So you all know about the Nissan Micra, and expect the 5th Generation model to be more of the same?
Wrong on both counts.
The All New Nissan Micra is revolutionary - a massive progression from not only the Micra it replaces, but also from "the trio of highly successful superminis which date back to the Micra’s debut in Europe in 1983."
Repositioned at the very heart of the ultra-competitive European B-hatchback segment, the new Micra is longer, wider and lower than ever before, and has been designed and engineered with customers’ requirements at the top of the list.
Guillaume Cartier, Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing at Nissan Europe, commented: "We have taken the European compact car segment to a new level by focusing on what customers really want today and expect tomorrow. The All New Nissan Micra is an exceptional car, characterised by its expressive design, uplifting interior and confident drive."
Expressive design on the outside
Available only as a five-door model, the new Nissan Micra has a sculpted body with strong and sharp character lines visible from every angle, making the car look athletic with added poise, and poised stance that’s hard to ignore.
At the front, the bonnet has been shortened and the A-pillar angle reduced to enhance the athletic effect magnified by the narrow Halogen headlamps with signature LED daytime running lights on every trim level. The lights frame Nissan’s familiar ‘V-motion’ grille to complete the front look, leading upwards towards the the car’s sloping roof line which runs the entire length of the new Micra’s body, "dipping dramatically as it passes over the front door and sweeping upwards towards the rear."
At the rear we find the striking new boomerang-shaped light clusters, a sculpted bumper with carbon-look finish as standard and a sports-style rear roof spoiler - all designed to not only create the distinctive Micra look but also to enhance aerodynamic performance.
The new Micra is available in 10 body colours: 2 solid finishes (Ivory and White), 3 standard metallic finishes (Platinum Silver, Echo Grey and Enigma Black), one pearlescent option (Glaze White), and 4 ‘character’ metallic colours (Energy Orange, Passion Red, Pulse Green and Power Blue), with the latter options expected to be among the most popular choices with customers, especially as three of the colours – Energy Orange, Pulse Green and Passion Red – are unique to Micra, with Passion Red using an innovative ‘tinted clear coat’ technology for a truly vibrant finish. This is another first for the brand, and is expected to head the 'wanted' list when it comes to colour choice.
The exterior of the new Micra can be further enhanced with a number of personalisation elements (available in four colours from launch – Power Blue, Energy Orange, Enigma Black and Vibrant Chrome) on Acenta grade and above. These are available in:
- Exterior Pack with door mirror caps, front and rear bumper finishers, and side mouldings.
- Exterior Pack Plus, adding in 17" personalisation alloy wheels in a choice of four colours).
- Exterior Pack Ultimate, with all of the above, plus high-quality and durable body decals, in a choice of seven styles that can be applied to the Micra’s side, bonnet and roof.
Exterior personalisation is not available in conjunction with Ivory, White and Pulse Green colours.
Uplifting interior design
The cabin of the new Micra is based around a T-shaped ‘gliding wing’ dashboard where the instruments and controls have been grouped together for comfort, convenience and safety.
Comfort is provided via the use of two-tone and soft-touch materials as standard on every grade, and the athletic look is finished off with a D-shaped multi-function steering wheel as standard, and chrome finishing on the door handles and air vents.
A lowered seating position for driver and front passenger mean there’s exceptional headroom for taller occupants, but don't worry if you aren't a basketball player - class-leading fore/aft driver’s seat adjustment, means that smaller drivers are also perfectly at home in the new Micra.
The specially designed front seats provide continuous back support, a useful innovation especially for those long journeys, and a wider car means more elbow room for both driver and passengers - so no more back-seat moaning from the kids!
Space isn't the final frontier inside either, with boot capacity is a very competitive 300 litres (expanding to 1004 when the 60:40 split rear seats are folded down) and there's also lots of smart storage options everywhere in the new Micra’s cabin, including flat storage for a phone, ambient lighting, and USB and 12v sockets.
Like the exterior, the interior of the new Micra can be further enhanced with a number of personalisation elements. There's the Interior Personalisation Pack available on Acenta grade and above, and available in three colours – Power Blue, Energy Orange and Invigorating Red only - which features materials and colours to modify four distinct areas of the cabin – the seat bolsters and pad, door arm rest, knee pad and instrument panel.
