2018 Nissan Serena e-POWER

[Atrecord]

On 5/23/2020 at 9:57 PM, Heartlander said:

From sgcarmart, both Stepwagon and Serena got 6 airbags.

If it comes down to only these 2 models, the decision will be much easier.

If priority is FC and AD, then get Serena.

If want a chio car that looks good both inside and outside, with very functional interior layout, and with complete safety package, then get Stepwagon. This is not to say FC for Stepwagon is no good. Take my case as a reference. Btw do not say I got this car so am biased. I went Nissan showroom in the morning to touch and test-drive Serena without thinking that I will go see any more car as not in my radar actually. Was quite fixated on Serena but frankly I did not feel strongly about it after the session. Then my wife suggested go Megamart to jalan jalan since it is just behind. Then caught sight of Stepwagon and really love at first sight! 

And I would think for people around 50 years old, both are good car to retire on as they are so spacious and functional and can serve the growing up kids well, yet relatively cheap to maintain. I am thinking of chionging up North when things turn normal. Am sure this car will do well for such use haha.

yup, serena has 6 airbags. It's a disappointment that triplets only have 2/3... so i'm almost certainly gonna overloook them. 

Just wanna confirm that stepwagon also has 6, before i start serious considering it.

Pity that the petrol one doesn't have EPB, i got very used to - and really like - the feature. Don't think will consider the hybrid as our mileage is not high, so it doesn't justify paying so much more. 

How's the noise level in stepwagon? Did you find Serena's noise bearable or unbearable when you test drove? I understand some owners say it gets quite noisy when accelerating hard.

Have you checked whether it's easy to get parts for the car later on, when you need replacements? Are do you have any idea whether there's a sizeable following for the stepwagon? If got more owners, then parts should be available. 

[KANEYONG7]

Which hybrid/ICE car ‘sound silent‘ when accelerating hard? It’s audible but bearable since only floor at traffic lights or when overtaking. The trick is to let go of accelerator after overtaking & accelerate gradually again to activate EV silence. BUT if it’s in pure-electric mode which Serena is capable of up to 5km on highways, it’s silent even when accelerating.

The road noise is more obvious VS the engine noise as it’s on constant recharge while driving on highway till it goes to EV-mode when the battery is almost full charge. On minor roads, most of the time it’s EV-mode hence pretty much quiet.

Since already paying for the additional torque (higher road tax), might as well utilize it while it’s still under warranty (5yrs unlimited milage), peace of mind since under AD. 

Parts wise, moving forward, most if not all Nissan models will be at least on E-Power platform in the next 10yrs. (Upcoming Nissan KICKS) So why worry about something that ‘might’ happen & even If it‘s faulty, the battery is 10yrs warranty period. More Jap & Korean models are transiting to hybrid models VS Conti so unless you’re considering Conti hybrid MPV then you should be really concern...

Cannot comment much on stepwagon, felt it has a unique design especially the Wakuwaku doors but might not be practical unless u park head-in every time. Series Hybrid vs Turbo engine;  1 can drive like maniac & still get decent fc the other have to drive carefully constantly to achieve decent fc... 🙂

[Heartlander]

6 hours ago, KANEYONG7 said:

Which hybrid/ICE car ‘sound silent‘ when accelerating hard? It’s audible but bearable since only floor at traffic lights or when overtaking. The trick is to let go of accelerator after overtaking & accelerate gradually again to activate EV silence. BUT if it’s in pure-electric mode which Serena is capable of up to 5km on highways, it’s silent even when accelerating.

Maybe as a Serena owner you want to share about this humming sound that is emitted whenever the engine is charging up the battery, as some owners feedback on forum that it is very audible or borderline irritating. Like under what charging situation would EV silence cut in so that you could have a quiet cabin?  If you drive for only 1hr per day, would this humming noise be there all the time after a few days when driving? Think the sgcarmart reviewers also got highlighted on this. What you commented on overtaking I catch no ball as after overtaking, how can let go of accelerator as would that not be dangerous driving? Noramlly after overtaking a slower vehicle we would need to maintain the speed, or increase speed to open up the gap then maintain the speed.

The road noise is more obvious VS the engine noise as it’s on constant recharge while driving on highway till it goes to EV-mode when the battery is almost full charge. On minor roads, most of the time it’s EV-mode hence pretty much quiet.

Since already paying for the additional torque (higher road tax), might as well utilize it while it’s still under warranty (5yrs unlimited milage), peace of mind since under AD. 

