Produced at Nissan’s Chennai, India plant, the Magnite has gone on to achieve 78,000 cumulative bookings in India alone, with a further 6,344 units shipped overseas.

Following the successful introduction of Magnite in South Africa and Indonesia last year, the sub-compact SUV is now available to markets such as Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Uganda, Kenya, Seychelles, Mozambique, Zambia, Mauritius, Tanzania, and Malawi. Sadly, no word yet on a possible launch in the Philippines.

The Nissan Magnite is powered by a 1.0-liter turbocharged 3-cylinder engine with 100 horsepower and 160 Nm of torque. This offers up to 50 percent better acceleration compared to normally aspirated engines in its class.

In some markets, the Magnite is Nissan’s sub-compact hatchback entry. It’s an interesting strategy for sure, but given the world’s insatiable appetite for high-riding vehicles, it’s a solid one. In that regard, this Nissan comes with true SUV attributes such as 205 mm of ground clearance.

It’s positioned as a technology leader in the segment as well, coming with features such as LED headlights, a 7-inch TFT instrument panel, an 8-inch infotainment system, a push-start system, and a 360-degree camera.

And despite being an entry-level SUV, it comes chockful of safety features with dual SRS airbags, ABS with EBD, Vehicle Dynamics Control (incorporating hill start assist), and a tire pressure monitoring system.

Since launching, more than 42,000 Magnites have been produced in India, despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing semiconductor shortage.