Xpander Twin: Nissan PH to launch Livina MPV

It's no secret that Nissan Philippines is charging forward. In the last two years, they've been working hard to refresh almost their entire lineup with the launch of the facelifted Terra, facelifted Navara, facelifted Patrol, all-new Almera, and soon enough the all-new Nissan Kicks E-Power.

But we came across something just today: Nissan is planning to launch the Livina MPV.

How we came across the information is interesting, but basically, Nissan had the vehicle approved by certain government agencies before bringing one to the market. And the details like the weight and engine displacement match only one model: the Livina. And we also confirmed it with an insider.

Remember the Livina, right? Before, it was that rather tiny seven-seater MPV that probably resembled the Mobilio in terms of ride height. That was the first generation, but the second generation is the one we're talking about. Yes, the one based on the Xpander.

Like the Xpander, the Nissan Livina is produced at the Mitsubishi Motors factory in Indonesia. That's the beauty of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, as they can leverage certain aspects of the auto business that aren't customer-facing (logistics, production, parts suppliers, so on and so forth) to improve their profitability.

Customer-facing is one thing, but the face of the Livina is definitely familiar. Even though they have the V-motion grille on it and differences with the lighting, fans of the Xpander will easily spot the similarities inside, outside, and even under the hood.

This Livina will have the 1.5-liter 4A91 engine and the 4-speed automatic. The vehicle measures 4510mm long, 1750mm wide, and 1700mm tall. The ground clearance will be the big advantage of the Livina as it will likely be 205mm based on the Indonesian market specifications.

It's still very early on and we're quite sure Nissan is surprised that we caught wind of the Livina, so specs will have to be confirmed. We can expect things like a nice infotainment system (hopefully with things like Apple Carplay and Android Auto), but it is possible that it won't get the 360 camera system that we really like in other Nissan models as the Indonesia-spec doesn't have it.

What we can be sure of is that the launch of the Livina will be after the Kicks E-Power. That means before the year is out, you should be seeing the Livina in Nissan showrooms. Of course, things could be delayed given the situation with parts and all, but it'll be interesting to see how the Livina will be received in the Philippine market after a long absence.