Getting active in the busy budget market
LAUNCH NEWS / Nissan is aiming directly at the VW Polo Vivo customer with its Micra Active, writes Lerato Matebese
It looks like Nissan is finally crawling out its perception in SA as a company that mainly has its sights on light commercial vehicles (LCVs) as its core business. . Aside from the Micra, Almera Qashqai, X-Trail and its those two sports car icons , the 370Z and GT-R, there are still some gaping holes in its passenger car portfolio that can be properly shored up. In its quest to do just that, Nissan will in the next six months revitalise its entire product range. Kicking off this rejuvenation will be the addition of the Micra Active, which will take the fight directly to the Bsegment hatch market leader — the Volkswagen Polo Vivo.
Priced at R159,900 it also plays in the league of the Hyundai i10, Renault Sandero and Toyota Etios insofar as offering B-segment space at Asegment prices. Built in India, the Micra might not have received the traction that its predecessor did, largely because it pandered more to the rental fleet market with its simple, nondescript disposition. Even so, it was not a bad proposition from an honest, no-frills perspective as it remained spacious and had a thrifty engine, which resulted in low running costs.
That said, the new, stylish Micra will be introduced in SA in the second quarter of 2018 to duke it out with the all-new VW Polo (which is earmarked for local introduction in the first quarter) and others in the segment such as the Hyundai i20, Kia Rio, Ford Fiesta, Renault Clio and Toyota Yaris to name a few. The new Micra will essentially be a more up-market proposition than the current one.
Getting back to the Micra Active, however, it has received some cosmetic enhancements and is only offered in base Visia trim. The first launch edition models (over the next three months) will feature, as standard, a navigation-equipped seven-inch infotainment screen similar to that fitted to the latest Navara. This also includes Bluetooth connectivity, various formats of music and video playback, and a built-in hard drive. This will be an R8,000 cost option should you order after the launch period stipulated.
In order to give your Micra some much-needed street style,, you can also add the Trendsetter Pack, which includes black alloy wheels, a boot spoiler, mud guards and chrome exhaust tip. It does give the vehicle some visual venom of sorts.
As part of the launch drive, the firm let us drive the model in a gymkhana in a parking lot at the Gold Reef City theme park in Johannesburg. This accentuated the model’s manoeuvrability and ease of parking in tight urban spaces. All of the vehicle’s controls are a cinch to use and should strike a chord with most first time car buyers. The steering wheel, I feel, had slow response through the tight-, timed gymkhana, but this will likely be of no consequence to the average person who requires lighter steering.
Out on the road, the 1.2l, three-cylinder engine might make a modest 56kW and 104Nm, but it manages to get the job done convincingly once up to speed, although some steep inclines as those experienced during our drive through Soweto required shifting to first gear in some instances. That aside though, the vehicle carries itself with much conviction and we have previously managed to eke out over 500km of urban driving on a single 41l tank when we tested a similarly-powered model, making it one of the thriftiest models in its segment.
While the model might not have the brand cache nor the kerb appeal that the Polo Vivo commands, particularly among the young set, there is no denying the value for money proposition. Over and above the sixyear/150,000km warranty, the model also comes with the segment’s longest service plan of three-years/90,000km. There is also a fairly comprehensive list of safety equipment, including dual airbags, ABS with EBD and brake assistance as well as Isofix child seat anchorage points in the rear seats.
So, from a consumer perspective, Nissan seems to have covered most bases in this regard. However, the model does play in a fairly competitive segment, but much like the Datsun Go and its Renault counterpart, the Kwid, which have managed to net a fair number of buyers despite their lack of basic safety equipment, the Micra, in contrast, does have a great deal going for it. While it might not upset the establishment per se, it is good to see Nissan once again rejuvenating its passenger car portfolio.
According to Xavier Gobille, director of sales and marketing at Nissan SA, in addition to the new Micra coming here in 2018, the X-Trail will be updated before the end of the year with the Qashqai doing the same in the first quarter of 2018. Alas, there are still no plans to bring the C-segment hatch Pulsar.