The all new 2011 Nissan Micra is extraordinarily well-priced, with the model we reviewed costing only $13,990 to put into your garage, with Nissan picking up all the on-road costs. That’s for a Nissan Micra ST 1.2 with a five-speed manual gearbox, and is a special introductory offer.
While some of Nissan’s competitors can offer you a car at this low price, most of them have only three doors, the Nissan Micra has the convenience of four passenger doors plus the hatch. That extra pair of doors in other cars can cost around $2000.
The Micra has a shapely body with plenty of style. The cute shape can be ordered in a range of bright colours guaranteed to attract the young and the young at heart. Our orange one certainly got more than its fair share of looks.
However, the shape of the new Nissan Micra is about more than simply giving it visual appeal. Considerable engineering went into simplifying the body to make it lighter and stronger, as well as being easy to manufacture. Then there are the strength-providing indentations in the roof; these are not immediately obvious, so you might like to pop down to a Nissan dealer to look at that fascinating shape.
Inside, the new Micra has an interesting shape with plenty of verve in its modern lines. It looks surprisingly upmarket in its quality of materials and the fit and finish, something that’s not easy to do in a car that has been built down to a price.
Interior space is good for four adults and all four will enjoy good headroom as well as legroom. One reason for the excellent headroom is the aforementioned clever design of the roof that gives strength without adding bulk.
Boot space isn’t huge and the depth has been restricted by fitting a full-size spare wheel. You can get a pair of cabin bags and some soft luggage in there without the need to fold down the split-back seats.
The Micra we reviewed was powered by an interesting new three-cylinder engine that displaces 1.2 litres. It’s an ultra-clean unit that has been awarded five stars in the Australian Green Vehicle Guide. Official fuel consumption is 5.9 litres per hundred kilometres on the combined cycle.
During our road testing for this review we were typically running in the 5.0 to 6.5 litre range when in the country and/or on motorways. This went up to the seven to eight litre mark around town. These are numbers not far north of those found in a small turbo-diesel car, but economy diesels will cost close to $20,000.
As well as the three-cylinder Micra, a four-cylinder 1.5-litre is on the options list. It costs about $2000 more than the 1.2-litre three-cylinder, but we haven’t had a chance to review one yet.
The Micra’s three-cylinder engine provides enough performance for the average buyer but you really wouldn't call it a sporty unit. It has the typical beat, sound and feel that endears triples to motorcycle enthusiasts. Under anything more than normal acceleration it’s quite noisy but remains smooth. When you do rev it hard and into the upper reaches of the tacho it creates quite a racket.
Dynamically the Nissan Micra bats above the average for this small car class. Obviously aimed at the super-mini class in Europe it has excellent road grip, is happy to turn into corners with a minimum of fuss and is easy on the back as it absorbs bumps nicely. A little more steering feel at the straight ahead position would be appreciated, otherwise this really is one for the keen driver on a very tight budget.
Ride comfort is very good for a car as light as this and you will finish long country trips in a Nissan Micra feeling surprisingly relaxed.
Astonishing value for money combined with funky styling and real driving pleasure punts the new Nissan Micra right to the top in its class and this car seems sure to head for big numbers in the Australian sales race.
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