A favourite with first-time car buyers and youngsters for the longest time, hatchbacks have been losing ground in India to compact SUVs. I’d also attribute this to a lack of innovation, as the formula for hatchbacks has been the same for a long time. That said, driving the Nissan Note Aura in Japan turned out to be an interesting experience. For Indians, hatchbacks are largely about savings – be it the upfront cost of the car or its running costs, but the Note Aura is a very different take, especially courtesy its strong hybrid powertrain. Nissan has its own self-charging hybrid powertrain dubbed e-POWER, seen in several Nissan offerings internationally, including the Note Aura here.
I only managed a short drive around Yokohama in Japan, but the experience was enough to note the car’s potential for the Indian market as a premium but ultra-efficient offering. The car’s design reflects this thought, with its unique-looking grille and triple projector beam setup for the headlamps. The grille dominates the face, while the car’s low-slung stance makes for a sporty vibe. Our test car was also running 17-inch wheels with a unique design. The car is just over four metres long at 4,045mm, but feels very spacious inside. The rear end looks sporty thanks to the design of the tail lamps and the light bar connecting them and you even get a roof-mounted spoiler and shark-fin antenna.
The interiors use a mix of beige fabric and black plastics – door panels and the dashboard use both. The dashboard also has a central rib finished in unlacquered wood that adds to the cabin’s premium feel, along with the large, fabric-clad central armrest. Interestingly, front seat headrests integrate speakers for the Bose music system the car is equipped with. You get a large display for the instrument cluster while the infotainment screen reminds of the unit we’ve seen on the Kicks and X-Trail with its rotary controls. You lower yourself into the car which adds to the sporty feel, but this being the e-POWER aka strong hybrid powertrain-equipped version, the sportiness ends at the design and stance.
The Note Aura sits on Renault’s CMF-B architecture and the e-POWER version uses a 1.2-litre petrol engine that works as a generator (unlike the hybrids sold in India currently, Nissan’s e-POWER has the internal combustion engine only charge the batteries and never power the wheels directly). You can have the Note Aura e-POWER with either a single electric motor or dual motors, as an AWD model. The FWD model I drove has the electric motor offer 136PS, which makes for quick acceleration, especially given the fact that the electric motor offers peak torque right from the word go. That said, being a strong hybrid, the Note Aura isn’t exactly a driver’s car given its kind of power delivery, though e-POWER offers a smooth and silent driving experience. What shines obviously is the excellent fuel efficiency numbers made possible by the hybrid powertrain.
If launched in India, the Note Aura will be a unique offering and could catch the fancy of urban buyers looking for a premium hatchback that’s easy and convenient to drive in traffic and will also help them stand out. It will be an expensive proposition though and if and when launched here, is likely to come in via the more expensive CBU route.
