I open the driver-side door and am greeted by a scale model of a Nissan GT-R placed on the dashboard. This is something that Aparna and Sajin picked up from Japan as a reminder on what their subsequent upgrade would be. That may be some time down the road but for now, the couple is still enjoying the high of buying their very first car as a family. Finished in a stunning shade of Onyx Black, this is Aparna and Sajin’s story with their beloved Magnite.
Let me give you a little background on the couple. Sajin is an IT professional who writes code for various applications and Aparna works in HR for a major bank based in the USA. As we all know working corporate jobs is rather time consuming which makes going out on excursions that much more of an occasion. The Nissan Magnite is the first car that Aparna and Sajin bought together as a family and they couldn’t be happier about it. They tell me that it was love at first sight. There were a bunch of cars they wanted to look at but as soon as they walked into the Nissan showroom and laid eyes on the Magnite, they knew that it was the one they wanted to drive home. They had booked the car right after the peak of the pandemic and with chip shortage being at its worst, they were told that they’d have to wait a bit to take delivery of their SUV. But as luck would have it, Nissan managed to deliver the SUV much before they had promised, and so began the couple’s journey with the Magnite!
Soon after getting their Magnite, the two of them participated in a contest that Nissan ran and won a trip to Japan where they got to visit the Nissan Heritage Collection and even check out the quality control centre for Nissan. This is where in many ways, they felt reassured about their purchase. They got to see, first hand, the kind of craftsmanship and attention to detail that goes into building the cars. At the Heritage Collection, Sajin, an avid car enthusiast got to see cars that are a part of Nissan’s international portfolio including Gojira — the GT-R. Seeing one in the metal immediately made him realise that he wants to own one someday. “After seeing it in Japan, our eventual upgrade is definitely going to be the GT-R,” Sajin says, pointing at the scale models of the Kicks and the GT-R on his dashboard that he picked up from Japan.
The Magnite is available with a bunch of engine and transmission options. But as I said Aparna and Sajin stay in Bangalore, and if there’s anything that city is known for it would be the traffic. Sit in traffic for over an hour and do no more than five kilometres and you’ll soon understand that the place that cocoons you from the madness can soon become the reason for a whole bunch of frustrations you don’t want in your life. So with that in mind, the two of them thought it would be wisest to opt for the CVT option and they couldn’t be happier about their decision. Contrary to what is said about CVTs, in this case, mated to the 1-litre turbo-petrol engine it makes for quite the engaging drive when they decide to take the Magnite up Nandi Hills or other mountain roads.
I did mention that this is their first car together, but this is also Aparna’s first car ever and it is with the Magnite that she discovered the joys of driving. While out on a drive, Aparna told me, “I wasn’t a big fan of cars and wouldn’t relate much when Sajin would talk about them with so much excitement. But things are different now after learning to drive and the visit to the Heritage Collection in Japan.”
The Magnite with its tall SUV stance, comfortable seat and more importantly commanding driving position made for a great car to learn driving in. That combined with the CVT gearbox made the whole process of learning that much easier. She is now incredibly comfortable, and even skilled, behind the wheel of her Magnite. Owning and learning to drive a car was on her bucket list and she has proudly checked that off. Next on her list is a long road trip where she drives the whole way and, in Sajin’s words, “I get to experience the comfort of the passenger seat of this car.”
Speaking of road trips, this car is often used for trips to the couple’s native places. Aparna hails from Coimbatore while Sajin’s folks live in Kerala. That’s roughly a 400km drive to either place. While on the road, Sajin recounts an emergency in the family that needed him to drop Aparna to her home in Coimbatore and then proceed to Kerala. That was around 800 kilometres that he had to cover in less than a day. It was one of those days when the Magnite got to stretch its highway legs and really shine. Sajin felt a whole lot closer and comfortable with their Magnite and was very happy with their buying decision.
How can I talk about road trips and not talk about Aparna and Sajin’s ‘children’? As Aparna puts it, she’s a mom to two lovely kids – Dhruva and Aruvi. Dhruva is a furry little Shitzu you see wearing a baby-shark outfit and Aruvi is a tiny Chihuahua with a large spirit. The four of them often enjoy their weekend drives together and all the space in the back row of the Magnite means that the dogs have all the room they need to have a comfortable road trip.
The Nissan Magnite has proven to be an extremely reliable and key part of the Maroli family. In the 17-odd-thousand kilometres they’ve clocked in just a year, they have had zero maintenance issues and with the ‘Gold’ service plan they’ve opted for, they haven’t paid a dime for service either. The Magnite has enabled dreams and helped the couple tick items off their bucket list and is already helping them add things to that list. The two of them couldn’t be more excited to rack up more miles and I for sure can’t wait for them to cross 50,000km and catch up with them. Aparna promises me that more than half of those 50k kilometres should be with her behind the wheel.