, , Price and equipment, , THE diesel-engined Dualis, badged the TS, is closely related to the petrol-engined, mid-specification ST variant in Nissan’s Dualis range., , However, while the ST is priced from $25,990 before on-road costs, the diesel will ping you from $29,990., , That $4000 crater in pricing gets worse when you consider that for $1500 less than the price of the diesel, you can swap out the six-speed manual gearbox in the petrol-engined car for a continuously variable automatic transmission., , Try and do better than that price in a turbo-diesel competitor, though. Everything from Hyundai’s strong-selling ix35 to Skoda’s compellingly packaged, all-wheel-drive Yeti and even Mitsubishi’s well-rounded ASX cost thousands of dollars more when ticking the oil-burning option., , The only car in the segment that betters it on price is SsangYong’s $26,990 all-paw Korando, which is starting to make small inroads at the bottom end of the segment., , Just because it is cheap does not mean Dualis runs short on equipment. Standard gear runs to cloth seats, leather steering wheel and gearshift surround, a reversing camera, satellite navigation, single-zone air-conditioning, six-speaker single-CD audio with USB port, a Bluetooth phone connection with audio streaming, steering wheel-mounted cruise control with a speed limiter, and a hard luggage bay cover., , The long key used to start the Dualis TS is from the old school of thinking, and not from the new one of folding fobs. The soft-roader sits on 17-inch alloys, too, with a full-size steel spare under the boot floor., , Interior, , While the Dualis exterior reflects a yearning for the great outdoors, the inside is pure city hatchback., , The front doors open wide to give good access to the front seats, although the rear doors are set quite a way back, with the big central pillar impeding access., , The interior fit-out is standard small-car fare, with plenty of hard plastics around the cabin. However, the mix of matte black surfaces and chrome highlights paints a picture that isn’t as cheap as the price tag suggests., , The low-mounted steering wheel adjusts for both height and reach, and the wide, well bolstered driver’s seat makes getting comfortable behind the leather-wrapped wheel an easy task. A criticism, if we may, is that the reach adjust on the steering doesn’t quite come out far enough for taller drivers., , Interior storage is adequate, with a decent-sized glovebox, a couple of different-sized drink holders, a lidded centre console bin that can swallow a full-size drink bottle, and door pockets that struggle to take one., , What the Dualis misses, though, is small-item storage. Plug a phone charger into the dash-mounted 12-volt socket, and there’s nowhere to stash a phone that doesn’t interfere with the gearstick, apart from a shallow slash of space at the foot of the centre console and the cupholders., , Rear-seat space is a bit tight, although the bench is comfortable enough for adults, with height-adjust headrests for each passenger. You’ll probably end up asking front-seat occupants to yield some space, though., , The seatback split-folds 60:40, although the floor space the Dualis creates doesn’t lie flat. It’s a rather high load height, too, thanks to a high sill. Despite the car’s small size,the tailgate lifts high enough to ensure it is not a bruise-inducing hazard for taller owners., , Engine and transmission, , The Dualis engine is borrowed from Nissan’s alliance with French car-maker Renault., , At only 1.6 litres, the turbocharged four-cylinder powerplant produces 96kW – almost as much power as the larger 2.0-litre petrol version – and a big 320Nm of pulling power – that’s as much as a petrol V6., , It also gets clever idle-stop fuel-saving technology that switches the engine off when the stationary car is slotted into neutral and a foot is kept on the brake. Start to depress the clutch pedal and the engine springs back to life., , The 1.6-litre powerplant’s downfall is when you need some step-off acceleration, say from a traffic light. Without enough revs on board the engine bogs down, struggling to build speed., , Once spinning, the engine produces a silky well of overtaking performance. It sounds like a diesel, but the engine’s coarseness, and even vibrations through the steering wheel and pedals, is never intrusive. , , It is frugal, officially sipping a class-leading 4.5 litres per 100 kilometres, an ambitious target considering in our week behind the wheel it never fell below 5.3L/100km. By comparison, the petrol version officially and optimistically averages 8.1L/100km when fitted with the six-speed manual gearbox., , Because it uses so little fuel, the diesel Dualis gains a better greenhouse – and air pollution – rating than the petrol., , The six-speed gearbox is well-suited to the engine, supported by a light clutch pedal and good spread of gear ratios. The engine skips along at just below 2000rpm on the freeway., , We also noticed a hint of surging from the engine under load at freeway speeds., , Ride and handling, , Diesel engines generally add weight to a car, which in something as small as the Dualis could be a bit of a problem. However, the 30-odd kilograms the TS model carries over the petrol-engined ST doesn’t appear to change much., , The Dualis has an impressive ride, a big thing given its tallish 180mm-plus ride height.

