The Nissan Almera is such a good but underrated subcompact sedan. It has a potent but fuel-efficient engine, and has tons of creature comforts wrapped in a very attractive styling. Though much has improved from the previous generation, the current model still lags behind perennial top choices like the Toyota Vios and the Honda City.

But the Japanese automaker is counting on the Almera to entice people to say yes to a Nissan. And to achieve that, it refreshed the current model and made the car more attractive to hopefully attract buyers.

The obvious changes start with the face. Front and center is Nissan’s new logo flanked by a restyled grille. Called the next-generation V-motion design in Nissan-speak, the grille now fuses better with the entire front end’s look. The car also comes with a fresh set of 15-inch rims and additional finishes.

Available in V and VL variants, Gray Sky Pearl is a unique and attractive paint job. This new finish changes color depending on the lighting condition and the angles from which the car is viewed. While it looks gray from afar, the hue changes to purplish in the dark and bluish under the bright sun.

Moreover, the new color highlights the vehicle’s lines, curves, and creases well. This is the latest addition to five other finishes. Additionally, there are two-tone finishes available for Storm White, Gun Metallic, and new Gray Sky Pearl.

Inside, you get a wireless charger, Quole Modure synthetic leather seats, and the upgraded NissanConnect infotainment system. This gives the Almera an in-car SOS, automatic emergency call feature, My Car Finder, vehicle health report, and various remote operation capabilities. These include starting the engine, locking or unlocking the doors, viewing the door lock status, and activating the horn and the lights.

Also, new for this model is the Nissan Safety Shield 360. The car now has cruise control, a tire pressure monitoring system, high beam assist, lane departure warning, rear cross-traffic alert, and a 360° camera.

Other features include moving object detection, intelligent forward-collision warning, blind-spot warning, and hill-start assist. All of these features come on top of six airbags, traction control, and antilock brakes.

The Almera still comes with a 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine that does 99hp and 152–160Nm. This will be paired exclusively with Nissan’s Xtronic CVT with D-Step Logic. Also staying is an idling stop system to help you save fuel.

Nissan Philippines is still selling the current Almera despite the popularity of crossovers. We guess it’s safe to assume that the face-lifted version would also reach our shores sooner than later. When this does, will it have all of the features that our Thai friends get?