Our first impressions of the Nissan Micra facelift equipped with a CVT gearbox.
However, ask for more power and the rubberband effect of the CVT gearbox pretty much eliminates the direct link between the throttle and engine responsiveness, and that takes away from the driving experience. The motor still pulls well after 3500rpm, and then it does feel a bit quicker. But even then, it is not exciting to drive on an open road. The motor also gets pretty thrummy when spun faster – it is a three-cylinder unit after all. There’s no getting around it, the driving experience is quite dull. And while Nissan has tweaked the suspension, get on a poorly maintained road and the ride is still a bit stiff, the car crashing over sharp bumps in the road.
The Micra will be available in three trims – XL, XV and XV premium. The CVT will be available only in XV trim while the manual petrol and diesel will be available in all three variants. The XV premium trim comes with more safety kit in the form of four airbags as well. Nissan says the new Micra will be in showrooms towards the end of this month.
Overall, the new Micra works well as a city car. The more aggressive looks make it more muscular and masculine-looking, the updated interiors look more appealing and Nissan has taken the trouble to really load the car up with a list of desirable features. Comfort levels in the cabin have been improved as well. The Micra has always been a spacious and airy car and now, with the new seats, there’s an improvement in this area too. The new automatic gearbox, 76bhp engine and light controls work well in the city as well. It may not be as fun to drive as the new Polo, and may not be nearly as nice at higher speeds, but if you are looking at it purely as a city car, there’s a lot to like here.