Nissan Magnite AMT First Drive Review: Convenience Made Affordable

The Magnite AMT easily takes care of your city commutes, but for your highway runs, the Magnite CVT will be a better option

Driving convenience is something that always comes at a price. The luxury of an automatic transmission attracts a heavy premium and makes it less accessible. Knowing this, Nissan added an AMT option for the Magnite, which will most likely make the Magnite the most affordable automatic SUV on sale in India. But before we get into the drive experience of the Magnite AMT, let’s have a quick overview of what it has to offer.

Still Looks Modern

Nissan launched the Magnite back in 2020 and the subcompact SUV has not seen any facelifts or updates, but it still manages to look pretty modern. The Magnite AMT carries forward the same design, but gets two new things: this blue and black dual-tone shade, and an “EZ-Shift” badging to make the AMT variant recognisable.

The rest is the same; its fascia gets a massive grille with chrome inserts on the sides, a sleek LED headlight setup and L-shaped DRLs. This upright profile keeps the Magnite’s modern look intact even after three years.

The profile brings a muscular appeal into the equation with its big wheel arches and door cladding. The 16-inch dual-tone alloy wheels and chrome elements on the door cladding add some style and complement the SUV appeal of the Magnite. The rear follows this muscular and modern design trend with a massive bumper, skid plate and a crease on top. Overall, time has not aged the Magnite much, and even today the SUV manages to retain a good amount of road presence with its classy design.

A Simple Cabin

The Magnite’s cabin is simple yet different. It gets a plain black cabin with a layered dashboard and hexagonal AC vents. This design makes the cabin look smart and sporty.

Inside the cabin, the quality of the plastics used is average, and the fit and finish could have been made better. There are some elements, like the AC dials and the buttons below the infotainment, which feel a little squeaky, and overall, the design and the quality of the cabin will leave you wanting more.

Coming to the front seats, they are comfortable and spacious. While we would have preferred leatherette upholstery for a premium feel, the fabric seats are also not a compromise. The cushioning is balanced and you get a good amount of headroom. But you do sit a little low here, compared to the average SUV.

The comfort and space aspect of the rear seats is the same as the front. There is no shortage of headroom, legroom and knee room, and you also get good under-thigh support. The windows are big so there is no loss in visibility and the rear seats get a centre armrest for added comfort.

Apart from the comfort of this cabin, you also get a good amount of storage options. All four doors have 1-litre bottle holders and you get two cupholders in the middle. The centre console also has two storage spaces where you can keep your phone or wallet, and it gets an average-sized glovebox.

The rear passengers get practicality in terms of seat back pockets, bottle holders in doors and a centre armrest with two cup holders and also a slot to keep your phone. The Magnite has no compromises in terms of storage space. For charging options, the front passengers get a 12V socket and a USB charging port, but the rear seat passengers only get one 12V socket below the rear AC vents. 

Boot Space

The Magnite gets a 336-litre boot space, which is not the biggest in the segment, but enough to keep the luggage for your long trips. Keeping the luggage in the boot may require you to put in some extra effort, due to its high boot lip, but if you have more luggage and the boot is full, you do get the option of 60:40 folding rear seats, so you can keep more luggage with ease.

Features

Apart from the convenience of an AMT, Nissan has given no extra features to the Magnite in this update. The features list of the Nissan Magnite is good enough for its price but feels dated due to the car being three years old. It has an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system which supports wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and is also easy to use. But this display is a little pixelated, which makes it look dated. Apart from the touchscreen, it also gets a 7-inch digital driver’s display with great execution and automatic climate control with rear AC vents. But a big miss is a sunroof, which should have been added by now.

The top two variants of the Magnite also get the option of Nissan’s tech pack, with which you can get more features including a wireless phone charger, puddle lamps, ambient lighting, an air purifier, and a JBL sound system.

Safety

The Nissan Magnite was crash-tested in Global NCAP’s old crash tests and came out with a 4-star safety rating, but its list of safety features could have been improved by now. It gets basic safety features like ABS with EBD, electronic stability control (ESC) and a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), but even the top-spec variants only get two airbags.

Similarly, it does get a 360-degree camera for getting out of tight spots with ease, but the execution and camera quality of this setup are not so great. In these three years, Nissan should have made efforts to improve the experience of this feature.

Performance

Now, we come to the crux of this review: How good is the Magnite AMT to drive? Well, the answer is simple: the Magnite AMT is a good city commuter, but nothing more. First, let’s get the basics out of the way. The Magnite gets two engine options: a 1-litre petrol and a 1-litre turbo-petrol, and the AMT will only be available with the non-turbo engine option.

The AMT is convenient to drive, and the gear changes are relatively smooth. However, it does feel a little slow. Driving inside the city with a light foot will not be a hassle, and you can easily cruise around, but when you have to overtake someone, or gain speed, it will take its own sweet time. This makes the Magnite fit for those who are just looking to drive from point A to point B with the most convenience, and not for someone who is looking to enjoy the drive. 

The same thing will happen on the highways. Cruising will not be a problem but getting to high speeds will require more effort and will be a time-consuming process. And overtakes will be something that you’ll have to plan well in advance. 

While the Magnite AMT is likely the most affordable automatic in the segment, it does ask for compromise in your driving style and is quite unidirectional in its approach:  fit for laid back commuting. 

Ride & Handling

Nothing has changed here. The ride quality is still comfortable for Indian road conditions. The Magnite’s suspension setup absorbs bumps pretty well and you don’t feel many of them inside the car. It can easily go over speed breakers and potholes, and the drive will still remain comfortable. 

The handling, unlike its design, is not sporty. However, it is safe and predictable. The Magnite remains stable at high speeds, and there is minimal side-to-side movement of the body. Overall, you get a comfortable and smooth driving experience.

Verdict

Should you go for the Magnite AMT? Yes, but only if you want a city commuter. The Magnite AMT can easily take care of that, and while its features list is not as big as that of its competitors, the affordability factor can easily justify that. 

For a city commuter, it gets modern styling, good performance, and the convenience of the AMT. But if you tend to make more highway runs, and want an SUV with better performance, the Magnite Turbo CVT will be a better option for you.