Nissan Latio N17

2013 Nissan Latio

This is what the fuss is all about. Sure it may be a compact sedan imported from Thailand but what this is, is part of the plan, well Nissan's Power 88 plan where they add every new model for the next six weeks up until fiscal year 2016. Anyway, no time for fussing about their master plan. Back to this compact car, anyway, as you can see, this is somewhat a different kind of compact sedan. In America, this is what they called the Versa. In China, they call it Sunny. In ASEAN and others, it's called the Almera. Here in Japan, they called it the Latio.

2013 Nissan Latio

With the Fit Aria from Honda axed in late 2008 and the Toyota Belta dead in the summer of 2012, the all-new Nissan Latio N17 is a class of its own. Yep, it's in a class of its own but underneath, it's just a Nissan March/Micra K13 because it uses the Nissan V Platform, which is a kind of platform applied on the K13 March and the latest Note E12. Also, the new Latio N17 carries the fuel-efficient HR12DE engine mated with the new-generation XTRONIC CVT and is equipped with an idling stop feature that turns off the engine when stopped at the red light and then starts again when you set off. Sure, the HR12DE produces 79PS of power but in terms of fuel efficiency, because this is classified as an eco-car, the N17 Latio/Almera/Sunny/Versa will keep going all the way to 22.6km/L based on Japan's JC08 test cycle. This is about as fuel-efficient as the eleventh-generation Toyota Corolla (Axio).

2013 Nissan Latio

Also, the inside of the new Latio does really look like the March because as I said, the all-new Nissan Latio N17 is just the sedan version of the Nissan March/Micra K13. So, am I gonna talk about the interior? Nah, let the owners decide.

2013 Nissan Latio

So, how can I sum this up? Well, the things I like about the Latio are its fuel efficiency, the front view, the HR12DE, and of course, the reasonable price because the Latio starts at 1,419,600 Japanese Yen or better yet convert this price to Thai Baht, Philippine Peso, Indonesian rupiah, Malaysian Ringgit or whatever means necessary. What I don't like about it is the rear view because it looks hideous and the interior looks similar to the March.

Malaysians, take note, if this arrives soon, please be careful about it. Sure, Malaysia is a very notorious country because of its reputation for "modified cars" (type that on your Google Trends and you'll see), I mean, if you want to have the so-called Nissan Latio/Tiida/Versa/Sunny/Almera, do it properly because, like most Japanese cars of today, it has a 180kph speedometer and converting it is proven "ILLEGAL" and a higher chance to "break the law".

Available Colors: Titanium Grey, Pure Black, Burning Red, Brilliant Silver, White, White Pearl.

PRICE LIST:

1.2 S - 1,419,600 Japanese Yen

1.2 X - 1,470,000 Japanese Yen

1.2 G - 1,698,900 Japanese Yen

Photo: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

Goodbye to the Tiida

Sorry if I had to get that stat from Top Gear, anyway, every year in Britain, over 2 million cars faced their deaths to the crusher and then, their parts got recycled into something else. Tires turned into carpets, dashboards turned into furniture, bodywork turned into washing machine. This whole recycle stuff is a bit cold and merciless to those cars who passed away.

That made us sad because cars are more than just tools to some, they're memories. One such example was the old Toyota Tamaraw. This car was not made to be displayed at the Concours D'Elegance in the Philippines but it was belonged to a long list of families for years. That car take mom from hospital when their kids were born. They took their kids to school, and then when the kids were grown up, it served as a one way ticket to freedom. Sadly, the old FX will face its maker because when a car dies, it serves as a death of a member of a family.

Now, we find ourselves in that very position because we now bid farewell to a certain Nissan.

Nissan Tiida

The old Nissan Tiida that was launched in Japan in September 2004. As a machine, it wasn't destined to set the automotive industry a light but it certainly set some memories. Think about The Secrets of Tiida. There are so many secrets why the Tiida is truly a global small compact. Compact meets luxury, that's why the Tiida was born to be. What a life has been....

But now, the Nissan Tiida is at the end of its life and because of the circumstances that Nissan will never ever sell the Tiida C12, as seen in last year's Shanghai Auto Show, in Japan, we regret that the TIIDA MUST DIE.

Tiida may die here...

But before we ever kill the Tiida, we decided to give it a proper send-off by lapping this car round the Top Gear Test Track. Are the annotations ready?

The Nissan Tiida did it in 1:43.876, so...we'll be killing the Tiida now because Nissan stop producing the Tiida in June 2012 and it will joining the list of this year's Japanese cars we bid sayonara and they're headed to the Great Crusher In The Sky such as the Honda Legend, Honda Inspire (Accord), Toyota Belta, Daihatsu Copen, Toyota Blade, Pajero Mini, and the Mazda RX-8. What should we do to say sayonara to our heroic Nissan Tiida?

Simple, we'll crash the Nissan Tiida, full speed ahead but no. We're not doing that. We'll be using Forza Motorsport 4 to kill the Nissan Tiida by our own bare hands. Apparently, this was the right thing to do for the Tiida because if I was a Japanese compact car being driven by customers worldwide a million times, this is fate I want to choose. The Nissan Tiida compact car will be doing seppuku (切腹), which is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment, but this is a different kind of seppuku. With enough speed, the Nissan Tiida will be easily disintegrate when crashed. That's right. It's a harakiri (腹切り) for the Nissan Tiida.

Nissan Tiida before its hara-kiri

With the assembled mourners looking resplendent in high-visibility jackets, the hara-kiri ritual commences...

Nissan Tiida

Nissan Tiida interior

The Nissan Tiida's dignified seppuku...nearly

And there we are. A dignified seppuku....nearly...

That's pretty shoddy. I was suppose to think that it should be disintegrated into many bits but I mean look at that...oh my God...

REST IN PEACE, NISSAN TIIDA

2004 - 2012

May the Driving Gods bless your soul

(applause)

You idiot...

What?

You idiot...

What?

This was supposed to be a seppuku for this car but what's this? It's lame! That's not what a seppuku the Nissan Tiida supposed to do...

Oh...

Anyway, we are very sad to say goodbye to the Nissan Tiida, but we're not because it's rubbish...