Nissan Sylphy: a very serious, cost-conscious alternative

The Nissan Sylphy is a fuel-efficient vehicle that’s larger than most B-segment cars.

Back in 2006, I was part of a  Philippine contingent brought to Malaysia by then Nissan Motors Philippines Inc. for the Japanese Super GT Championship. While my media colleagues all headed home after the race, I took a side trip to Singapore for a few more days, being my first time in both Malaysia and Singapore.

In Singapore, I was asked by my hosts if I’d like to sample some of the Nissan models that were not currently available to the Philippine market. I jumped at the chance to say yes, and found myself strapped inside a second-generation B11 Nissan Sylphy. It was my first experience to drive a RHD (right-hand drive) car, and my first time to drive in Singapore’s public roads. It was a great experience: I saw a lot of lush greenery and parks normally unseen by typical tourists. And I thought the Sylphy was a pretty good car, definitely leaps and bounds better than the Sentras we see on our roads.

Fast forward to 2014. After years of struggling, Nissan is finally back with a revitalized model lineup. The first launch was the Altima and the third generation B17 Sylphy. It felt like a full circle to me, but I never had a chance to drive the Sylphy until recently.

Like the Nissan Grand Livina and Almera that came before it, the Sylphy is a segment-buster. It is manufactured at Nissan’s Samut Prakan facility in Thailand. It is bigger than most cars in its class, being longer, wider and somewhat taller—competing in a shrinking yet still highly competitive class that includes the Honda Civic, Toyota Altis, Hyundai Elantra, Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze. It also comes with one of the biggest trunk spaces at 518 liters, although the local unit doesn’t offer split-folding rear seats that improve luggage space tremendously.

The Zero Gravity seats relax your backside, helps give the Nissan a compliant ride, and provides a light and airy cabin.

Our test unit was the top-model 1.8L, which comes with leather seats, 17-inch alloy wheels with 205/50R17 all-season touring tires, the 1.8-liter MR8DE engine that delivers a punchy 130 horsepower and 174 Newton-meters of torque attached to a CVT transmission, dual-zone climate control system and a 2DIN multimedia system. The seats are Nissan’s highly acclaimed Nasa-inspired Zero Gravity seats, which improve comfort while delivering impressive support for keen drivers.

It’s also packed with safety features: All models get dual front airbags as well as ABS brakes enhanced with electronic brake force distribution and brake assist, the former to help quell understeer/oversteer in emergency braking maneuvers while cornering, and the latter for full braking power when the system detects an emergency situation necessitating a full stop.

On the road, the Sylphy is a decently enjoyable drive. Nissan is a very sporty brand, and you can see how engineers tried hard to infuse the Sylphy with the same DNA as the R35 GTR and 370Z sports cars. The 130 HP might seem low compared to its competitors, but the CVT transmission is surprisingly punchy and responsive, which more than makes up for the lack of outright grunt.

Arrow-shaped LED tail lamps

Simulating the perfect gear for hard acceleration, the Sylphy feels like it’s packing an extra 20 or more “horses” under the hood. Despite running a modest MacPherson front strut suspension and a torsion-beam rear when competitors are now running a more sophisticated multilink rear design, the Sylphy has impressive high-speed stability, controls body roll well and moves its weight around the four corners well, cornering confidently and predictably. The torsion beam rear also frees up trunk space, resulting in the aforementioned 518-liter cargo capacity.

In real-world driving conditions, however, the Sylphy is comfortable and serene. Even in heavy traffic, all worries melt away as the climate control chills your environment (a legendary Nissan trait), the Zero Gravity seats relax your backside and the audio system plays good music in the background. The aforementioned size also helps give the Nissan a compliant ride, and provides a light and airy cabin. Admittedly, Nissan could have done a bit more to spruce up the interior: contrasting leather, a hint of aluminum-finish accent, and darker, more somber and sophisticated plastics instead of all the drab beige/mocha interior.

A 1.8-liter MR8DE engine delivers 130 HP and 174 Nm of torque.

The Sylphy is a bargain. If you need a fuel-efficient vehicle that’s larger than most B-segment cars, yet having a limited budget, the Sylphy is a very serious, cost-conscious alternative. Despite driving through somewhat heavy traffic, the Sylphy still averaged between 7.8-8.4 kilometers per liter, and, on the highway, still gave an impressive 11-11.8 kpl, nudging the speed limit on drives to Alabang and Tagaytay from Mandaluyong. It’s also well-priced, with the 1.6-liter base model costing P812,000 to the top-spec 1.8-liter amounting to P998,000.

The Sylphy is a perfect long-distance highway cruiser because of its impressive comfort levels. It doesn’t have the immediate responsiveness of a Honda Civic or Ford Focus, but it isn’t a pure cruiser such as a Toyota Altis or a Chevrolet Cruze. It comfortably sits in between them, offering decent comfort especially over long distances and in traffic while returning a decent amount of driving enjoyment.