New Nissan Micra Diesel Test Drive Report

[Sandykudva]

Had the opportunity to test drive and Nissan Micra diesel for about 5-6 Kms. The following were the observations.

Positive Points

- New refreshed looks. The earlier Micra looked a bit dull and retro but the new refreshed version looks very smart.
- Excellent drivability and engine.
- Fuel Economy
- Good amount of feature in all variants.
- Interior space & Leg room
- NVH levels have been maintained nicely

Negatives

- Engine is noisy on the outside.
- The plastic quality used for the interiors is not good.
- The Seating of the car is not comfortable.
- The base and the mid variant have certain good features but the dashboard looks too simple without the Built in Music system and climate control Air Con especially for a car that is worth more than 7 lakhs on road Mumbai).
- Rattling in the Interiors.

Exterior

The earlier Micra had a very simple and retro look that was preferred by few people but the new or the face lifted Micra has a very refreshing look with the new set of headlamps and fog lamps with the honeycomb grill and a bit of chrome to it. The rear end of the car is almost same with a new set of tail lamps and bumpers. The dimensions and shape of the car remain the same. The alloys on the top variant looks really good giving the car a very sporty appeal.

Interiors

The interiors of the car remain the same just that the earlier version had a grey with steel silver finish on the centre instrument console consisting of the Music unit and the Climate Control Air Con. The face lifted version however a chrome black colour finish to the centre console unit gets making it look very alive. This however is only for the Top end variants XV and XV Premium. The mid and the base variant get a very simple dashboard in plain grey colour making the car interior look very dull especially when you are paying more than seven lacks for a mid-variant. The plastic quality used is not good giving it a bit of cheap feeling. The Interior space is very well used by Nissan giving the occupants enough leg space. However the under thigh support of the seat looks less supportive which can cause a bit of discomfort on long journeys. The Top end variant i.e XV has lot of features like Airbags, ABS, Keyless entry, Push Start and Stop button, Climate Control, Music system with USB and AUX, Bluetooth connectivity etc. The XV Premium gets an extra Reverse camera and 4 airbags in addition to the XV model features. The mid variant though looks simple still get a airbag for the driver and keyless entry with push Start/Stop button etc.

The Drive

The Nissan Micra uses the same Power house that is used by Renault i.e the 1.5 Litre common rail diesel engine having specifications 65 BHP and 160 Nm of torque. Nissan has tried their best to controlling the NVH levels of the car seeing to it that the engine noise or clatter does not seep inside the cabin. The Torque is generated at around 2000 RPM when the Turbo spools which is similar to that of the Multijets in Maruti Suzuki swift and Dzire but here there is minimal or no turbo lag at all. The car drivability within the city is excellent. The car shoots up into a small sprint rocket once you cross 2000 Rpm. Giving the enthusiasts a bit of smile on their face. The engine noise is noticeable inside the cabin under hard revving but under sedated driving you won’t feel like it is a diesel car at all. The car drives smoothly over the potholes and bumps taking it really well but you have to do that a bit carefully due to the low ground clearance of 150mm. There is a bit of rattling from the plastics due to the bad interior plastic quality. The boot space is good to carry 2 mid-sized bags,


Verdict

The Face lifted Nissan Micra is a very good city car with a good drivability and good amount of features. But there are better options available in the market for a much cheaper price with better dealership networks.

 

[konkantrip]

Nice review Sandy can you mention the FE of this vehicle and if possible upload some more pics.

 

[dharmesh]

Hey Sandy nice report. Did you drive the Micra on Higway? If yes how was the handling and driving experience post 100 KMPH?

 

[Sandykudva]

@Konkantrip: Thanks for the appreciation buddy. The company claims anaverage of 23 kmpl but in the city it should give around 16-17 kmpl under sedated conditions and on the highways should give 20+ Kmpl . Unfortunately this was the only picture i took but surely from next time in any other test drive shall try to take more pictures.

@Dharmesh: Thanks for the appreciation buddy. I just drove the car for a stretch of 5-6 kms in the city, so i wont be able to comment on the handling and driving experience post 100 kmph .

 

[acechip]

You dont have to worry about ground clearance being 150mm. I am using a Micra CVT and I have gone over the worst humps in Pune thus far, where my Fiat Linea scrapes inspite of a clearance of 170mm. So I guess the 150mm is well optimized considering the wheelbase and it seems there are not too many protruding structures at the bottom of the car.

I havent found a single rattle in my Micra yet, so it must have been the specific car. In fact I think the Micra is quite well built- if not "solidly heavy" like the Fiats/VWs.

 

[Sandykudva]

@ acechip : No Offence bro but this was just a small test report for a short drive that i took. About the ground clearance its just a factor noted to be careful about. About the underbelly scraping it also depends on the number of people sitting in the car. A single or 2 people on board wont make that much of a difference but a full load might scrape it again it depends on how you drive it.

About the rattling interiors nothing personal on the micra but i drove the Test drive car from the nissan showroom. The car which i test drove had just clocked around 600-700 kms and almost brand new still it was rattling. On enquiring the Sales Person he did not quiet respond on it. Now i know it might be one of a case but still people do make decisions on the Test drive of the car.

 

[acechip]

i drove the Test drive car from the nissan showroom. The car which i test drove had just clocked around 600-700 kms and almost brand new still it was rattling.

Yeah well, 2 years ago, when I took a test drive of the Linea TJet at the Pandit Auto showroom in Pune, you should have seen the condition of that particular specimen..IT was a shame to even call it a test car- save for the brilliant ride, handling and engine power that it had. Now wonder Fiats were not selling well..
But I still stuck to my original premise and I continue to have a rattle free solid car at 20000km now.

But I agree that a lot of people make a decision purely based on condition of the test car..I think manufacturers must pay attention to the kind of vehicles on offer for test drive..In my recent case of Micra purchase- Astar automatic had a BAD rattle in the boot.
Brio AT was so new that the dealer SA did not allow me to drive for more than 2 km.
Grand I10 auto was not available for test drive.
Micra CVT was available and in good condition inspite of a few thousand km.

 

[Sandykudva]

@ acechip : I know the company's do not maintain their TD vehicles but the truth is that all the judgements will be made on the TD vehicles performance.

For instance i had gone to one of the Hyundai showrooms to test drive a Hyundai I 20 Crdi. The engine noise the car was making was terrible. So i ask the sales guy what is the reason for this, and he tells me that its not been serviced properly and tells me do not judge the car on the TD vehicle but that the new car will be much silent. Now the car had clocked about 10k kMs so i tell him maybe the new car wont make noise initially but what when it has clocked the same kilometres as this TD vehicle. The SA did not answer anything to this and kept quiet on this one.
Similarly my friend wanted to purchase an new SUV so we went to test drive the XUV 500 which was just launched a week back and the Skoda Yeti 4*4. The TD vehicle of the Yeti having clocked about 20k Kms did not make a single sound or squeak it was very nice on the other hand we drove the XUV 500 which had just done 800 kms was rattling like hell.

Now i know that judgements should never be made on the TD vehicles but the fact is that in the market the number of buyers buying cars which they love is pretty less compared to the number of buyers buying the cars after comparing and driving few. Also while Test driving i will always go to a showroom that is pretty close to my house and not far away and if the TD vehicle of that showroom has some niggle then that will surely affect my decision a bit.

Similarly when i test drove the Micra here it had a bit of rattling so of course my decision will be affected a bit.

Again my point remains the same here is that its just a short test drive report of the car and the points that i felt. It is in no manner any conclusion on the Micra.