This is the second time Nissan has loaned me a Micra.
Not quite a year ago, I got to try a top of the line, fully loaded version:
(See: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...uel-29461.html )
Nissan has been pretty clever in the way they've doled out Micras to the media.
When the car was initially released, the only loaners available were mid & upper trim cars. The top spec one that I drove was as far away from $9998 as was possible to go: it would have cost over $20k with all fees & taxes.
But after about 6 months, when the pace of reviews began petering out, Nissan introduced a bunch of entry level, manual Micras to the press fleet. Few writers could resist sampling the unicorn -- the elusive "ten grand tin can" -- the actual trim of the cheapest car in the country. Unsurprisingly, that has triggered a second round of media coverage.
Good strategy for extra publicity.
I bet Mitsubishi -- which dropped the price of the base Mirage to match the Micra's shocking $9998 starting price -- is still kicking itself at how this has all played out so well for Nissan.
Clever, clever.