And other packs such as the Comfort Pack, Vision Pack, Vision+ Pack, Leather Pack and BOSE® PERSONAL Audio Pack are also available to further enhance the specification of selected grades.
Individual personalisation items can include side mouldings, mirror caps, bumper finisher, lower boot finisher, rear view mirror cover, front seat central arm rest, upholstered floor mats, boot mat, shark-fin roof antenna, illuminated entry guards, ambient interior lighting, sports pedals, mudguards, tow ball and a range of carriers for leisure equipment such as bikes and skis - amongst many others.
Intuitive technologies
"The new Nissan Micra is equipped with a wide range of intuitive ‘in-control’ technologies designed to enhance the car’s comfort, convenience and safety performance. Many of them are standard across the range, while others are available from specific grades or as an option." These include:
- BOSE® Personal premium audio system with two speakers located in the driver’s seat head rest and four in the front doors and the A-pillars
- NissanConnect with 7" full-colour multi-touch display, DAB digital radio, satellite navigation and smartphone-style apps.
- Apple CarPlay
- Advanced driver-assist display positioned to minimise ‘eyes off the road’ time, and featuring a high-definition 5" TFT colour display
- Intelligent Lane Intervention
- Intelligent Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Recognition
- Traffic Sign Recognition
- High Beam Assist
- Intelligent Around View Monitor
- Blind Spot Warning
- Six airbags as standard
- Seat belt warnings and seat belt height adjustment for the front and rear
- Electronic Stability Program
- Anti-lock brakes
- Hill Start Assist
- Speed limiter
- Automatic headlight sensor
- Automatic hazard lights
- Tyre Pressure Monitoring System
Confidence in Driving
Whatever it is required for, from urban to countryside use, the new Nissan Micra is an exceptional car to drive. Outstanding stability and reduced body roll through corners gives drivers the confidence that they are in a safe car, with the low driving position reducing the centre of gravity, and enhancing the secure driving feel.
Two advanced Nissan technologies further contribute to creating the new Micra’s excellent dynamic performance. These are:
Intelligent Ride Control which uses the engine and brakes in to reduce the 'wave' motion felt when a car goes over larger bumps in the road, such as traffic calming measures
Intelligent Trace Control which automatically engages and adjusts the brakes on the inside of the vehicle when cornering to keep the Micra on the optimal line.
The engine range
The new Micra is available with two petrol and one diesel engine at launch, each engineered and tuned to match the character of the vehicle, and each prepared to provide the best possible mix of performance and fuel efficiency.
Other engines and an automatic transmission are planned during the life cycle of the new Micra.
The 0.9 litre turbo petrol engine delivers 64.2MPG in fuel economy and 99g/km emissions, with the 1.0 litre not far behind, while the 1.5 litre turbo diesel offers greater fuel economy with 88.3MPG and 85g/km emissions.
The Micra Models
The new Micra is available in Nissan’s familiar five-model grade structure of Visia, Visia+, Acenta, N-Connecta and Tekna, each with a two-tone interior(but specific for each level) with leather trim in option on Tekna.
Amongst the many standard features available on the new Nissan Micra, each model features an improvement as you journey up the grades.
- The Visia grade comes with 15'' Steel wheels, front fog lights, Audio system with 2 front speakers, Bluetooth compatible audio, 6 airbags, Lane Departure Warning and Intelligent Lane Intervention, Intelligent Emergency Braking with Pedestrian detection
- The Visia+ grade adds in air-conditioning and Stop/Start Technology
- The Acenta grade improves further with 16" steels/covers with free option of 16" alloys, body-coloured door mirrors and door handles, advanced drive assist display, 7” touch-screen display audio with four speakers, cruise control, two-tone upholstery, App integration and Apple Carplay
- N-Connecta cars come with 16" alloy wheels, electric folding heated door mirrors, privacy glass, leather steering wheel, automatic air-conditioning, NissanConnect 7” touch-screen infotainment system
- And the top-of-the-range Tekna grade adds 17" alloy wheels, Nissan Intelligent Key with engine start button, rear view camera with rear parking sensors, BOSE Personal audio system with six speakers
"Nissan has a clear ambition for the new Micra; it should re-establish itself inside the top 10 sellers in the segment, and compete head-to-head with the best and most popular in the class. Benchmarked against key rivals, Nissan believes the All New Micra meets and exceeds its targets."