Nissan Motors Ltd., the Japanese carmaker, has produced and marketed a lot of great cars all over the world in the last few decades. They include the Datsun, the Micra, the Sunny, the Bluebird and the Patrol. The original Micra made its debut long back in the international markets in the year 1982. It had a delayed entry in to the Indian market, only in July 2010.
As a feature of all the Japanese cars, the build of Micra is sturdy and the appearance is simple and appealing. At the front, the honey comb grille, a large Nissan logo surrounded by a V shaped trough, laminated front wind screen with two intermittent wipers and a body coloured bumper with fog lamps are prominent. The side profile is smooth without any rounded bulges. There are electric external body coloured wing mirrors, body coloured pull type door locks and well shaped wheel arches. The 14” regular wheels are used for the entry level and 15€ radial for the higher variants. At the rear, the high mounted stop lamps, large rear wind screen with wash and wipe facility, the LED tail lamps and a rear spoiler add to the beauty.
The dual tone interiors have premium fabric covered front bucket seats, chrome garnished door handles, a piano black centre console, keyless entry and push button start/stop. Higher versions have an automatic temperature control system, a music system with steering wheel mounted controls and a Bluetooth operated hand free mobile connection.
Safety features include front and side airbags for the front passengers, ABS, EBD and BA. Side and front impact beams, an advanced engine immobilizer and child locks for the rear doors are other safety features. Only the XVCVT petrol version has an automatic transmission while all the others have 5 speed manual gear boxes.
There are eight variants of Nissan Micra; XL, XL(O), X VCVT in petrol and XED, XL, XL(O), X VCVT and XVP in diesel. Petrol versions use a 1200 cc, 76 PS, 194 NM torque engine giving a mileage of 18.44 kmpl and the diesel versions use a 1500 cc, 64 PS, 160 NM torque engine producing a fuel economy of 23.08 kmpl. Maximum speed for both the versions is 160 kmph. The X VCVT version gives a mileage of 19.34. The X VCVT petrol and diesel models and XVP diesel model have 14€ alloy wheels.
Physical dimensions of the Nissan Micra are 3825 mm length, 1665 mm width, 1530 mm height and a ground clearance of 154 mm. The Micra is priced from Rupees 5.0 to 7.29 lakhs, depending on the version. Nissan Micra’s safe maneuverability through the traffic infested roads makes it a favourite of the city drivers.
