Fleet managers and rental car enthusiasts (if such a thing exists) can now start feeling all warm and fuzzy inside - Nissan has pulled the covers off what looks to be the new Tiida.
Firstly, we cannot confirm that this is in fact the car that will replace the South African-market Nissan Tiida, but if we put the puzzle pieces together it starts looking beyond likely.
This is the Chinese-market Nissan Sunny, which has made its world debut at the Guangzhou International Auto Exhibition in China and while Nissan's press release does not disclose whether or not it is the Tiida replacement, there are two big pieces of evidence suggesting it is.
Firstly, Nissan says this is an all-new global small sedan that will be sold in 170 countries across the globe under different brand names. Secondly, it looks remarkably similar to Nissan's recent teaser sketch of the next Versa - the current Versa is a Tiida, just with a different name for the American market.
Assuming then, that this is the new Tiida, Nissan's designers have clearly made it a bit easier on the eye than the slab-sided current model. That said, it is still relatively conservative in its design approach. That's surely a good thing as you don't want to fall in love with a vehicle that you'll eventually have to hand back to the company that you work for/rent from now do you?
Like the current Tiida, the Sunny seems to fit between the B- and C-segments in terms of size and positioning, and the fact that its dashboard closely resembles that of the new Micra suggests that it shares a platform with the compact hatch, albeit they've clearly stretched the wheelbase to match the generous rear legroom offered by the current Tiida.
So then, there's nothing radical about these underpinnings, MacPherson strut suspension up front and a torsion beam at the back, but then a rental car does not need fancy suspension in order to handle like a race car, so we've heard.
The Chinese Sunny is powered by a proven 1.5-litre petrol engine, mated to a new-generation Xtronic CVT transmission and Nissan expects it to be a class leader in terms of fuel consumption.