Low-priced Nissan Micra SV gives good value for money
What could be more appropriate for picking up a few pumpkins than a pumpkin-shaped car? Had this Nissan Micra been painted orange, the experience would have been all the more seasonal, but “Fresh Power” white worked just fine. In fact, the Micra could easily have been Cinderella’s post-midnight ride, being all cute, curvy and wide-eyed.
Our lovestruck scullery maid would have enjoyed the drive too, as the Micra is a cheerful little thing with a decent ride, sharp chassis and accurate variable-ratio steering. While its 1.6-litre four-cylinder only musters a modest 109 horsepower and 107 pound-feet of torque, it hauls better than a team of tethered mice.
When the Nissan Micra came to Canada in the spring of 2014, it carried a base price of just two bucks shy of $10,000, making it the cheapest car in Canada. And guess what? That price still holds, although the $9,998 stripper S variant accounts for less than 10 per cent of Micra sales. Apparently, there aren’t a lot of new car buyers who like to crank their own windows, manually lock their doors, shift their own gears and endure a non air-conditioned cabin.
Hence, this more realistic Micra SV with an automatic transmission that rings in at $15,048. And what does Cinderella get for that? A four-speed automatic transmission replaces the default fivespeed manual — perfect because her left foot has no shoe. She also gets air conditioning, power windows, power locks, remote keyless entry, Bluetooth and steering wheel-mounted audio and phone controls.
Other upgrades over the S include heated and bodycoloured mirrors, body-coloured exterior door handles, a fourspeaker AM/FM/CD/AUX audio system, a six-way driver’s seat with attached armrest, and a cloth front door trim accent. So, this 50 per cent price hike is largely justified. Still, no heated seats, USB connectivity or rearview camera.
As an innercity warrior, the Micra is a champ. It has a tiny, 4.6-metre turning circle, acceleration is more sprightly than expected, and thanks to its high roofline, outward visibility is excellent. You’ll slide into street parking gaps most others can’t and easily cut a swath through congestion when feeling brave and/or obnoxious.
The Micra is a sweet little handler too, carving an accurate path with playful enthusiasm. My pumpkin-gathering expedition took me out to Halton Hills, Ont., where the rolling, curvy roads allowed me to push the Micra within its modest limits. Here, its European tuning became evident, showing user-friendly dynamics (i.e. not terrifying) and feelsome steering.
As the Micra is not available in the U.S., Nissan Canada tweaked it for our market, giving it Canuck-specific front and rear sway bars, re-tuned steering and rear-seat heater vents. While some markets run with 14-inch wheels, ours comes with 15 or 16-inchers, sizes that are widely available in snow tires. The fourspeed automatic transmission could be considered prehistoric when it comes to automotive gearboxes — although the Toyota Yaris has one, too — but the upside is there’s none of the incessant moaning that a
continuously variable transmission (CVT) can induce in a small car with modest power.
You won’t mistake the Micra’s plasticky interior for anything remotely Audi-like. But then again, it’s cheery and presents some good basic functionality with its logical control layout and legible gauge cluster. The standard audio ain’t bad, either. The fabric seats are reasonably comfortable and the rear doors open wide for easy access. For a car this tiny, the available rear legroom is commendable. Dropping the 60/40-split rear seat expands cargo capacity from 408 to 819 L, although the load floor isn’t flat.
Looking closer at the Nissan Micra’s “cheapest car in Canada” bragging rights, is this reasonably kitted SV still a deal at $15,048? Seems to be. The closest in price is the $15,198 Mitsubishi Mirage ES Plus with a CVT, but compared to the Micra, the Mitsu is tinny, wobbly and feeble. A similarly equipped Yaris starts at $17,815, and the base Fiat 500 with sixspeed auto currently runs $17,740 before freight and taxes.
For that money, Cinderella could step up to the loaded-up Nissan Micra SR at $17,188, and that trim gets 16-inch wheels, a rear-view camera, USB connectivity, nicer seats, racy body bits and fog lights. Still no heated seats, though. And for Cindy, that might just be a deal breaker.