The B-segment sedan market in Malaysia is getting more interesting by the day. Joining the new Honda City in this hotly contested segment is the 2020 Nissan Almera Turbo, which will be open for booking from tomorrow onwards on 5 September.

According to Paul Tan, the all-new Almera Turbo will be offered in three variants. Local pricing of the sedan has not been released yet, though the carmaker did give a ballpark figure. Both the base VL and mid-spec VLP trims of the Almera Turbo will go for RM8x,xxx, while the range-topping VLT will sit at the RM9x,xxx price point.

Yes, the 2020 Almera Turbo does cost markedly more than its predecessor, but the new model is also a much, much more accomplished sedan. For one, all three variants of the Almera Turbo will be powered by a new 1.0L turbocharged three-cylinder engine that outputs 100PS and 152Nm of torque. Drive is sent to the front wheels with an X-Tronic CVT with D-Step Logic and Sport Mode.

Thanks to the efficiency of the 1.0L engine, the fuel consumption of the Almera Turbo is one of its biggest advantages. According to Nissan, this sedan has a fuel efficiency of 18.4km/l; that’s a very impressive figure. Of course, it’ll be interesting to see if the new Almera is really this fuel-efficient in real world conditions.

Besides that, another feature worth highlighting is the fact that all variants of the Almera Turbo come with Intelligent Forward Collision Warning (IFCW) with Intelligent Forward Emergency Braking (IFEB). Basically, it’s an autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system, which will apply the brakes to avoid front collisions.

Naturally, the highest-end Almera Turbo VLT is equipped with even more safety features. These include Intelligent Around View Monitor (IAVM) with Moving Object Detection (IMOD) – it’s a 360-degree view camera – Blind Spot Warning System (BSW), Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA), and six airbags. It’s worth noting that the mid-spec VLP trim also gets six airbags, though the base VL model only comes with two airbags.

The 2020 Nissan Almera Turbo is expected to be sold in Malaysia sometime in October next month. If you’d like to check out the new B-segment sedan for yourself, you can actually do so from tomorrow onwards at selected Nissan showrooms. To learn more about the Almera Turbo, head on to Nissan’s official website.