Rent Nissan Sunny 2020 in Dubai

Land at DXB with two people and a week's luggage, and the Nissan Sunny 2020 is the cheapest car we'll bring to your door that swallows the cases without complaint, with 250 km a day included so airport runs and cross-town errands never push you onto an extra-mileage charge. That's the case for this one. It's the oldest Sunny on our lot and the lightest on the wallet, yet it still does the two jobs most renters actually need: hauling people and bags around the city, and not costing much to feed. We rent it across Dubai, deliver it within one to two hours, and offer a no-deposit plan so there's no hold sitting on your card all week.

What this Sunny is built to do

The Sunny is an economy sedan, and the 2020 is the value end of the range. Nobody rents it to be quick or plush. They rent it because it's a roomy, frugal, four-door box that turns up every morning and gets the boring stuff done. Picture a couple doing mall runs and a couple of airport pickups, or a single driver commuting across town for a week. That's exactly the brief this car is built for, and it does it for less than almost anything else with a boot.

Where it shows its age is the cabin feel rather than anything mechanical. The drive, the space and the running cost are the same story they've always been.

Will your luggage and passengers fit

Yes, comfortably, and this is the reason to pick a sedan over a hatchback at this price. The boot takes two large 23 kg suitcases plus a duffel or two, and the rear seats fold on a 60/40 split if you need to carry something longer. So a two-person airport run with full luggage is genuinely no problem, lockable boot and all.

Inside, the back seat is the Sunny's quiet party trick. Rear legroom is generous for the class, so two adults sit in real comfort behind two more, and three kids fit across for shorter trips. For a budget car, it carries people better than the rate implies.

Spec at a glance

How often you'll stop for fuel

The 1.6 runs through Nissan's Xtronic CVT, and that pairing is tuned for economy. The CVT keeps the revs low in stop-and-go traffic, so crawling along Al Wasl Road at rush hour doesn't drink fuel the way a conventional auto would. Expect somewhere around 14 km/L in real city driving, which means the 40-litre tank stretches across most of a week of normal errands before you're back at the pump.

Long highway stretches change that, as they do for any small engine. For the kind of city week this car is rented for, though, the fuel bill stays pleasingly small.

Keeping cool through a Dubai summer

This matters from May through September, when a parked Sunny turns into an oven under a 45-degree sun. The AC is sized right for the cabin. The front vents pull the heat down fast once you're rolling, and because the interior is compact the cold air reaches the back row without rear vents to push it there. Leave it in shade when you can, shut the doors for a minute, and it settles to comfortable quickly. It's honest budget cooling, not climate luxury, and for this car that's the right expectation.

Parking, bumps and Dubai roads

At about 4.5 metres and narrow, the Sunny is easy to thread into tight bays, up the steep Marina ramps and through busy mall lots, and the light steering makes U-turns and parallel parking simple. The 155 mm of clearance clears the city's speed bumps and mall entrance lips without scraping in normal use.

On Sheikh Zayed Road it cruises happily at 100 to 120, but the modest engine means quick overtakes need planning, and it gets noisier the harder you push past that. It's most at home in town. Worth knowing before you set off: Salik tolls and any RTA fines during the rental are charged to you, seat belts are required in every seat, and a child under four needs a child seat, which we can fit on request.

Who should rent it, and who shouldn't

Rent the 2020 Sunny if you want the cheapest comfortable way to move two or three people and their bags around Dubai for a week, you value a real boot and a roomy back seat, and you don't need pace or a new-car cabin. For airport runs, the school drop-off and mall trips, it's tough to spend less and still get a sedan this usable.

Look elsewhere if your week leans on long highway drives or you regularly carry four adults who'd appreciate more refinement, where a larger sedan earns its extra cost. And if a newer interior matters to you for a small step up in price, a later Sunny is the same dependable car on a fresher plate.