Guangzhou 2013: Nissan Teana VIP long wheelbase

It’s not as though we didn’t see this coming – thanks to China’s appetite for lots of legroom, Nissan has unveiled the new Nissan Teana VIP at the 2013 Guangzhou Motor Show.

The Teana VIP takes the regular car’s 2,775mm wheelbase and stretches it by 125mm for a grand total of 2,900mm. That’s 80mm longer than a Lexus ES. It’s massive at 5,003mm by 1,830mm by 1,490mm.



Since the Teana VIP will undoubtedly be used to be chauffeured in, Nissan has added more creature comforts to the Teana VIP to accompany the increased legroom.

The car now gets a larger double sunroof, a rear entertainment system with dual seat back integrated monitors, and a Bose 13 speaker sound system.

Nissan Serena S-Hybrid facelift unveiled at Tokyo 2013

Nissan has made some minor changes to the Nissan Serena, which also covers the S-Hybrid model that’s on sale here in Malaysia. The updated Serena makes its debut at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show and will go on sale in December 2013 in Japan.

In terms of exterior design, we notice changes to the front bumper as well as the removal of a strip of trim that runs along the lower edge of the headlamps to meet the front grille. This gives the car’s face a different look as the headlamp shape is more pronounced now. LED headlamps are now an option. The alloy wheel design has also been updated.

On the rear, we’re told there are new LED rear combination brake lamps with an ’S’ shaped design, but we don’t have a photo of the rear yet as of now.

There are new safety equipment as well such as Emergency Brake and Lane Departure Warning (LDW), which has been made standard for all variants except the base 20S. Other features include AVM (Around View Monitor) with MOD (Moving Object Detection), Emergency Assist for pedal misapplication and Driver Attention Alert.

Nissan also claims the 2WD S-Hybrid model now has improved fuel consumption but doesn’t go into details on what the differences are.

2014 Nissan Elgrand facelift has the biggest grille ever

Nissan has given the Nissan Elgrand a little nip and tuck for the 2014 model year. Since Tan Chong sells the Elgrand here through official channels, perhaps we’ll eventually get this facelift.
The changes to the front are pretty obvious – the Elgrand facelift receives what appears to be the largest front grille we’ve ever seen on an MPV. The MPV also gets LED lighting for its Active Adaptive Front-Lighting System headlamps. Other changes include a new design for the 18-inch alloy wheels and new clear-lens rear lamps.



A new Drive Assist Display with 5-inch colour display is located between the redesigned speedometer and tachometer. There’s also a new interior colour scheme for the Highway STAR Premium grade called Grand Black Interior. It implements a combination of dedicated deep wood grain accents with coloured chrome and dedicated black metallic leather appointed seats with elaborately-made amber accent and diamond-shape quilted pattern with special stitches.

Another improvement is the new slide function for the third row of seats, allowing legroom to be adjusted to make way for extra luggage space. Nissan has also lowered the level of the luggage board in the rear luggage space to the floor level, allowing more items to be loaded without opening the luggage board.

Nissan Leaf Aero Style bodykit shown at Tokyo 2013

Nissan showcased this kitted-up Nissan Leaf at their Tokyo 2013 stand, which will be released domestically in Japan in December 2013. The kit is called the Nissan Leaf Aero Style.
The bodykit features a new front bumper with buil-in LED daytime running lights, side sill protectors, and a rear under-protector. The Aero Style kit also includes 17-inch alloy wheels finished with a special blue accent.

The Nissan Leaf was launched at KLIMS13 with a price tag of RM168,800. Has anyone here booked one yet? Perhaps you can consider this to curry up your Leaf!

Nissan IDx Freeflow & Nismo – Datsun 510 reborn?

Retro-futurism is a popular design theme for automakers these days. Modern reincarnations of popular classics with heavy touches of retro range from small cars like the MINI and the Fiat 500 to muscle cars like the Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro.

It looks like Nissan wants in on the game too, and they’ve showcased these Nissan IDx Freeflow and Nissan IDx Nismo concept car duo at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show.

The IDx duo look like a modern interpretation of the old Datsun Bluebird 510, which competed in races like the Trans Am Series and the Australian Rally Championship in the ’70s and ’80s. It’s about 4.1 metres in length, 1.7 metres in width and 1.3 metres in height. The Nismo version is wider at 1.8 metres.

Although it’s just a design concept for now, Nissan proposes for the car to use the company’s 1.6 litre turbocharged engine, mated to a CVT gearbox with a 6-speed manual shift mode for the Nismo car and a less powerful engine of between 1.2 litre to 1.5 litre in size mated to a CVT gearbox for the Freeflow.

