Nissan Almera Accessories 

Nissan Malaysia also unveiled the list of accessories for the upcoming Almera that will allow the customers to personalize their sedan. These include the following accessory packages:

• Interior Styling Package - RM 400
• Exterior Styling Package - RM 950
• Protection Package - RM 1950
• Protection Plus Package - RM 2750

2020 Nissan Almera price

The pricing of the sedan has not yet been announced, although the automaker did release a ballpark figure. The base VL and mid-spec VLP will go for RM 8x,xxx, whereas the top-spec VLT will sit at the RM 9x,xxx price point.

Verdict

The 2020 Nissan Almera looks well built, posh, and just got the right balance of value, safety, and performance. Its arrival will surely make the local B-segment market more interesting.

Also read: Buy or Hold: Should you wait for the 2020 Nissan Almera or buy Toyota Vios