Review: driving a $9998 2015 Nissan Micra (Nissan's most efficient manual in Can/US.)

[MetroMPG]

Fuel economy wrap-up...

• 47 mpg over 766 miles
• 5.0 L/100 km over 1234 km

Context for those numbers:

• 30% city
• 30% highway (100 km/h / 62 mph limit)
• 40% secondary highways (80 km/h / 50 mph limit)

Basic ecodriving techniques were used, particularly: shifting to top gear as soon as practical; minimizing braking by reading traffic conditions well ahead. I drove at or near the speed limit depending on traffic (within a few km/h / mph).

And while I typically killed the engine at stops of more than ~10 seconds, there was no engine-off coasting.

Some of the total distance was with various ecomods in place (sidewall PSI for about 75%, grille block for about 50%, air dam for about 25%).

So, there's considerably more MPG where that came from, with a kill switch and mods in place 100% of the time.



What bugged me about the Micra?

1) Driver's seat comfort

This is subjective, but I found the seat cushion uncomfortable -- not enough thigh support (I'm average height). The 6-way adjustable seat in the mid- and top-trim Micra was much better in that area than the base car's 4-way seat.

It wouldn't be a deal-breaker though: I've added padding to my cars' seats before (the current Firefly being one of them).

And many owners of the base S don't seem to mind.

2) Transmission gearing

In 2 weeks and over 1200 km, I never got used to the transmission's low gearing (~3000 RPM @ 60 mph / 100 kph). I found myself automatically reaching to grab another upshift when it was already in top gear -- it happened even on my last drive to return the car.

In addition to the rev-happy top gear, first gear is so short as to be nearly useless. I often took off in 2nd gear if facing slightly downhill, or if the car was even just barely moving.

Many reviewers & owners have grumbled about the manual gearing. It's one of the few consistent negatives about the drivetrain.

Blame clever cost-cutting: Nissan saves money by dropping in the drivetrain from its heavier Versa stablemates, where the short 1st and 5th are somewhat more appropriate.

It needs a taller final drive ratio, at least.

[MetroMPG]

Final thoughts...

Multiple reviewers have said the base Micra reminds them of their old stripper base cars from days gone by. Just yesterday I saw a reader comment on Jalopnik saying the Micra is "one step away from horse & buggy."

Joking or not, it's nonsense. I've owned enough entry level econoboxes to know this base Micra S is heads & shoulders above them all in terms of refinement & features. Going from the Firefly to the Micra and back again was an eye opener.

For the benefit of people suffering from rose-coloured-glasses-syndrome about their old beaters, here's a reality check in the form of a list of stuff your old car probably didn't have that a new base Micra does:

• A modern engine with power & fuel economy features like continuously variable valve timing & dual fuel injection
• Full instrumentation (base cars rarely had tachometers -- my Firefly has speedo, temp and a fuel gauge, that's it.)
• Safety equipment like: 6 airbags, anti-lock brakes, stability & traction control
• Full trip computer including dual trip meters & instant + average fuel economy. It used to be only the most expensive cars got that stuff.
• A decent 4-speaker radio/CD with AUX input, and "soft" volume resume when turned on (a nice touch).
• Lots of cupholders
• Variable delay intermittent wiper setting. A rear wiper with intermittent setting.
• Other little touches like 1-touch 3-blink lane change signal; interior lights "soft" on/off & auto-off if you leave a door open so you don't kill your battery.
• Better NVH

Considering the base Micra is actually cheaper to buy today than a 1984 Hyundai Pony was back in the day, it's actually a marvel what we're getting for the money. I'm not at all surprised that the Micra is selling like hotcakes.

[Daox]

Excellent review Darin. Thanks for putting the time in on this.

[Arragonis]

Interesting comparison. It was those "basic" cars moving upmarket which opened up a gap beneath them - for a while Nissan sold this in the UK underneath the Micra



3-cyl 998 cc with VVT etc. Actually a rebadged Suzuki (or the Suzuki was a rebadged Nissan - who knows). It has since been dropped probably not enough profit in each one to make it worthwhile, plus didn't sell a huge number.

Suzuki are still selling the replacement though at about £8k which is the equivalent of what you guys can buy a Micra for

[MetroMPG]

I'd love to see some A-segment cars here. Smart Fortwo is all we've got in that class.

EDIT: Interestingly, if you look at sales figures, the Micra is unquestionably stealing sales from its bigger brother, the (more expensive & profitable) Versa Note. Combined sales of both are up, but only Nissan knows whether their overall profit is up. Since the Micra came out, Nissan now dominates the small car segment here. Which I suppose is fine from a business angle if those customers eventually come back for bigger, more expensive cars.

[Arragonis]

We get the Note too and it sells more than Micras do, and most are Diesel (it comes with the excellent Renault 1.5 DCi).

I think the Chevrolet Spark is in the A-Class isn't it ?

[MetroMPG]

It may well be. I had typed it in, then removed it because I wasn't sure.

Oddly, the Spark sells decently well in the U.S., but hardly at all in Canada. (Could it be fleet sales in the States?) Normally we snap up small hatches at a much greater per capita rate than our southern neighbours. The Spark is a glaring exception to that rule.

2015 year-to-date Canadian sales:

4968 - Micra
1607 - Mirage
633 - Spark

One explanation: while Mitsu instantly matched the Micra's $9998 price on the base Mirage, GM hasn't budged. The Spark starts at around $12.5k.

[Fat Charlie]

What you foreigners don't understand is that a Murrican nameplate is well worth the 25% premium.

What I'd do is get a Mirage then swing by the Chevy dealer on the way home, buy a bowtie for the hood and pocket the savings.

[Arragonis]

I think that demonstrates how Americans have no taste - lets be honest the Spark is a really carp drive whilst the Micra and Mirage are, well, at least half decent. It would be interesting to see how many Sparks are sold at full price vs. a big discount as they are here.

Of course compared to a Fiesta both are rubbish, and the Fiesta compared to a Peugeot 208 or VW Polo is a no-contest win for the French or Germans.

Now if VW could get the Up! sold in the US at a decent price...

[gone-ot]

Unfortunately, GM -- still -- believes "...what's good for GM is good for America..."