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It’s less than two weeks since the launch of facelifted Nissan Grand Livina took place, but a new variant of the type has arrived, and it’s called the Grand Livina Tuned By Impul. The vehicle made its debut yesterday in Sepang, in conjunction with the Super GT International Series 2011 at the SIC.

The boys at Impul have dressed up the Grand Livina with a newly designed aerokit, with a front grille that wears the brand new Impul logo. Mechanically, the vehicle gets an Impul suspension system consisting of upgraded shock absorbers and springs that lower the ride height by 25 mm.

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Elsewhere, there’s a high quality stainless steel exhaust muffler and a tailpipe bearing an etched Impul logo. Rounding things off are Impul Aura SX-10 17-inch polished alloy wheels, which are 20 to 30% lighter than conventional alloys thanks to Impul’s New Super Cast manufacturing process.

The Tuned By Impul version can be had for all GL model versions, and adds RM10,700 above that for the standard Grand Livina, so the on-the-road price (inclusive of insurance, road tax, registration fee and ownership claim fee, for Peninsular Malaysia) is RM97,500 for the 1.6 MT Comfort, RM100,500 for the 1.6 AT Comfort and RM109,500 for the 1.8 AT Comfort. The Impul parts will also be available to existing Grand Livina owners, so fret not if you would like to add them on.

The Nissan Grand Livina has been a huge success for Tan Chong. Since its introduction here in December 2007, the three-row seven seater MPV has found over 43,300 new homes. It also marked the beginning of the decline of the Toyota Avanza, the car that started the affordable MPV market here. The Livina has been around for more than three years now in its original form, and it’s time for a minor change facelift.

Visually, the facelifted Grand Livina is distinguished by its new-look front grille. Like before, the 1.6L model gets a “smoke-plated” design while the 1.8L is given a full chrome grille. Nothing else is changed other than the adoption of LED side indicators on the wing mirrors.

New black dashboard compared to the old one. Instrument faces are new as well

Inside, the ambience is vastly different, as the cabin is now finished in black instead of beige. This might not help the impression of space and airiness, but some might like the “sportier feel”. The three-pod instruments are now white faced from the previous black, although the studio pic above shows a nice grey “watch dial style” face. It’s the lighting and angle, perhaps.

The top spec 1.8L also comes with a head unit that has AUX input. The wood trim shown is also only for the 1.8; the 1.6 gets silver trim, but none on the steering wheel. If you fancy the brown leather shown here, it’s a RM2,000 option. Otherwise, it’s black fabric for both the 1.6 and 1.8.

There’s no change under the skin. The Grand Livina is powered by the all-aluminium HR16DE 1.6 litre (105 PS at 5,200 rpm, 150 Nm at 4,400 rpm) and MR18DE 1.8 litre with CVTC (126 PS at 5,200 rpm, 174 Nm at 4,800 rpm). The gearbox is a four-speed auto, with a five-speed manual option for the 1.6L.

The on-the-road price inclusive of insurance is RM86,800 for the 1.6 MT, RM89,800 for the 1.6 AT and RM98,800 for the 1.8 AT. Hi res pics after the jump.

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Edaran Tan Chong Motor (ETCM) today announced the arrival of the Nissan Navara King Cab 4X4. The King Cab bodystyle is common in Thailand, but this is the first of such trucks introduced in Malaysia.

The King Cab has four doors, but unlike in double cabs, the shorter rear ones here are “suicide doors” that open 90 degrees. There are no pillars to obstruct the opening. The room behind the front seats are for non-human cargo.

Also, compared to the Navara Double Cab, the shorter cab gives the King Cab a longer cargo bed. To be exact, it’s 1,840 mm vs 1,480 mm, or 360 mm longer.

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Like the Navara 4X4 Double Cab M/T, the King Cab is powered by the YD25DDTi 2.5L engine with 174 PS and 403 Nm of torque, not the lower powered 144 PS/356 Nm engine from the Navara Calibre 4X2. It’s paired to a six-speed manual gearbox.

The 4WD system has ‘Shift on the Fly’ function that allows for switching from 2WD to 4WD on the move.

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The Navara King Cab is available in four colours, namely Tungsten Silver, Twilight Grey, Brilliant White and Supreme Black. The on-the-road price (including insurance) for Peninsular Malaysia is RM 82,800 and the warranty is for three years or 100,000 km, whichever comes first.