It absorbs almost all of the lumps and bumps of commuting without fuss, with very little transferred into the cabin., , OK, so it gets a little bit of a roll on in cornering, but it never feels unsettled or lacking in confidence despite its front-wheel-drive layout that drags the high-riding SUV around corners., , It is still close to the best in its class. A blight is road roar from the tyres on coarse-chip road surfaces, but it is no worse, and even better than, some competitors., , Safety and servicing, , Dualis has a top five-star safety rating, helped by six airbags including head-protecting side airbags., , A nuisance, though, is the rear-centre seatbelt that hangs from the boot-space roof. It cuts right across the rear window., , Another annoyance is the reversing camera, which points at the ground and only shows the view for a few metres behind the Dualis. It needs to aim higher and show more area behind the hemmed-in rear end., , Nissan offers a three-year, 100,000km warranty on the Dualis, with a free roadside service and option to extend it for a bit more money., , The car-maker also offers capped-price servicing on Dualis. Servicing costs are more expensive for the diesel compared with the petrol, ranging from a low of $277.18 for a six-month check-up, up to $605.22 for a major fourth-year workover., , Verdict, , Fitting the Dualis with a diesel engine has made a good, cheap city runabout better.

However, the lack of an automatic option and a pricing premium bumping up the purchase price by more than 10 per cent make it a difficult decision., , If you’re not adverse to manual cog-swapping, though, and don’t mind saving a few dollars compared with diesel-engined, all-paw rivals, the well-equipped Dualis is well worth adding to the shopping list., , Rivals, , Mitsubishi ASX Aspire (From $34,990 before on-roads).
More costly than the Dualis, but more metal for the money, including all-paw grip and 1.8-litre engine. Same manual-gearbox limitation, and rear-seat issues, but cabin presentation and front seats just as good. Drives well, too., , Skoda Yeti 103TDI (From $35,690 before on-roads).
Good dynamics, huge two-box passenger interior and punchy 2.0-litre engine combine with all-paw performance. Twin-clutch auto option can replace default six-speed manual. On the downside, passenger space eats into boot load space, and the ride is a bit harsh. , , Hyundai ix35 SE (From $34,990 before on-roads).
Best-performing 2.0-litre engine of this lot mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox. Nicely styled and very well equipped, but let down by class-lagging ride and handling and lack of adjustment behind the steering wheel.

, , Specs, , MAKE/MODEL: Nissan Dualis TS
, ENGINE: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo diesel
, LAYOUT: In-line front-engined, front-wheel drive
, POWER: 96kW@4000rpm
, TORQUE: 320Nm@1750rpm
, TRANSMISSION: Six-speed manual
, 0-100km/h: N/A
, TOP SPEED: N?A
, FUEL: 4.5L/100km
, EMISSIONS: 119g/km CO2
, WEIGHT: 1403kg
, SUSPENSION: Macpherson (f)/multilink (r)
, STEERING: Electrically assisted rack and pinion
, BRAKES: Ventilated disc (f)/disc (r)
, PRICE: From $29,990 before on-roads