2024 Nissan Almera first drive: Now available with NissanConnect Services | Top Gear Philippines - video Dailymotion

Top Gear Philippines

The car launches keep on coming this month, and Nissan Philippines hasn’t passed up the chance to introduce a new model. Okay, it’s not exactly new, but the 2024 Nissan Almera marks the first time NissanConnect Services is made available in the local market.  The feature basically connects your smartphone to your vehicle via a dedicated app, which then lets you track vehicle health, service history, or the location of the vehicle itself, and sends notifications in case your Almera is driven beyond a zone or a speed limit you’ve set. It also allows for the recovery of the car in case of theft, or for rescue services to be deployed to the car’s location in the event of an accident.  NissanConnect Services is currently standard on the top-spec 2024 Almera VL variant, which is priced at P1,149,000. For a closer look as well as our first impressions of this updated subcompact sedan, click play on the video above.  Presenter: Leandre Grecia Editor and videographer: Sharleen Banzon  Chapters 0:00 Intro 0:25 2024 Nissan Almera exterior 0:52 2024 Nissan Almera interior 2:12 NissanConnect Services 3:25 2024 Nissan Almera performance 5:38 2024 Nissan Almera prices  Dig cars? Read more about cars and motoring here: http://www.topgear.com.ph Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TopGearPH Tweet us: http://www.twitter.com/TopGearPH Follow us on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/TopGearPH Join us on Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@topgearph  #topgearph #nissanalmera #nissanphilippines   HEX67JQ8TDN4SUNL APE6TM1CITKC68N3 DCCRFDFZH94GXGJJ MDZ8MYMNMTA7OPR6

Transcript

00:00 This is the 2024 Nissan Almera, and we drove all the way to La Union to see what this refreshed

00:06 subcompact sedan is all about.

00:09 [Music]

00:24 What's new with the facelifted Almera is, well, of course, the face.

00:28 It still has that chrome and gloss black plastic combo on the grille, but instead of the old

00:32 V-Motion design, it now has horizontal slats in place of the old mesh grille.

00:37 It also sits on new 16-inch alloy wheels with a new two-tone design.

00:42 At the rear, though, you won't see any changes.

00:44 This is literally just a facelift, but it does get a new moon pearl gray finish that's

00:49 exclusive to the top-spec variant.

00:52 Inside the Almera retained its old interior.

00:54 It still got the same design, basically.

00:56 Same steering wheel, same dashboard layout, and same center console.

01:00 What's new here is the two-tone finish right here that also carries over to the seats.

01:05 The head unit now also comes with Android Auto connectivity.

01:07 It still has Apple CarPlay, but it's just wired.

01:10 But it does get a new wireless charging pad up here.

01:13 The car also still has its Auto Stop/Start feature, but it now gets added high-beam assist

01:17 to the package.

01:18 Now, another addition here, which is arguably the biggest change in the Almera, is the new

01:22 Nissan Connected Services, which we will demonstrate later.

01:25 Now, no changes to headroom and legroom available here, but we'll show it to you anyway.

01:30 I'm about 5'5" and this is what we're looking at here in the backseat.

01:34 This seat is set to almost my driving position, and I've got a lot of legroom to work with.

01:40 Now, headroom is so-so.

01:42 If you're a bit taller, you might want to watch your head.

01:45 And speaking of watching your head, do it when you're on the way in because I hit my

01:49 head here.

01:50 It's pretty low.

01:51 Now, amenities here in the back.

01:53 You've got no AC vents, and I don't think that's a deal-breaker.

01:57 You do have a USB-A charging port and a center armrest with cup holders that comes at the

02:03 expense of a fifth passenger.

02:13 What we say is arguably the biggest addition in the new Almera is the Nissan Connected

02:17 Services.

02:18 Basically, it allows you to connect your smartphone to the vehicle via a dedicated app.

02:22 The app has various features, one of which is vehicle health.

02:26 The app also has a monitoring feature which allows you to set a curfew or a zone limit

02:31 for your vehicle.

02:32 Basically, if it goes past that area where you set the zone limit, it's going to alert

02:36 you through your phone.

