Nissan Note spied testing in India; another hatchback turning up heat on Baleno and Elite i20?

Japanese carmaker Nissan seems to have an aggressive plan for the Indian market as the test mule of the Note hit the Indian roads giving a strong indication. Yes, we are talking about Nissan Note.

The folks at MotorBeam have caught Nissan Note on camera for the first time while it was being tested in Chennai. So far, Nissan has not given any hint of bringing a premium hatchback such as Note to India but the sighting predicts the possibility.

Interestingly, the Note spotted in Chennai was not camouflaged at all and looked dashing in black body colour. The hatchback is already on sale in European and South East markets. 

In India, if launched, the Nissan Note is likely to get 1.2 petrol and 1.5 diesel motors that do the duty in the Micra and Sunny. There were reports earlier that the electric version of the Note could be launched in India. There is no word on this so far from the company. Also, the spied model of the Note did not have any badging specifying it as the Note e-Power. 

Nissan Note, in terms of body size, is larger than the regular hatchback.

The Note e-Power is powered by HR12DE petrol engine in tandem with inverter and EM57 electric motor. The engine generates 77 bhp of power and 103Nm of torque while the electric motor churns out 106 bhp of power and 254Nm of torque. The Note e-Power does not require an external charging point to charge its battery as its petrol engine does the duty.

If the Note comes to India, the hatchback could be pitted against premium hatchbacks like Honda Jazz, Hyundai Elite i20 and Maruti Suzuki Baleno. Various reports on the internet suggest Note could be Nissan's one of the main attractions at the upcoming Auto Expo 2018. More details on the Nissan Note are expected to emerge in the coming days.