2020 Nissan Livina will be a rebadged Mitsubishi Xpander

 

Remember the Nissan Livina? It was a three-row small MPV but for some reason, it didn't exactly sell in droves locally. Perhaps it was ahead of its time but it could be said that the Livina was one of the pioneers of the segment, which now has Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, and even Suzuki butting heads with each other.

On the flipside however, it has been a hit in other parts of South East Asia, and there's even a new one coming soon. This time however, Nissan has had a little help from Mitsubishi for their next-generation small seven-seater.

As far back as June of 2017, we reported that there will indeed be a Nissan-badged version of the Mitsubishi Xpander. It may have taken a while but here it is spied by Instagram user indra_fathan around Indonesia. Yes, the 2020 Nissan Livina is the result of that alliance. For now, only the rear is fully shown and only a snippet of the front is seen.

Mitsubishi Xpander gets Nissan badges, to be named Livina image

But Nissan's attempts to hide their logos are futile because the MPV-crossover was caught with no covers at all, aside from the badges that is. The Xpander bits are clearly seen, and those high-mount LED daytime running lights are dead giveaway to the vehicle it was based upon. That being said, the headlights are slightly different from the one in the Mitsubishi, and the front bumper is rounder than the Xpander's.

Then there's the grill. Out goes Mitsubishi's 'Dynamic Shield' and in goes Nissan's 'V-Motion' piece. As a result, it's in line with current Nissan products such as the X-Trail, Terra, Altima, Leaf, and the future Sentra/Sylphy. Turn it to its side and you'll be forgiven for thinking it was an Xpander painted in metallic orange. The doors, windows, and rear quarter panels appear exactly the same as the Mitsubishi. As for the rear, it gets a smoked effect for its tail lights, and it seems to have a black panel on the tailgate, just like the X-Trail.

Mitsubishi Xpander gets Nissan badges, to be named Livina image

As for the engine, the Livina could likely be straight from the Xpander. That means we could expect a 1.5-liter engine under its hood. Of course, it doesn't rule out the possibility of Nissan putting in their own engine in the Livina, but nothing is certain at this point.

The question now is this: Will Nissan Philippines bring in the Livina, or skip it for the local market altogether? If they do, it will be interesting to see how it will fare against the Xpander in terms of sales.