Nissan Micra | Video Review | CarsIreland.ie

Published on 20 September, 2017

The new Nissan Micra is one of the most impressive transformations seen in the car world in quite some time

Overview

Overview

In what has surely been one of the most impressive transformations in the car world, ever - Nissan have given the humble Micra an exciting new image, that will have you barely believing it's a Micra at all.

Gone is that cute little bubbly thing that your mother and possibly even your Grandmother was so fond of, and in its place a stylish, chiselled machine that can now be personalised and colour-popped with the best of them.

This funky new image has not been at the expense of practicality and space in the new Micra is actually better than the last one. It's now longer, lower and wider than before. There’s plenty of room in the front, and lots of storage throughout the cabin, including a huge glovebox and three good-sized cupholders.

Unfortunately the stretch hasn’t been quite as useful to backseat passengers. It’s definitely geared more towards kids back there than adults, because while legroom is adequate, headroom is on the tight side, and you definitely don’t want to squeeze three grown-ups back there. But then again, if that’s something you need to do on a regular basis, this probably isn't going to be the car for you, and to be fair – the clue is in the name.

What’s not small however, is the boot. At 300 litres, it beats the Volkswagen Polo and the Ford Fiesta, although it’s still not as large as a Skoda Fabia. There isn’t anything particularly special about it, with no hooks or hidden storage; the seats don’t fold completely flat, and the finish could be better. But as far as places to put your shopping go, it does the job just fine.

The entry level XE model comes pretty sparsely equipped - highlights being LED daytime running lights, manual air conditioning, steel wheels and a radio.

If you move up to SV, and we suggest that you do, that gets upgraded to a 7 inch touchscreen display, and adds some more nice things like alloy wheels and cruise control. SV premium gets a leather steering wheel, privacy glass and rain-sensing window wipers.

Then there’s the top of the line SVE which gets all of that, plus a reversing camera, a Bose sound system, and 17 inch alloy wheels. It also gets a safety pack, which includes Emergency Braking, Intelligent Lane Intervention, Traffic Sign Recognition and high beam assist)
The new Micra scored 4 out of the available 5 stars on the Euro NCAP safety test.

There’s a choice of three engines – a one-litre petrol, which is what most people are going to buy, a peppier 0.9-litre turbo-charged petrol for a bit more fun but which less people will buy because it’s more expensive, and then a 1.5-litre diesel, which we don't really know who would buy.

The tiny turbo was what powered our test car, described above as 'the fun choice' and believe it or not, there is fun to be had while driving the new Micra. It has a completely different feel to the previous model on the road. It’s now as solid and reassuring as any other super mini out there and any of that shaky tinniness, that may reside in people's memories from previous generations, is now a distant memory. It pushes out 90 BHP and while it can get a bit vocal at higher speeds, it’s not an unpleasant sound, and there’s quite a nice, gutsy feel to it.

The handling itself doesn’t stand out in any particular area, the steering is fine – the suspension does a good job on city streets, though can turn a little bit on the firm side on the B – roads. As a trade off, it now feels a million times more planted around corners than you ever thought a Micra could. Fuel economy of between 4.6 and 4.8 l per 100km and a tax bill of just €190 makes the running costs as low as a city car should be, and the new parking aids combined with a tiny turning circle make parking the Micra even simpler to park than it has always been.

This has been one of the most impressive transformations we’ve seen in a car in a long time. But will the new Micra be able to attract a younger fan base, without alienating its existing loyal customers? Or are we giving our mammies enough credit here, who may well be just as fond of the new look and tech as we are.

Time will tell, but everything that was great about the previous Micra prevails - the build quality, the reliability, only now it has a whole lot more to offer.

Facts & Figures

Sinead McCann

Sinéad is our resident car tester who has the unenviable (-ok, slightly enviable) task of reviewing all the latest new cars to hit the market. You can follow her on Twitter @smcani and on Instagram @whatshedrives