Love my Nissan Micra

Exterior

It's a cute little car I bought for my wife. I love the looks. It’s neither big nor too small. Nissan needs to put more rubber in door and hatch cavities as dust and water easily gets in to these cavities. The extra rubber will also help in reducing cabin noise.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

Roomy enough for driver and front passenger. Less leg room in the back. Interiors are overall comfortable and better than other hatch backs in this segment. It's loaded with features like ABS, front airbags, push button start/stop and keyless entry. Automatic folding rear-view mirrors are a blessing as I don't need to worry about folding them while parking on cluttered New Delhi roads. There is reasonably good room for luggage in the back. Plastic and fabric quality is not top notch but reasonably okay. Sound proofing on the doors could be much better considering Nissan Micra is not a cheap car. The air conditioner is very effective and does not affect the engine performance while driving. Overall the car is very easy to drive and it has a great line of sight for the driver with practically no blind spots. Windows are large enough for front and back passengers. At the same time there is enough privacy in the cabin. Built-in Radio and music system has good sound quality and there is no need to upgrade unless you need a navigation system. The circular console is cute and air conditioner temperature can be controlled, which is a really nice feature.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

Initially I was getting a very low mileage and was a bit frustrated. Then I realized that my driving style was wrong for a CVT engine. I was pushing the accelerator a little too much as I thought the initial pickup was slow. Then through experience I learned that CVT engines respond differently than the automatic transmission ones. Once you put the car in the drive mode, press the accelerator just a little and allow the CVT engine to respond. The initial acceleration is slow but after a few meters the CVT engine starts responding quickly to the accelerator and the car will be very zippy. After that take it easy on the accelerator paddle and press it somewhat less than what you would normally do in case of a car with automatic transmission. This will give you a great mileage ~15-16 km/litre in city driving conditions.  

Final Words

I did a lot of research before buying this car. The online reviews aren't very encouraging. But I have lived in US and have known Nissans for a long time. My first car was a Nissan Maxima and I did not have any problems with it. My sister-in-law and landlord had Nissans and they loved them.

Most of the negative reviews in India are about the dealers and their after sales service. Generally there aren't many complaints about the quality of Nissan cars as such. It took me no time to discount those negative reviews. The TV reviews and comparisons that I found on YouTube were mostly paid reviews. They were good for nothing and none of them did a proper research.

Nissans are new to India. They need to polish their edges, which I am pretty sure they are capable of. Their service partner Hoover had let them down. But they should move on and build credibility on their own strengths, quality and customer service.      

Areas of improvement  

 

Sound proofing of the cabin, ground clearance, fixing cavities around doors and hatch, after sales service, product advertising. Nissan must clearly differentiate their products from competition. Nissan India needs a better marketing team.

 

 

Great line of sight while driving. Very easy to drive. Great to drive in New Delhi through traffic.Low ground clearance scratched my bumper, a bit noisy cabin.