Today I am driving ... a Nissan Micra 2016

[Leif]

The repairers took my car back to fix the wing mirror control and left behind a Nissan Micra. It has plenty of engine and road noise, the ride is not that smooth and it lacks power. But I quite like it. It has charm: comfy seat, nicely laid out and attractive controls, easy to drive, and it has that small car feel that makes it fun to drive. Sure it’s not as plush as the Polo, but the hard plastics are decent and soft plastics are overrated in my view. It is not as refined to drive as the previous loaner, a Citroen C3, but unlike the C3 the interior was designed by a mentally stable adult. I imagine a VW Up GTI would be similar to the Micra, but a hoot to drive.

[Andy Beats]

What engine is it?
The 0.9 turbo should be on a par with the 95 Polo.
The firm ride I like, I prefer handling to ride comfort.
The Juke I had was terrible over bumps, but the trade off was one could throw it around better than any other small SUV.
If one tried the same in our Renault Captur, one would have been seasick.

[Cadwest]

The wife and myself looked at the micra as we both liked it but had to discount it in the end as headroom in the back was not great, I’m just under six foot and my head touched the roof liner and with our daughter being the same height as me and her boyfriend being 6 foot five it was a no good. Also it annoyed me that at the time it was only CarPlay compatible and they could not say when it would take android auto which for me was a big thing as I like Waze maps.

[Muldoon]

Some good points there. I suspect the space in the rear is far smaller than the Polo, plus much more cramped with smaller windows, ditto boot space. Like you comments about small car feel and more fun - in effect the Polo is a Golf in different clothing, heavier and not like a small car at all in how it responds and drives.

[Andy Beats]

TBH, I think the Polo has excessive headroom.
It struck me the other day that even at 6' tall, I had loads of headroom left.
I do like the seat in any car at the lowest possible setting, but still struck me as excessive headroom for a small car.
I think they could make the Polo less tall and more sleek.
TBH, I'd also never, ever, have rear seat passengers dictate whether I could have a car or not.
It's my car, if I like it I'm having it and I couldn't care less if rear seat passengers are bent double.
I'm not running a taxi, adult rear seat passengers are rare and it would be mental for me to make them a consideration when buying.

[Leif]

I assume it is the lowest end engine since it is a courtesy car, it feels willing enough and fine for a shopping trolley. The windows are actually very large, it really feels much brighter than the Polo, and it feels quite roomy in the front, but I'm sure the back is a bit pokey, and if I had a front passenger I suspect we would be a bit too close.

The Polo does have the internal room of a larger car, but the short bonnet gives it some aspects of a smaller car. If space and safety were not important, I'd love a Micra sized car with the engine, relative luxury and toys of the Polo.

[Andy Beats]

Some good points there. I suspect the space in the rear is far smaller than the Polo, plus much more cramped with smaller windows, ditto boot space. Like you comments about small car feel and more fun - in effect the Polo is a Golf in different clothing, heavier and not like a small car at all in how it responds and drives.

The Polo is a heavy beast.
The lightest one is 1105 kgs, the Micra is 977 kgs
So, basically, the Polo is like driving a Micra with a 20 stone passenger.

[Muldoon]

Some good points there. I suspect the space in the rear is far smaller than the Polo, plus much more cramped with smaller windows, ditto boot space. Like you comments about small car feel and more fun - in effect the Polo is a Golf in different clothing, heavier and not like a small car at all in how it responds and drives.

The Polo is a heavy beast.
The lightest one is 1105 kgs, the Micra is 977 kgs
So, basically, the Polo is like driving a Micra with a 20 stone passenger.

even worse when you are a 20 stone driver in the Polo - it's a tough job for the 1.0 TSI and suicide gearing...

[Andy Beats]

I assume it is the lowest end engine since it is a courtesy car,

There is a 1.0 litre 70BHP normally aspirated engine.
Really, the 0.9 turbo is the minimum engine you need in the Micra.
I expect the NA engine will be discontinued before long.

[Cadwest]

When they launched the Micra they said a sporty version was coming in 2018, did that ever happen or did it get delayed due to WLTP?

[Andy Beats]

When they launched the Micra they said a sporty version was coming in 2018, did that ever happen or did it get delayed due to WLTP?

Depends what you mean.
If you mean a sporty engine, don't think there's a 'hot' version.
Nissan's version of the Gti would be the Nismo, and there isn't a Micra Nismo.
If you mean sporty looking, they do various trim versions like the 'Bose edition' that look sporty.
Nice wheels and colour combos.

[Cadwest]

When they launched the Micra they said a sporty version was coming in 2018, did that ever happen or did it get delayed due to WLTP?

Depends what you mean.
If you mean a sporty engine, don't think there's a 'hot' version.
Nissan's version of the Gti would be the Nismo, and there isn't a Micra Nismo.
If you mean sporty looking, they do various trim versions like the 'Bose edition' that look sporty.
Nice wheels and colour combos.

They described it as a hot hatch version so I assume the Nismo, shame as it would be a great car.

[Andy Beats]

They described it as a hot hatch version so I assume the Nismo, shame as it would be a great car.

Looks like there is a Nismo Micra in other countries, but Nissan UK not taking it in here.
Same as the Nismo Leaf, Japan only model so far.

[Cadwest]

Apparently they’ve just announced a new 1.0l engine for it with a warm hatch version that has 115bhp and is getting a facelift as well.

[Andy Beats]

Apparently they’ve just announced a new 1.0l engine for it with a warm hatch version that has 115bhp and is getting a facelift as well.

Nice.
Probably get it chipped up to 130bhp or more easily enough.
When it's around 150kgs lighter than a Polo, should be a match for the Gti?