Parts wise, moving forward, most if not all Nissan models will be at least on E-Power platform in the next 10yrs. (Upcoming Nissan KICKS) So why worry about something that ‘might’ happen & even If it‘s faulty, the battery is 10yrs warranty period. More Jap & Korean models are transiting to hybrid models VS Conti so unless you’re considering Conti hybrid MPV then you should be really concern...

Sorry can share the article on this trend of most Nissan cars to be on E-Power platform? Most potential buyer now have to grapple abit with the new technology before deciding to buy it. My colleague shared that his Serena can only go 40km/hr climbing up Genting due to the prolong slope. Not fun if I were the driver but not a concern if you do not intend to drive your car up there. So I will not say this issue might not be a issue for you, unless you happen to be in that demography who happen to be doing it then take it into consideration.

Cannot comment much on stepwagon, felt it has a unique design especially the Wakuwaku doors but might not be practical unless u park head-in every time. Series Hybrid vs Turbo engine;  1 can drive like maniac & still get decent fc the other have to drive carefully constantly to achieve decent fc... 🙂

I park always buttock in and I always find the waku waku door useful as it opens effortlessly to load my groceries, no need to lift the groceries high to put into rear boot as is with Serena smart opening. And can enter from rear hatch to the driver seat if want to if adjacent car is parked too close for comfort to get in from the driver door. With regard to FC, I always tell my friend I rather feel shiok every time I drive my Stepwagon, then feel shiok once in 2 weeks when topping up fuel. FC for Stepwagon is already better than most 2L non-hybrid cars, nothing to fault as not fair to compare it against hybrid/EV cars. And not that Serena is doing much better as there are Serena owners complaining about getting 8 to 10km/L when driving short trips all the time, not that far better than this Stepwagon if driven alike.

Bottom line for me is that everyone has different needs. Just choose one car that you think can serve you better. Sharing is caring.

[Sigeena]

It can't be helped. This is the serena thread and you came in talking up Steppie, talking down serena. 

The engine noise is really not noticeable when driving. The main noise would be road noise, unless you're driving round and round in the carpark, or idling waiting for someone. 

FC to me is a cock size thing. I don't really get into it. Let's just say it ranges from 12 to 18. If you have to drive full load, running in small roads all day 12km/l is probably the norm, something which I'm sure the other rides of the same class (Biante, triplets, Steppie) give 8km/l. You can get 18km/l and above if there's only the driver and cruise steadily. 

The waku door is a great idea but to be honest I've driven real commercial vans before and the waku door reminds me of my van from the drivers perspective. Ugly lah. 

[Heartlander]

Ok my apologies for talking too much about my Steppie in this thread.

I hope all have noticed i never go into talking about negative things about this Serena all this while but that both are good cars where owners have mafe excellent choices getting them.  I mostly highlight what i feel generally, like i never comment that Serena look ugly or something but just that the Steppie won me over easily. We definitely have an opinion on things but i never purposely said bad things about Serena like this humming sound or limping EV mode on steep slope until now. Generally i give my take and i always urge potential buyers to do due diligence before deciding. Even in Serena facebook forum i also try to be helpful and never give comments to put down the ride. I even stepped in just recently to offer advice when none of the Serena owners willing to just go to their car to help a potential buyer to do a measurement if can fit a ladder.

Ok enough drifting. Please PM me or ask me in other Stepwagon thread if any is keen on this ride or have burning questions.  Have a good sleep. Take care.

[inlinesix]

Serena e-power battery size is 1.8kwh (75% smaller than Prius).  It will definitely trigger engine to recharge the battery on highway.  For City drive, brake recharge the battery.

This is a 1.8t MPV (without passenger).  It is advisable to drive it smoothly.

Top Gear HK manage to drive 1k km without refilling.

[Heartlander]

4 hours ago, inlinesix said:

Serena e-power battery size is 1.8kwh (75% smaller than Prius).  It will definitely trigger engine to recharge the battery on highway.  For City drive, brake recharge the battery.

This is a 1.8t MPV (without passenger).  It is advisable to drive it smoothly.

Top Gear HK manage to drive 1k km without refilling.

The 1000km drive had been achieved with almost fully highway driving and done almost continuously non-stop except for a night stop. Not realistic as not how 99.99% of car owners will drive. 

[inlinesix]

7 minutes ago, Heartlander said:

The 1000km drive had been achieved with almost fully highway driving and done almost continuously non-stop except for a night stop. Not realistic as not how 99.99% of car owners will drive. 