02:37 The Nissan Connect app can also track your vehicle service history so it can remind you

02:41 if it's time for a PMS.

02:43 It also has a Find My Car feature which will be very handy for those who keep forgetting

02:48 where they park their cars.

02:49 The Nissan Connect app also has an anti-theft feature which prevents your car from being

02:54 stolen and in the event that it does get stolen, you'll easily be able to track where your

02:58 car is.

02:59 Finally, the app also has remote controls for your Almera.

03:03 You can lock, unlock, or engage the lights and the horn, or even turn on your engine

03:08 through the app.

03:09 Currently, Nissan Connect features are only available in the top-of-the-line Almera.

03:14 Each purchase of this one will come with a three-year subscription courtesy of Nissan

03:17 Philippines.

03:18 However, past that three-year mark, we still don't know how much it's going to cost.

03:22 Nissan doesn't want to think about that just yet.

03:27 The new Almera retains its 1.0-liter 3-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine that generates

03:32 99 hp and 152 Nm of torque when mated to the CVT which we are driving right now.

03:39 In the manual variant, that output goes up to 160 Nm.

03:42 So it's still the same as before.

03:44 So basically, this Almera still drives the same.

03:46 Now, that turbo-CVT combo can feel a bit jerky in stop-and-go traffic, but when you're on

03:52 the highway, it's pretty smooth.

03:54 I'm driving right now at highway speeds and when I need to overtake, I just give it more

03:58 beans and it just goes.

04:01 It has enough power.

04:02 As far as fuel consumption goes, it's still as efficient as ever.

04:06 On the way to La Union, we were doing 17 km/l, mostly on the highway.

04:11 We are driving right now at 100 km/l constantly from La Union.

04:14 We had some idling time at several gas stations and some drive-thrus, and the gauge is now

04:19 showing us 15 km/l which is actually pretty decent.

04:23 Now, in the city, I'm confident you can get about 10, 11, or even 12 km/l out of this

04:28 one.

04:29 As for the ride, we actually had our tires overinflated when we were driving to La Union,

04:35 but now we have corrected that and the ride is so much better.

04:39 It's still a city car, of course.

04:41 You will still feel the bumps on the road, but actually NVH levels are kept to a minimum

04:46 inside this cabin and it makes for a very comfortable ride.

04:50 Worth mentioning here though is the lack of adjustment for the seat belt.

04:54 In this update, they didn't really change anything inside this cabin so it's still the

04:58 same.

04:59 You can't really move this.

05:00 But, you do have tilt and telescopic adjustment for the steering wheel.

05:04 You have six-way adjustment for the driver's seat so it's not really that difficult to

05:08 find the right driving position.

05:10 The nifty addition in the new Almera is the Lane Departure Warning feature.

05:14 It adds to the existing package that already included features like autonomous emergency

05:19 braking with forward collision warning, blind spot monitoring, and of course, the parking

05:24 aids which includes a 360-degree camera that makes this subcompact sedan even easier to

05:29 park.

05:30 Also new for the Almera is the tire pressure monitoring system which works hand-in-hand

05:34 with the new Nissan Connect services which we discussed earlier.

05:39 As for the prices, the new Almera starts at Php 839,000 for the base EL manual variant.

05:45 The VE CVT variant costs Php 1,059,000.

05:49 This top-of-the-line VL variant costs Php 1,149,000 and it comes with a three-year subscription

05:55 to Nissan Connect Services.

05:58 People bought the Almera for the performance, for its fuel economy, and even for its design.

06:02 But, for me, the strongest selling point for this new Almera is the addition of Nissan

06:06 Connect Services.

06:08 It brings the car ownership experience online and makes it much more convenient and overall

06:12 just better for customers.

06:14 Of course, we will find out how useful these features exactly are once we try this vehicle

06:19 out for a week or so.

06:20 So, watch out for the full review.

06:21 [music]

06:22 [music]

06:23 [music]

2024 Nissan Almera first drive: Now available with NissanConnect Services | Top Gear Philippines

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