Nissan GT-R Nismo debuts – 600 hp, 7:08 ‘Ring time

It’s finally out – the hotly-awaited Nissan GT-R Nismo has been revealed in Japan. It’s big news not because everyone can’t wait to buy one, but because we want to know just how much faster it can be over the standard car, which is plenty fast by anyone’s standard.

For starters, the ultimate GT-R gets a tuned-up 3.8 litre twin-turbo V6 with 600 hp and 652 Nm of torque, with bits and pieces taken from the Nismo’s racing parts bin. New high-flow, large diameter turbochargers improve breathing, while optimised individual ignition timing control for each cylinder and upgraded fuel pump improve combustion.

It’s more than just a power upgrade, of course, as overall performance has also been given a thorough once over through optimised aerodynamics and suspension, to achieve a well-balanced machine that is at home on both the road and track. Nissan also claims that it has done so without compromising refinement.



Bespoke springs and Bilstein DampTronic dampers deliver enhanced grip and handling. Three dynamic settings are available: Comfort, Normal and R, for circuit applications. Dunlop rubber developed exclusively for the GT-R Nismo – 255/40 R20 front and 285/35 R20 rear – plus tuned suspension linkages and special anti-roll bars add to the dynamism.

The Nismo has improved chassis rigidity by using adhesive bonding on top of usual spot welding treatments for extra precise response under extreme loads. That’s the benefit of a factory-tuned special – you just can’t get the same treatment from aftermarket shops.

For good measure, a team was sent to set a time at the Nurburgring, and they didn’t disappoint. The GT-R Nismo completed a lap of the Green Hell in 7 minutes 8.679 seconds, making it the fastest volume production car there. That’s a good 10 seconds quicker than a standard GT-R’s best time and more crucially for Nismo, six seconds faster than the Lexus LF-A Nurburgring.



On the outside, a new aerodynamic package generates an extra 100 kg of downforce at 300 km/h compared to the standard car. The front bumper, engine undercover strake and carbon-fibre rear spoiler are functional additions, designed with the latest Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulation techniques.

Five body colours are available: Brilliant White Pearl, Meteor Flake Pearl Black, Ultimate Metallic Silver and Vibrant Red, and unique to the GT-R Nismo, Dark Matte Grey seen in the pictures here. There’s only one set of wheels to choose from though; black six-spoke alloys inspired by Nissan’s GT500 race car.

Inside, there are sculpted carbon-fibre backed Recaro seats with red highlights, Nismo steering wheel dressed in Alcantara and a carbon-finish instrument cluster. As for the price, expect it to command quite a healthy bump over the standard car. Who’s to say it’s not worth the premium?

Nissan Note mini-MPV seen at KLIMS, coming soon?

The Nissan booth at KLIMS13 houses 2 newly launched cars – the Nissan Leaf EV and the Nissan Almera Nismo Performance Package – but there was also another model that caught our eyes.
The Nissan Note is a B-segment ‘mini-MPV’ type of hatchback not unlike the Honda Jazz. The second-gen Nissan Note made its debut in the second half of last year.

In Japan, the Note is powered by a choice of two 3-cylinder mills, both 1.2 litre jobs. The first is the 80 hp/106 Nm HR12DE, as used by the March/Almera in Thailand. The second is the HR12DDR, a supercharged unit with 97 hp/142 Nm. Both are paired to an Xtronic CVT gearbox, with Idling Stop System available for 2WD versions.

In the UK, where the Note rolls out from Nissan’s huge Sunderland plant for Europe, the Note can be had with the above 1.2L engines as well as a Renault-sourced 1.5 litre turbodiesel that emits just 95 grams of CO2 per km and returns 3.6 litres per 100 km (27.8 km/l).

If Malaysia does get the Note, it will likely share our Almera’s powertrain – namely a 102 hp/139 Nm 1.5 litre HR15DE coupled to a four-speed auto, as revealed by the exploratory specs displayed on the info board next to the car.

Top-spec Notes get Nissan’s Safety Shield bundle of systems, comprising Blind Spot Warning, Lane Departure Warning and Moving Object Detection. MOD works with Around View Monitor to enhance the driver’s field of vision. When the system detects something (or someone) moving behind the car, an audible and visual alert is given.

Around View Monitor combines the feeds from cameras mounted on the front grille, tailgate and both door mirrors to project an overhead 360-degree helicopter view of the car and its surroundings. The camera image is constantly scanned for dirt and if need be, a jet of water and then compressed air is fired at the lens to clean and dry it.

Before KLIMS13 started, we found the Note listed on Nissan Malaysia’s website as an “exploratory model” (page was taken down soon after) so ETCM might be looking at introducing the model here in the future. There’s an Impul version of the Note, too.