The New 2005 Nissan Tiida Is Now on Sale in Japan

The Tiida May Become the Next Generation Sentra

Imagine if you will an economically compact car that has the room, features and quality of a full-size luxury sedan. Its sort of like going into a fast food joint and asking for prime rib. Its a tall order, regardless of how you look at it. Now, imagine that very vehicle in question features a price tag no more expensive than an average Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla. Better make that a porterhouse, medium rare.

But wait a minute! What seems impossible in theory has become a reality in Japan at least, thanks to Nissans brand new C-segment Tiida. Recently announced for sale in its domestic market, the Tiida hatchback proves that automotive rules can be broken once in a while.

Hold up a moment, why should the domestic product launch of a simple Japanese compact make front page news? Is there more to the little Tiida than first meets the eye? While many of Nissans products are aimed squarely at the culturally unique Japanese market, an even greater portion of its vehicles are marketed on a global scale. Take Nissans current compact vehicle for an example. It is sold in Europe as the Almera, albeit modified considerably with new sheetmetal, a revised interior and with different drivetrains. The Sunny is also sold here in North America, although not in hatchback or wagon configurations. Our Sunny is the 4-door Sentra, a typically average Japanese compact sedan which struggles to gain recognition in an overcrowded class.

What each previously mentioned model has in common with the next is a chassis featuring a 100.2 inch wheelbase length, plus a strut suspension up front and a multi-link beam axle in rear. The Tiida will take the role as the first vehicle to spawn a new platform for the next-generation Almera and Sentra, which will debut in their respective markets in the near future.

To say that the Tiida spawns a new platform isnt necessarily correct, as Nissan chose to borrow rather than reinvent the wheel, so to speak. But from whom and what did they borrow? Nissans parent company, Renault has supplied the award-winning Megane II chassis and suspension systems, renowned for strength, rigidity and refinement. The underpinnings of the Tiida are simple rather than complex, using the same no-nonsense strut and torsion beam layout that its French cousin utilizes. The 165.5 inch long five-door hatchback body matches the Megane in length, but at 66.7 inches tall, and 60.4 inches wide, its narrower and taller than the French compact. The wheelbase of the Tiida is significantly longer than any current C-segment Nissan, by a whopping 2.56 inches.

Going back in time for a minute to see where the Tiida may be heading. The 2003 Tokyo Motor Show featured the unveiling of Nissans C-Note concept (see Nissan section within the concept car archives for Nov 2, 2003: 2003 Nissan C-Note Concept), a vehicle that the Japanese automaker claimed was merely an experiment. It seems that just over a year later the C-Note would become a full production vehicle with little change to its exterior. One can view it side-by-side to the Tiida and see that the production version mirrors the concept. All but some minor details, such as the black mesh grille, less complex projection beam headlamps and wheels, have been carried over. The roof-length skylight, now becoming a trademark of North American-market Nissans, will not be available. The Tiida also demonstrates superior aerodynamics. Despite its tall stature it achieves a wind-cheating drag coefficiency of 0.29, and features zero front lift.

Considering the great differences in styling philosophy between Renault and Nissan, its interesting to see that much of the French cars design has remained present in the Tiida, including the raised cockpit and its general proportions. One major difference between the two is that a conventional hatchback has replaced the ungainly trunk of the Tiidas French counterpart. Nissan is also offering a notchback four-door sedan body style called the Tiida Latio. Aside from the addition of an ordinary-looking trunk, there is no mechanical difference between it and the regular hatchback. Considering that most Japanese car manufacturers let their international design studios dictate the appearance of their vehicles, the European and American market cars spawned from the Tiida will most likely bear different names and bodywork.

Inside, Nissan claims that the Tiida offers a premium quality interior. By the use of “leatherized” soft-touch plastics on the center console, instrument panel and doors, as well as high-quality fabrics for the seats, doors and headliner, Nissan hopes to create a sense of elegance. Like the exterior, very little was changed between the production Tiida and the C-Tone from concept to reality. Truly, there is much to be desired from the minimalist appearance of the interior.

But perceived appearances are only half the story when it comes to luxury, as another significant portion belongs to roominess and spaciousness. The Tiida has space as its trump card with an interior length measured from accelerator pedal to the rear seat hip point matching that of Nissans Cima (Infinity Q45) sedan! Nissan has cleverly installed a flexible rear seat bench, mounted on rails, which allows it to slide a total of 9.45 inches fore and aft. The flexible rear seat also allows for expandable cargo capacity, with the rear seats all the way back 10.2 cubic feet of space is available. Sliding the rear seats all the way forward increases the capacity to 16.4 cubic feet.

Nissan will also be introducing its new navigation service, dubbed CARWINGS, which has the unique ability to find the fastest-route available by using real-time traffic information. Using similar technology to GMs OnStar system, a live operator, available 24 hours per day, 365 days a year provides live voice assistance in order to help drivers get to their destinations more quickly. Its also a safety issue, allowing trained operators to calm overwhelmed motorists who may have just experienced an accident, for example. The information is displayed on the optional LCD screen, which also has the ability to communicate with Bluetooth devices such as PDAs and cellular phones. All CARWINGS services are available for three years, free of charge from the date of sign up. Whether or not Nissan will offer a similar
system on European and American models is unknown, but it would be a step forward from current read-only DVD navigation discs.

At its launch, the Tiida will be offered with only one engine. Nissan will be showcasing its new HR15DE motor, an all-alloy 1.5-liter twin-cam design with four valves per cylinder. While popular performance increasing technologies such as variable valve timing and variable intake and exhaust manifolds are absent from this motor, it still manages to create 109 horsepower and 109 lb-ft of torque. While it may not be Nissans most powerful motor, this compact inline-four should serve the needs of most Tiida drivers. Nissan will offer a larger, more powerful 1.8-liter inline four as of 2005.

The benefits of a lower powered motor arent exactly obvious at first, especially in a class where 135 to 140 horsepower is the norm. Nissan has put extra effort into reducing the friction within the motor and has improved its thermal efficiency in order to make the motor as green and economically friendly as possible. The Tiida manages to gain SU-LEV (Super-Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle) title, emitting 75 percent fewer emissions than levels required by Japans 2005 exhaust regulations, and achieves the standards set for 2010 as well. Like the Insight and Prius, buyers of the Tiida will also qualify for tax rebates. Good news for Californians, after news of stricter emissions standards.

Nissan will offer the Tiida with a choice of two drivetrain combinations, depending on the model. The 15S and 15M models are front wheel drive and feature Nissans XTRONIC CVT transmission for optimized fuel economy and performance. 15S FOUR and 15M FOUR models feature a four-speed automatic gearbox in place of the CVT, but gain the unique e-4WD system which employs a pair of electric motors to drive the rear wheels in slippery situations. The e-4WDs advanced technology was pioneered in the March/Micra and Cube subcompacts and proves that part-time four wheel drive doesnt require heavy and complex differentials.

Although the news of a new compact car available in Nissans home market of Japan hardly seems important, its much more so in the grand scheme of things. Many of the technologies represented with the Tiida, including the HR motor, the low-drag body design and the CARWINGS telematics system, are all brand new and soon to be integrated to other Nissan offerings. And although it is common knowledge that Nissan is currently working to replace its American and European compact cars, whether they receive such technology is a mystery. For now, all we know is that the Tiida and several other vehicles are an important component in Nissans three-year 180 degree turnaround plan, which is to add an additional one-million vehicles to yearly sales between October 2004 and September 2005. That said all thats left to do is play the waiting game and see how things unfold.

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