Motorheads everywhere must be salivating after seeing the Super GT Nissan Latio by Edaran Tan Chong Motor (ETCM) recently at the 2007 Super GT Malaysia. To successfully modify any car, the vehicle itself must be robust, reliable and of course, well designed to begin with. Nissan vehicles have proven to be all that and more, and the amount of modified Nissan beauties and beasts on the road and tracks worldwide is a testament to Nissan’s ingenuity.
Words and Images: Jason Siew
Recently, ETCM organized a media test drive to Penang and yours truly was part of the escapade. The vehicles used for the journey was a mix of the Latio 1.8L and Latio Sport 1.6L. For the journey up north, we were given the keys to a Latio Sport. However, the keys itself weren’t really useful as you don’t really need it, read on to find out why.
At first glance, the front of the Latio reminds me of the Nissan March, Murano and even the Renault Megane. The car looks tall, but that is due to the fact that it has not been lowered and was probably designed for comfort in mind. We found out later that this preliminary assumption is inaccurate, as in actual fact, the Latio had both comfort and outstanding handling. Naturally, one would assume that tall vehicles, with a higher centre of gravity, would result in more body roll and lack of stability in changes of direction, again, this assumption was proved wrong by the Latio.
The Latio Sport
The exterior of the Latio Sport is smoothly sculpted, with lines emphasizing its fenders, giving it a wide body feel. Bulk of the rear is made up by the bumper, providing ample space for custom rear bumpers, with the only limitation being one’s creativity. The rear lights flares to the sides, moulding onto the body of the car as though it was forged as one. Tailgating a Latio Sport would probably be a bad idea as the rear lights will be staring fiercely back at you.
The Latio Sport isn’t just smoothly sculpted for looks, here’s a revelation: the Latio Sport has the same drag coefficient as the Nissan 350Z. The former a passenger car, the latter a sports car, but both share one common trait, Nissan engineering.
As for the interior, two words would sum it up nicely: utilitarian and luxurious. To prove a point, the seats were oversized, plush and provided superior support while being grippy at the same time – this coming from a person whose daily ride is equipped with Recaro SR3 says a lot about the seats. The entire car is upholstered in leather, and almost every corner of the car has cushioning, from the doors, to the panels and to the armrest. The fanatical car nut from ETCM assured us that every corner upholstered in the car has at least 25mm of cushioning. The only complaint of the interior would be that the centre console looks a bit boring, as the shape is more or less square, and the edge of the centre console came in contact with the driver’s knee. While one may argue that the edge is rounded and you can use it as a knee rest, the fact is that there is no cushioning on it, and you may very well injure yourself if you accidentally knocked against it, considering that it is so close to the knee for the average sized individual. There was plenty of headroom in the car, and the average Malaysian can probably wear a cowboy hat while driving. Rear legroom is good, and with the rear seats being able to slide back and forth, one can choose to have more legroom at the expense of boot space or vice versa. The idea is really simple, but ranks high on usability, as you no longer need to waste seating space by folding the seats – like most of the other hatchbacks in the market.
The Latio Sport comes with the Nissan Intelligent Key (ikey) as standard. With the ikey in your pocket, you can open the doors by pressing a button on the door handle. Upon entering the vehicle, simply turn the knob where the key would usually go and the car will start; all this without ever taking the ikey out of your pocket. The normal key is essentially useless, as all you would ever need is the ikey, unless you lose both your ikeys. The ikey is certainly a welcome as this level of technology is only found in the likes of Porsche, Lexus and other higher end marques. With the engine coming to life, we move on to the thing that really matters – the drive. The Latio Sport is powered by a straight-4, 1.6 litre petrol engine -- the HR16DE, an engine co-developed by Nissan and Renault. While the HR16DE comes in CVTC and non-CVTC variants, ETCM assured us that all Latios in Malaysia come with CVTC equipped engines. The engine is mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission, and its no slouch considering that it is an auto tranny. The power delivery is punchy as the rush comes early in the rev band, while the transmission is quick to respond when you floor the pedal, downshifting and the surge of power continues to flow uninterrupted. Talking about power, the fanatical car nuts from ETCM told us the top speed they achieved with the Latio Sport was 170km/h. Guess they are not as dedicated as us as we managed to push the Latio Sport up to 180km/h on flat ground, and with a slight downhill we pushed it all the way to the 200km/h mark. Surprisingly, the Latio Sport felt right at home at those speeds, the ride was still as comfortable as before but with an increased wind noise. At those speeds (160km/h and above), the Electric Powered Steering (EPS) equipped steering felt less intuitive, but it’s important to note that at normal driving speeds it is quick and responsive.
The traffic up ahead is merging, slammed the brakes hard and the speed dropped from 180km/h and 120km/h in an instant. Something wasn’t right; the car didn’t dive. Maybe it happened too fast and we didn’t notice it, tried again, same, hardly any nose dive even when the ABS with EBD kicked in as we were flooring the brakes. A long sweeping bend approaches and the Latio Sport cruises along at 140km/h, neatly planted on the ground with no hops and hardly any body roll. How is that possible given the height of the car and the large gap between the wheels and the fenders? As far as we know, these cars were not equipped with any specially prepared suspension and were exactly the same with the ones sold in the showrooms. As a matter of fact, the vehicles used for the media test drive were taken from Nissan Showrooms scattered around Klang Valley. The answer behind it is Nissan’s Ripple Control shock absorbers with rebound springs; the same technology found it the Nissan Skyline GT-R R34’s suspension system which serves to reduce high frequency vibration and reduce the movement that shock absorber exerts while providing a comfortable ride.
The Latio Sport, apart from inheriting the power, precision and unrivalled agility from Nissan, also benefited from the expertise of Renault in automotive safety. The Latio Sport features dual SRS airbags, ABS with Braking Assist and EBD while the chassis has a Zone Body construction and additional padding protection on the inner side of the front, centre, rear pillars and roof sides. This resulted in a maximum score of 6-Star Rating for Safety in the Japanese New Car Assessment Program (JNCAP).
An aftermarket tuning house in Japan has successfully engineered a supercharger kit for the HR15DE engine on the 1.5L CVTC JDM model of the Nissan Latio known as the Nissan Tiida. Being from the same HR family of engines, it is very likely that a supercharger or turbocharger solution can be engineered for the 1.6L engine as well. That being said, the potential of the Nissan Latio Sport is endless, and it’s limited by how far your imagination and wallet can go.
With a price tag of RM94,070.00 (non-metallic) and RM94,801.50 (metallic) for the Latio Sport, it is hard to beat in terms of price and what’s offered. For a hatchback in its class, the Latio Sport has a lot of desirable features such as the ikey, drag coefficient that rivals the 350Z, GT-R inspired suspension and flexible/usable space that addresses the space issue in hatchbacks. If we were to compare price wise, the only other hatchbacks in this price bracket would be the Honda Jazz and Toyota Yaris - both B-segment subcompacts, while the Latio Sport is a class above, a C-segment compact with more space, more power, and technology derived from the expertise of a Japanese company and a French company. Simply put, you’re getting a whole lot more car for the money.
Website: www.nissan.com.my or www.latio.com.my
This is the Nismo S-Tune Latio. Read more about it here:
Nismo S-Tune Latio / Tiida - Body kit concept
Relevant Nissan Latio Articles
great picture bro..
eventhough is a 1.6 engine..
