Nissan Almera Facelift Gains New Grille Design and Fake Tailpipes in Thailand

The fourth-gen Nissan Almera gets a mid-life refresh in Thailand, featuring minor styling updates and improvements on its safety features. Nissan has bestowed its B-segment sedan fighter a facelift treatment to ensure the Almera remains fresh and relevant against newer segment rivals, especially the new Toyota Yaris Ativ/Vios (AC100).

2023 Nissan Almera facelift, featuring new V-Motion front grille design

The mid-life makeover grants the Almera a redesigned front look, featuring the new V-Motion grille design with horizontal lines – same as the Nissan Ariya and Leaf facelift. Aside from a new colour option dubbed as Gray Sky Pearl, the facelifted Almera looks pretty much the same as before, that is until you opt for one of the four accessories packages officially offered by Nissan Thailand.

The Almera accessories packages offered by Nissan Thailand add a bevy of sporty touches, in and out

Similar to the Tomei aero kit we’ve seen on the previous model, these accessories packages bestows a slew of additional exterior aero parts, as well as several interior touches. This includes things like black-hued body kit, ducktail rear spoiler, roof-mounted shark aero fin, while the interior is granted with accessories like sporty pedal set with kicking plate, dual floor mats, and Almera nameplate on both the door cards and door sills.

However, the most ‘controversial’ part of the accessories package is the addition of fake centre-mounted dual tailpipes to go with the faux rear diffuser.

On board, the Almera facelift gets several new equipment such as a wireless charger, while the 8-inch infotainment display has been updated with support for both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as built-in Google Maps navigation system and voice recognition. 

NissanConnect services, accessible via Nissan Thailand's official mobile app

More importantly, the facelift model now features NissanConnect services, where users can remotely control selected functions of the car from their smartphone via Nissan’s app. These functions include remote controls for the car’s door lock, horn and lights, remote ignition, as well as a Car Finder function that helps users to locate their car.

On the safety front, the Almera facelift comes with the updated version of Nissan 360 Safety Shield. Among advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) features available including Rear Cross-Traffic Alert (RCTA), improved Forward Collision Warning (FCW), 360-degree camera view, High Beam Assist, Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and many more.

As for the powertrain, the Almera facelift employs the same 1.0-litre 3-cyl turbocharged mill that still outputs 99 HP and 152 NM to boot. This engine is mated to the same Jatco-sourced Xtronic CVT gearbox as before, in charge of facilitating the power transfer from the turbocharged engine to the front wheels (FWD).

The Thai-spec 2023 Nissan Almera facelift will come in four variants, with prices starting from THB 549,000 THB (RM72,861) for the base E grade trim, while the range-topping VL variant commands the highest price tag of THB 699,000 (RM92,952). Said prices do not include the accessories packages which start from THB 11,900 (RM1,586) for the basic Iconic package, while the complete Ultimate Package is priced at THB 29,990 (RM3,998).

As thing stands, local Nissan vanguard Edaran Tan Chong Motors (ETCM) has yet to unveil any plans of bringing in the facelifted Almera to our local market any time soon. With Toyota now replacing the old Vios with a next-gen version, and Honda Malaysia planning to launch the facelifted City sedan later this year, perhaps it is only fitting that ETCM also refresh its B-segment sedan fighter to remain fresh against its competitors.