Nissan Micra is all set to become the latest entrant to plunge into the overcrowded B-segment passenger car market. FE took the baby Nissan for a spin in Chennai to see if it really has what it takes to challenge dominance of Swift and Hyundai i10 in the B-segment.
Slated for launch on July 14, Nissan Micra is the latest generation of the car from the company?s stable and has been a big success across the world. Well, the Micra has already been booked by over 1,000 people and one thing that all are dying to know is whether it was a bad call.
Micra is ideal for someone who has just passed his test or learning to drive. The light steering makes it a doddle to park while a snappy gear change and responsive controls mean it can be good fun also. Push it hard and there is understandable body roll through corners ?? Micra is set up to be comfortable rather than for sporty performance. People with ample proportions will particularly like slipping into Micra as the front doors open quite broad to allow people to sleep into the front seats very contentedly. Egress and ingress to the rear is a relaxed affair if you measure south of 6 feet. These factors will endear Micra to the elderly as it is quite manageable without having a tall boy design.
As far as design is concerned, Micra can be termed cute and smart with oval shaped headlamps and small clear lens tail lamps. The bonnet is short with a bulge/crease in centre. The front grille has a horizontal chrome strip in centre to give it a more upmarket look. The suspension and tyres have plenty of compliance in them and rough sections and bad roads are all sponged up effortlessly. There?s very little bobbing, the suspension works silently and this allows one to drive over rough patches without much care.
The steering is very direct, the car goes faithfully in the direction one points towards and placing the car accurately, even at speeds, is very easy. Despite having a good amount of road feel, the steering is also not heavy. In fact at city speeds, it is really light and comfortable. Overall, Micra has a fantastic ride and handling mix with an estimated mileage of 17 km per litre.
The top-end XV model that I was driving comes loaded with the latest features. There is no traditional key on this car. One gets a keyless entry fob that allows one to yank the door open with it still sitting in his pocket, and the motor is fired with the help of a push-button. It?s the first for a B-segment car. Nissan has offered automatic climate control and electrically folding mirrors, features that aren?t common among hatchbacks.
Nissan has employed a ?connected cocoon? design, featuring a dashboard design which takes on a ?twin bubble? theme. This refers to the circular instrumentation binnacle and the similarly shaped glovebox compartment on the passenger side. Micra?s estimated pricing (ex-showroom Delhi) is Rs 4 lakh for the base XE model, Rs 4.75 lakh for XL, and Rs 5.25 lakh for the top-end XV variant.
