Nissan Sylphy

While the Nissan Sylphy succeeds in hiding its age from the outside, but the moment you step inside the cabin, it definitely brings in the feeling of it being a generation old. The fit and finish levels and build quality is good, but it is the layout which looks a bit dated. 

The cabin of the Nissan Sylphy is finished in a dual-tone theme of grey and beige, with faux wood inserts on the door panels as well as the lower part of the center console. The three-spoke steering wheel with wedge-shaped silver inserts is one generation old, and so is the simple looking instrument console with a large monochrome MID.

The center console of the dashboard of the Nissan Sylphy looks wide, with its curved upper layout over the central AC vents. The rectangular touchscreen infotainment system looks basic and feels like an aftermarket unit. The panel for the automatic climate control gets wood surrounds and looks decent. The cabin impresses with the sense of space, however, it will let you down with its very limited levels of equipment.

This iteration of Nissan Sylphy available in Singapore is actually the last generation model, which might make it look a bit too old in the current scenario. However, despite its age, the Nissan Sylphy manages to look smart and sophisticated, with its aerodynamic design still making a lot of sense.

The frontal profile of the Nissan Sylphy has a wide trapezoidal front grille which gets V-motion chrome garnish, like in every other Nissan car right now. The sharply tapered side edges of the front grille are flanked with eyebrow shaped curved headlamp units, which have a small kink in their outer lower edges. While the halogen projector headlamps look a bit old school, the boomerang-shaped daytime running LEDs add some freshness here.

The angular housing for the LED fog lamps add a coolness quotient to the front profile. From the side, the Nissan Sylphy looks smooth, thanks to the curved shoulder line, which flows all the way from the upper edge of the front headlamp all the way to that of the rear tail lamp.

The entire window frame gets chrome surrounds, and the five-spoke alloy wheels look good too. These alloy wheels are blackened in the Signature Sports variant, and so is the front grille and lower bumper lip as well. The Nissan Sylphy gets a pair of decent looking tail lamps at the back, which spread outwards towards the side profile like a bird’s wings.

The Nissan Sylphy offers a cushioned ride quality, courtesy a softly sprung suspension setup of Macpherson struts at the front and torsion beam at the rear. Add in the spacious feel of the cabin and it impresses one even more with the uncompromised comfort, especially at the rear seats. However, due to the light-weighted steering setup, it doesn’t feel too involving to drive.

The Nissan Sylphy gets a 1.6-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine under its hood, which is paired to a CVT gearbox as standard and channels the power produced to the front wheels only. The engine is good enough to splurge out a maximum power output of 116 PS and a maximum torque output of 154 Nm.

The Nissan Sylphy gets only the essential safety features such as dual front airbags and ABS with EBD and brake assist. In this day and age, when the midsize sedans are upping the game in terms of the equipment they are offering, this scarcity of electronic aids in the Nissan Sylphy is saddening.

For a bare essential car, the Nissan Sylphy makes up for a decent purchase. It offers decent levels of comfort, is easy to drive and looks smart on the outside. However, there are many bits which do prove that it is actually a generation old car and needs update especially in its interior layout and list of features.