The A-star produced in India is not just for Indian market but also for export markets. Fifty thousand units of A-star will be exported to europe possibly from January 2009. The European A-star will be sold as Nissan Pixo & Suzuki New Alto in other countries. The Alto-A-Star-Pixo are made on same platform and all will be manufactured in India. Pixo's front is changed with new grille, Nissan Logo and modified bumpers. Rest of the design is exactly the same. It has the same KB-Series 998cc engine which is Euro 5-compliant with Co2 emissions and develops 67 Bhp of power with 90 Nm of torque. Nissan may launch a powerful variant of Pixo with 140 Bhp turbo charged 1500cc diesel engine.
The design language is bold with strong lines and large wheelarches. The interiors of Pixo feel a bit cramped in comparison to Hyundai i10. The rear passengers get very small windows, also they have fixed glass like the new Suzuki Alto unlike the A-star normal windows. Pixo actually looks much better that Maruti Suzuki's A-Star with a proper grille and seperate air dam in front bumper. The centre crease in the bonnet gives it a big car feel and also the black stripes in bumpers add some heaviness in the design.
From driver's point of view Pixo is a very comfortable car, the instrument cluster is quite big and all meters are easy to read. Pixo will not get the dash mounted tachometer like A-Star. The only drawback is that the height of dashboard is little bit high and may obstruct view of short drivers. Pixo is heavily toned down version of the Concept A-Star which made its debut in London & was also shown at Auto Expo, 2008 in New Delhi. No doubt that the newcomer is criticised for its looks since it looks as if styling has been taken of the Kia Picanto/Morning, Hyundai i10 and Citroen C1.
Pixo will be available in 2 variants: Visia and Acenta. Power steering, anti-lock brakes and dual front airbags are standard on every model while keyless entry, power front windows, split folding rear seats, side airbags and front fog lamps are standard on Acenta. Options include manual air conditioning, electronic stability control and curtain airbags, while a four-speed automatic transmission will also available. This all new small car is to be made in 200 variants and will be exported to 150 countries across Europe, Middle east , Latin America, Asia, Australia, and Africa.