The Cute Little Car

The fact is that small cars like Micra are becoming popular and are reliable,fun-to-drive cars. But does it have the gumption to take on the might of the Suzuki swift,Ford Figo,Hyundai i20,Volkswagen polo and other small-sized runabouts? Let’s find out:

The great thing about the Micra is that Nissan hasn’t gone crazy with dozens of designations. There are only three model variants,all featuring identical 5-speed manuals and 1.2-litre,76ps,3 cylinder,petrol engine,and I tested the XV variant which costs 1.3 lakh more than the entry-level 4.0 lakh Micra.

While the vehicle is quite small,it’s fairly easy to get in and out of and driving the thing is child’s play. Turn the key,whack the gearstick into gear one and floor the throttle. Acceleration isn’t mind-blowing,but as the car is compact and light,tipping the scales at a featherweight 930kg,the 1.2-litre engine doesn’t have to work hard to motivate the Micra. Well suited for city driving,the Micra’s so light you can almost push it home if you run out of juice.

Measuring 3.78 metres in length and less than 1.67 metres wide,it provides an upright seating position with very good vision through both the front and rear windscreens.

It’s clearly a Japanese design,quirky with plenty of character. It’ll never be confused for anything else on the road,that’s for sure,and it might end up becoming a pop culture icon. Its cutesy-absurdist Japanese looks stand out among the ‘European’ influence that seems to have invaded almost every element of modern car design and though I reckon some aspects could be altered to good effect,this bold design could provide more benefits for Nissan than a conservative one.

The tallish roofline provides a decent headroom and it gives the interior a surprisingly roomy feel.

The dash plastics are good,all the controls are rather futuristic,especially the automatic climate controls. The stereo is quite good too. The driver is faced with a small instrument cluster dominated by a central speedometer. However,rear seat passengers don’t have it quite as good and are likely to complain unless they’re very short. Being a compact hatch,the boot is not massive. Standard features like keyless entry,central locking,power mirrors,air conditioning,and an MP3 CD stereo are included on this model,dual front airbags and ABS too.

Move to the wing mirrors,they are rounded to fit the car’s quirky design,and are big enough to provide a decent view of your flanks. Nissan’s Micra has an excellent turning circle of 9.3 metres,and thus parking is made blissfully easy. The brakes are nice and firm with sufficient stopping power. Fuel consumption is super low,there’s not a lot of road noise (though the engine can get a bit noisy as it revs) and it’s easy to pilot.

There is one major shortcoming however: missing automatic gearbox. It’s not exactly a deal breaker,but it would have made the car even more approachable. Dynamically the Micra is a lot of fun,especially along some winding mountain roads. The electric rack and pinion steering is very direct and provides great control over the car. We’re hoping that Nissan India imports the Micra SR Sport,which gets a larger 1.6-litre engine and other go-fast options.

The view from the captain’s chair in most cars is usually very boring,just a flat bonnet. But not the Micra. Better yet is night driving: the top of the headlights appear to glow from the driver’s seat. The Micra is compact,energetic,and satisfying to drive. The test drive used one tank of fuel and covered just under 500 kilometres,and the AC running all the time,is very effective. Nissan quotes a fuel consumption figure of 18.06 km per litre.

Micra is a car which flirts with you. With its bulbous headlights and dinky design,it makes a statement. It’s a memorable little car,one that’s fun to drive and really wins you over with its looks.