Nissan Sylphy

Nissan Sylphy Overview

The all-new 4^th generation 2020 Nissan Sylphy is a 4-door, C-segment sedan, first unveiled in the 2019 Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition. Since then, it went on to become the best-selling car in China, surpassing Volkswagen and Toyota to claim the number one spot in the world’s biggest car market.

The new Nissan Sylphy codenamed the B18, also known as the Nissan Sentra in the North American market. It has gone through quite a radical design overhaul, introducing a whole new exterior, interior, driving dynamics and performance. The Nissan Slyphy now appeals to a much broader and younger market. Stylish and sportiness are definitely not the first thing that comes to mind for the previous generation car and has a reputation of being an ‘uncle’ car. But thanks to the new exterior and interior design, it is no longer the case.

The rivals for new Nissan Slyphy include the likes of the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla Altis, Mazda 3, Hyundai Elantra, Volkswagen Jetta, Renault Fluence and so much more. In the ever so saturated and competitive C-segment sedan market in Malaysia, the new Nissan Sylphy will certainly give its competitor a good run for its money, that is if Edaran Tan Chong Motor (ETCM) decides to finally debut the car in Malaysia.

Nissan Sylphy Design

The new Nissan’s signature V-motion front radiator grill gives the Nissan Slyphy that handsome chiseled chin look. The V-motion grill is part of the global design language currently adopted across all Nissan’s new model line-up, first seen in Malaysia on the new Nissan Almera and the new Nissan Serena S Hybrid.

The front of the car looks purposeful and aggressive with its slim LED headlight. The kinked belt line on the c-pillar, plus the optional two-tone paint finish further accentuate that floating roof effect. The subtle slopping roofline towards the back of the car giving the car that 4-door coupe-like design. The overall exterior is well proportioned and the same cannot be said about the previous generation Nissan Slyphy.

Nissan Sylphy Dimension

The all-new Nissan Sylphy is longer, wider and lower compared to its predecessor.

Nissan Sylphy Interior

To say that the new Nissan Sylphy’s interior is an improvement compared to its predecessor is an understatement. The newly redesigned dashboard and center console gives the car a more modern and upmarket feel. The optional two-tone leather-like finish on the dashboard, centre console and the door panels give the car a more expensive feel than it actually is. A flat-bottom leather-wrapped steering wheel is a welcoming touch for that sporty feeling to match that sporty exterior styling of the car.

While much effort has been made to make the interior feels more upmarket and sportier, the winning Nissan formula of spacious, comfortable, practical and economical family car is still very much apparent. The new Nissan Sylphy offers the longest front legroom compared to any of the rivals in its class, no small feat going up against the Honda Civic which arguably is the best-in-class at interior space packaging. In terms of practicality, boot space of 510 litres is mere 9 litres shy of the space available in the Honda Civic.

Nissan Sylphy Features

The new Nissan Sylphy comes equipped with an 8-inch touch screen infotainment display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard. An instrument panel with a second 7-inch digital display flanked by two analogue dials is seamlessly integrated. Physical dials and buttons for essential driver controls like the climate control and the audio control are logically laid out and easy to use. The turbine style aircond vents adds a touch of luxury to the interior.

Safety comes courtesy of Nissan's Intelligent Mobility systems. It comes equipped with forward collision warning, blind spot warning, lane departure warning, cross traffic alert and Intelligent Driving Alert (i-DA). Creature comfort like keyless entry and push to start function are the least we can expect from a car in this class.

Nissan Sylphy Driving Performance

Engine

Nissan updated its long-serving HR16DE 1.6-Litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated engine for the new Nissan Sylphy. It now produces 136 PS and 145 Nm of torque. The performance figure is rather modest. That said, the Nissan Sylphy is not designed with absolute performance in mind.

Transmission

Power is sent to the front wheel via Nissan’s Xtronic CVT. Inherent characteristics of CVT like tendency to hang at higher RPM is inevitable and that takes away from the driving experience when pushed near its limit. At low speed however, it provides seamless and smooth power delivery and superior fuel economy over conventional torque converter transmission.

Nissan Sylphy Ride comfort

Nissan’s engineers have increased the stiffness of the chassis and improved the suspension. The chassis deals with road imperfection with a little more sophistication compared to its predecessor. 

Nissan Sylphy Fuel Consumption

The official reported fuel consumption of the Nissan Sylphy is 7.1L/100km. Not impressive especially when you are in the company of the likes of the Honda Civic which is doing 5.8L/100km from its 1.5-Litre turbocharged engine.

Nissan Sylphy Conclusion

Nissan has done a tremendous job on the Nissan Sylphy with the new global design language and while beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it is hard to dislike the overall design of the car. It remains to be seen whether Malaysians will get their hands on the new Nissan Sylphy, but given the right package and power unit, it will certainly shake things up in the C-segment market. Like how Mazda redefines the affordable luxury car, Nissan is redefining the affordable family car segment.