The first time the Nissan Grand Livina entered the Philippine market in 2008, it was a  three-row hatchback based on the Nissan Tiida platform. It was ahead of its time in many ways, as it offered car-like handling and seating for seven. Typical of what crossovers provide today. As head of the marketing team of Nissan Motor Philippines, Inc (NMPI) at that time, I was tasked to find ways to slot such a strange vehicle concept into the MPV-crazy consciousness of Filipino car buyers.

The 2008 Nissan Grand Livina was ahead of its time.

While the 2008 Nissan Grand Livina model was smaller, lower, and less rugged compared to the MPV of choice during that era, the Toyota Innova, it did promise improved drivability and riding comfort. The product was too refined to be taken seriously as an all-around MPV. And the Innovas of the day continued their dominating hold in the market. 

But times have changed. And customers' preferences have evolved as well since then.

On September 6th, Nissan Philippines will introduce the second-generation Nissan Grand Livina. But this time, it will share the same platform and bits and pieces as the very popular Mitsubishi Xpander, in line with its product synergy in the Renault-Mitsubishi-Nissan alliance.

In case you don't know, the second-generation Nissan Grand Livina was first unveiled in 2019 in the Indonesian market. And in the interest of supply and product rationalization,  the Grand Livinas to be sold here will also originate from the Mitsubishi plant in Indonesia. The three-way synergy has so far worked to the benefit of Nissan, with platform sharing as one way manufacturers have cut down development costs.

But it's not just the platform that is shared. It makes sense that the second-generation Nissan Grand Livina will also be powered by the same 104 ps in-line four found in the Xpander. And even further sense that two transmission options will be available in the Philippines -  a 5-speed manual and a 4-speed automatic. The same choices are available for the Grand Livina in Indonesia and the Xpander in the Philippines.

Fortunately, the Nissan Grand Livina has its own aesthetic going with the V-Motion grille up front. And based on Indonesian specifications, its steering wheel design as well. One thing we can look forward to is the inclusion of black leather seats in the top variant to be sold locally, something the current Mitsubishi Xpander lacks. So if there's one thing that will make a car buyer choose the Grand Livina over the Xpander, this is probably it. 

However, suppose Indonesian specifications are applied to the Grand Livinas to be sold here. In that case, it will be short in the following areas: 15-inch wheels for the base model manual transmission variant and 16-inch wheels for the mid and top-range Grand Livina versus the Mitsubishi Xpander's  17-inch wheels across the range. And halogen headlamps in all Grand Livina variants versus the LED-equipped Xpander GLS A/T. 

As we await the exact details and specifications of the Nissan Grand Livina, we can only hope that Nissan Philippines assigns prices proportional to the specs we feel will be available. Given the potential spec difference between the twin models, it could mean the Nissan Grand Livina will undercut the Mitsubishi Xpander by a considerable amount. Our best guess is about Php 50K to 80K in the middle and top variants and more or less a narrower Php 40K in the entry model manual. 

Are you excited about the return of the Nissan Grand Livina?