At least it shows can go to KL and return with 1 tank. Or 1.5 tank.

[Heartlander]

10 minutes ago, inlinesix said:

At least it shows can go to KL and return with 1 tank. Or 1.5 tank.

Steppie can also do that with 1 tank lah. The trip taking only about 700km. With Serena can go further up, half-way to Ipoh.

[Philosurfer]

I am one of the 1st batch of Stepwgn owners, car is over 4 years old, and even remember reading much about Heartlander's experience with his then Biante.  That said, my own experience with FC is average of about 10-11km/l, only going above 12km/l when lots of highway driving is involved. It's ok, but nowhere near hybrid efficiency.

When the Serena E-Power was launched, I was very intrigued by the whole concept and still find it extremely novel in that range and electric drive is well balanced, a different take on Toyota's and Honda's hybrid concept whereby motor power is supplementary rather than the primary drive.

Cars are like wives, everyone has their own definition of beauty and performance.  I think the Serena is a wonderful concept and in crazy price Sg, gives eco conscious buyers a good alternative to Toyota and Honda's take.  If I don't extend my car's COE, I will definitely look to some hybrid technology for my next car.

 

Edited May 26, 2020 by Philosurfer

[KANEYONG7]

Seems like whatever we say about Serena, you have something ‘similar’ or better to say about Steppie. So my sincere & honest advice, just go for Steppie. You’ll feel more balance daily since both cars are designed to be minivans with different design & engine. No perfect car out there, can’t expect Lexus standard by paying Toyota pricing. 

I’m not bothered about Genting since i don’t go there weekly, even if i do, I’m sure it’ll do better than 40km/hr. But why risk it? The important fact is to reach destination safely not fastest. 

Come to think of it, I’ve tried driving on the famous PIE Anak Bukit Flyover towards Tuas close to 100km/hr. Serena handles pretty well like an EV tank all lane 1 cars gave way. 

Happy Steppie-ing 🙂 

[Sigeena]

2 hours ago, Philosurfer said:

Cars are like wives, everyone has their own definition of beauty and performance. 

Cars are like wives, the one they have is the most beautiful 

[Didu]

I think we should stop taking about steppie. Wrong thread.

[Jamesc]

This is another car that people will talk and talk and talk about

and very few people will buy.

[Achtung]

On 5/20/2020 at 4:07 PM, Heartlander said:

Yes. Stepwagon Spada. After owning Velfire before, I find this car the best balance wrt to external size and interior space. It is shorter than Odyssey but definitely more spacious. And century sprint can reach 8.x sec, making it among the fastest MPV despite its 1.5L engine which translate to road tax saving. Many smart interior features.

Came with following Honda Sensing features:

Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), False Start Prevention, Pedestrian Collision Mitigation Steering System, Road Departure Mitigation (RDM) System, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS), Lead Car Departure Notification System and Traffic Sign Recognition.

All working quite well after I adjusted the sensitivity levels to my liking. For example the Lead Car Departure Notification System by default only beep when the front car is about 10m away which is very useless for our traffic situation. After I adjusted it to be most sensitive, it beep when the front car moves 1m away, which is good.

For FC, consistently getting slightly >600km per tank of 50L. Even better than my B180 compact hatch with same travel pattern.

Hybrid or non Hybrid?

[Heartlander]

1 hour ago, Jamesc said:

This is another car that people will talk and talk and talk about

and very few people will buy.

I already have 2 colleagues who got this Serena leh, one who complained about his Serena going up Genting. Few as our breed are haha.

[Heartlander]

1 hour ago, Achtung said:

Hybrid or non Hybrid?

Non-hybrid. 

[Jamesc]

1 minute ago, Heartlander said:

I already have 2 colleagues who got this Serena leh, one who complained about his Serena going up Genting. Few as our breed are haha.

Why complain going up Genting?

Electric motor is all torque and should climb even better than a petrol.

And what kind mpg or kml are they getting?

In Boleh land people always ask those 1 litre perodua can go up Genting or not?

Even this 660cc Viva can go up Genting.

 

Quote

 

http://autoworld.com.my/forum/index.php?/topic/42155-can-kancil-go-up-genting/

i have doubts that whether my 660ex can go up genting .... with lets say
1-2 passengers excluding the driver ...

have never tried before.. as it looookkks .... TOO under power to go up
wonder whether it would break down in the middlee.....