Nissan Sunny review: the cheapest sensible new-ish sedan in Bahrain
3.6/5motorssouq Editorial Team
Buy the Sunny if your priority is the lowest total cost of owning a decent, reasonably modern sedan in Bahrain. The boot and rear seat are genuinely larger than the segment norm, insurance and parts are cheap, and Nissan's Xtronic CVT has proven durable in this lighter, less-stressed application. It will not impress anyone and it is not meant to — it is meant to be the sedan you stop thinking about once you own it.
Pros
- Boot and rear-seat space beat several cars a class above
- Among the cheapest sedans in Bahrain to insure, fuel and service
- Xtronic CVT has a solid reliability record in this lighter application
- Every independent workshop in Bahrain can service it without specialist tools
Cons
- Only four airbags and no advanced driver-assist features
- No official GCC crash-test rating on record
- Modest 118 hp makes highway overtaking unhurried
- Interior materials and infotainment feel basic against class rivals like the City or Accent
The N18 Sunny occupies the bottom rung of Nissan's sedan range in the Gulf, and it does not apologise for it. A 1.6-litre four with 118 hp and a CVT is unremarkable on paper, and it is unremarkable to drive, which is precisely the point for a car bought on running-cost logic rather than emotion.
Where it actually beats bigger cars
The Sunny's boot and rear-seat space are genuinely larger than several cars a class above it, a consequence of Nissan packaging a compact platform with few compromises for style. Families using it as a second car or a first car for a new driver consistently find more usable space than the exterior dimensions suggest.
Running costs are where the Sunny earns its keep: insurance premiums, parts prices and fuel consumption around 6.4 L/100 km combined are all at the low end of anything sold new in Bahrain, and independent workshops handle it without any specialist knowledge required.
What to expect used
Safety equipment is basic by current standards — four airbags and no advanced driver-assist suite — which reflects the price point rather than an oversight, and buyers should weigh that honestly against cars a segment up. The CVT, in this lighter and less powerful application, has a better reliability record than the same transmission family in heavier Nissan models, but the same rule applies: confirm the fluid has been changed on schedule before trusting a high-mileage example.
The Sunny is not a car anyone buys for how it feels. It is a car bought for what it costs to run over the next five years, and on that measure it is hard to beat in this market.