Nissan Sunny Vs Renault Scala; who conquer the hearts!

It’s no secret that we quite like the Nissan Sunny and give us one with better interiors and looks that are sharper and you can be sure that we’re good fans of that as well.

But given the branding hierarchy at Nissan the Renault will inevitably be placed at a premium compared to the Sunny. Exactly how much, we’re still not sure, but we’re sure that the pricing will move the Scala very close to the Skoda Rapid’s, and possibly even the Hyundai Verna’s territory.

The diesel models have been compared quite a lot, but it seems that petrols have been neglected in these times of high fuel prices. Well, that still doesn’t stop people for plonking down for the petrol models. So let’s take a look at how these stack up against each other.

Looks

The Sunny would not have fared well here against the good-looking competition but the Scala holds its own. The sharp, angular grille, new, more aggressive headlamps and the chrome garnish around the windows and at the rear definitely sharpen up that image a lot.

Of course, that still doesn’t make it the best-looking car in its class, but it certainly comes close.

The Rapid, with its great proportions and good looks is a good candidate too; its Fabia front-end does wonders in helping it look fresh and new. But it’s the Verna, with its Fluidic design, with swoopy curves everywhere and creases running along the body that takes the top honours in the design category. With leather interiors, the Scala definitely has an edge in the interior department, not to mention the acres of rear seat leg-room. The interiors really do make this car special.

The petrol engine is only available in base and mid-level models for the Scala, but that doesn’t mean they skimp on features any, it still gets rear seat vents and leather interior, with the only thing missing being proper steering mounted controls for the audio system. The Rapid, in petrol guise, is great value for money, considering you’ll be getting a cut-price Vento. The interiors are a little bare, but the two-tone dash does a lot to make it seem premium. The cloth seats are a bit of a let-down, but everything else about the interior form the design to the way it is put together help negate that. There are no steering mounted controls here either, but then again, we don’t mind too much.

The Verna is the best of the bunch, we feel, with its well laid out dash, light colours and great material quality. The way these cars are put together is more or less on par, but we feel the Verna has a slight edge to it. Feature wise, the top end Verna has the others beat with features over and above what the others offer, like a reverse parking camera and a Bluetooth enabled stereo system.

 Performance

When it comes down to it, the Sunny is the least powerful of the lot, with ‘only’ 98 bhp on tap, while the Rapid and Verna both manage to cross the 100 bhp barrier by a good bit. Being petrols, they do make their power slightly higher up the rev range, and that is perfectly fine, considering they all pack some good sounding engines. They don’t get too rorty when nearing the red-line. But the power differences definitely show, with the Verna taking off more purposefully than the others and the Sunny and Rapid locked in a dead heat until the Rapid just edges out the Sunny.

It has to be said, though, that none of these are considered sporty cars, so engine performance is more than adequate for cruising on the highway or city traffic even. Fuel efficiency, of course is an important factor. And these being the petrol cars mean that mileage will be that much more important for you. The Scala, comes out on top with real world mileage of 13 kmpl while the Rapid and Verna weren’t too far behind at 12-12.5 kmpl each.

Ride and handling

In sheer ride quality, we thought the Rapid lagged behind the others as it was set up a little differently than the others, so in terms of plush ride quality, the Verna was the leader. It irons out bumps in the roads like a champ and low speed ride too, is quite composed. The Scala comes a close second with just a little more intrusions into the cabin. It’s a whole ‘nother story when it comes to handling though. The slightly stiffer Rapid makes for a more capable handler than others, and thus the order is reversed. So it comes down to whether you’d like to have some cornering fun or a soft, plush ride. The Scala, then, falls right in the middle of the road with the best of both worlds.

Verdict

If a petrol car is what you’re looking for, then these three are definitely worth considering. All three of them have different characteristics which cater to different mindsets, and among them, the Scala is decidedly the middle ground. Not too plush, nor too sporty. Great quality interiors with lots of space and it looks good on the outside too, so really, it seems like a no-brainer unless you want something more plush or something that handles a bit better. As for us? Yep, we’re going with the Scala.