New Suzuki Landy unveiled, based on Nissan Serena

The Suzuki Landy MPV has always been twinned with the Nissan Serena, so when the latter entered a new generation earlier this year, it was only a matter of time before there was a new Landy. That time will soon come, with the new eight-seater going on sale in Japan on December 20.

As expected, the Landy looks almost identical to the Serena, with dual-tier headlights, a floating roof design, a prominent shoulder line that runs down into the sliding door rails and vertical tail lights. The only changes are the removal of Nissan’s V-motion grille in favour of two chrome bars with the Suzuki badge, along with a unique alloy wheel design.

It’s the same inside as well, with the Landy getting the Serena’s flat-bottomed three-spoke steering wheel, wider digital instrument cluster (with a seven-inch colour display) and “floating” centre stack. As with the Serena, the Landy is said to have the largest interior in its class, at 3,240 mm long and 1,545 mm wide.

Elsewhere, the second row can be slid forward and back by as much as 690 mm, and the third row now has a sliding feature as well to benefit either legroom or luggage capacity. Other practical touches include five USB ports around the cabin, including two in each of the two rear-most seat rows, as well as a separate 12 V power socket in front.

As standard, there’s a power-sliding door on the left side (the range-topping 2.0G gets twin power-sliding doors), and the third row gets a switch for the door to aid egress. The tailgate is also split into two, with the upper half able to be opened independently if you simply want to drop a bag in the boot.

The Landy carries over the Serena’s range of engines, with the base 2.0S getting an MR20DD 2.0 litre direct-injected twin-CVTC four-cylinder petrol engine, developing 150 PS at 5,600 rpm and 200 Nm of torque at 4,400 rpm. Drive is sent through an Xtronic CVT to the front wheels; combined fuel consumption on the Japanese JC08 cycle is rated at 15 km per litre.

Meanwhile, the 2.0X and 2.0G variants gain Nissan’s S-Hybrid system, supplementing the engine with a 2.6 PS ECO motor that controls the car’s Idling Stop function and serves as an alternator during deceleration. The 1.8 kW/200 A electric motor also allows for a “torque assist” function, providing a 50 Nm boost for up to one second when moving away from a standstill. Fuel consumption on these models are quoted at 16.6 km per litre, or 15.0 km per litre with the optional four-wheel drive system.

Safety-wise, all models get autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, no entry sign recognition, an around view monitor with moving object detection (MOD) and collision avoidance assist that protects against pedal misapplication. The 2.0G and 2.0X models also get parking assist as well as side and curtain airbags to go with the standard dual airbags. No ProPILOT semi-autonomous driving, unfortunately.

Prices for the Landy start at 2,500,200 yen (RM94,500) for the 2.0S, rising up to 2,721,600 yen (RM102,900) for the 2.0X 2WD and 2,965,680 yen (RM112,100) for the 4WD model. The 2.0G, meanwhile, retails at 2,961,360 yen (RM112,000) for the 2WD model and 3,248,640 yen (RM122,800) for 4WD.

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.