Worth Buying XV safety for its price point

I am writing this review after driving this car for one year now.

First off, My sincere thanks to Carwale for helping me choose a car based on my requirements. (Through Carwale, I also got to get some good friends who also bought this car at the same time from Hyderabad).

Now, comming to the review for Micra active XVS version, my main requirements were Safety (as I am a city driver), Fuel efficiency, and Comfort.

This is my first car, I learnt my driving and drove this for about 7500 KM now and had my Second service (after 1 year) done  last week.

Exterior

Nissan has done  its bit with Micra active to attract the City drivers, with its improved fuel efficiency and all the just required features for a daily office goer.

Exteriors are of good quality, same as that of the original Micra version. It also came with a sporty front bumper which improved the looks for a mostly faminine looking Micra.

All it did not offered me was a rear wiper, which I awas aware, and will be hardly used except when in heavy rain. 

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

Before buying this car, I looked for comfortable seating and a better boot space. As I drove the car all these days, I found that the seating is comfortable and ergonomically designed. Interestingly and contrary to its looks, the rear seating is as spacious as that of maruti Swift's (One of my friend drives Swift so we could compare).

Other features such as Autolock, Front dual airbags, ABS, Fuel economy meter and Four power windows, these doesnot come for other cars at this price point.

But When compared to Ritz/Swift, I feel that the plastics on the doors, and dashboard panels are thinner and looks inferior. I think Micra tried to reduce the weight of ACTIVE variant by reducing the thickness of the plastics.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

The 1200CC gasolene engine is smoother enough to drive comfortably in city traffic. Vibrations are minimal and there were no problems found with the engine till now.

FE so far on an average its charting 14.5-15 Km/l (for 7500 Km) in the city traffic driven mostly on 1-2-3 Gears. I have done only one long drive 200 KM and it showed me 19 kmpl on the meter.

Gearbox had been serious issue that I found need to be fixed for this car (Even my friend who bought this reported the same). First 6 months, gear shifter had been very sturdy and I felt it hard shifting back gears from 2nd to 1st gear (It was not the case in other cars 1st gear should be smoother enough).During service they changed gear cables, and in my second service, the gearshifter was lubricated enough that It is smoother now.

Ride Quality & Handling

Only issue is that the engine's power is tuned to the lower side. Thats the reason when I have all the 5 passengers or when riding uphill, engine grunts a bit. One must test drive with the full load to know the performance.

Not to forget about the service, Lakshmi nissan is offering a decent service here at hyd. But people from interior places should think twice about this. Accessibility to a service center is an important aspect too.

I paid 3000/- for my first service and 2500/- for the second one (Both were free services) (for Oil change and consumables). I learnt that it will be close to 4000 for all the paid services.

Final Words

To conclude, I must say its a yes to go for this car when one wants a decent, SAFE and fuel efficient car for dialy commuting. We dont get a car with these many features (all necessarily required) for this price (5.8 Lakh On road hyd). and its is on par with the Features of Ritz/ Swift high end models with airbags (Price difference of 50000/- min.). As said, one must also thnk about Nissan service centres, if they are not close by, think twice before buying.

Areas of improvement  

Sturdy Gearbox and Gearshifter, Interior Plastic panels can be stronger enough.

 

Price Vs Features, Good Fuel economy, Safety features and Boot and seat SpaceSturdy Gear Shifter, Less powerful engine, Quality of Interior plastic panels