Nissan Note

MODEL TESTED: Nissan Note Acenta Style 1.2 PRICE: £14,285 ENGINE: 1.2-litre 4cyl, 79bhp

FOR the same price as the top-spec Suzuki Baleno, you can only get an entry-level version of the Nissan Note. And although our pictures show an n-tec model, here we test the £14,285 Acenta Style 1.2. This car loses out on some vital features in this company; can its practicality make up for it?

Styling 3.2/ 5

THE Note’s high roofline and vertical tailgate highlight its focus on function rather than form, but like the Honda Jazz, there are still a few design details present to add a touch of interest.

These aren’t the most dynamic-looking or stylish cars, but the Nissan appears broader than the Jazz, thanks to its wide grille and big headlights, even though there’s only a 1mm difference in width between the two cars. The lower Baleno is much wider, giving it the sportiest stance of the three.

The Note’s scalloped doors and tail-lights that wrap around on to the rear wings provide a bit of design flair to break up the otherwise bland surfacing, as do the deeper bumpers that feature a black plastic insert front and rear.

They’re all part of our Acenta Style test car’s styling kit, which also adds 16-inch two-tone alloys to match the size of its rivals’ rims. However, it’s obvious the point of the Nissan is practicality, as its basic shape offers the most possible room inside given its size.

Like the other two cars, the five-door Note is easy to get in and out of, but once you’re inside, the upright centre console and hard dashboard plastics highlight one of the Nissan’s biggest drawbacks in this company: it feels the least upmarket.

There’s an uninspiring expanse of plastic with a mix of textures and some cheap-feeling surfaces designed to look like metal dotted around the air vents and dashboard. The cabin feels solidly put together, but it’s made to a fairly tight budget where its competitors boast more soft-touch materials.

It also can’t match the Jazz or Baleno for standard equipment, as the Note doesn’t have DAB or autonomous braking. Air-conditioning and keyless go do feature, although sat-nav isn’t even available as an option. In fact, the only extras are metallic paint, at £550 (Acenta Style also features a smaller range of colours than other trim levels), plus some extra styling features for the exterior and interior and rear parking sensors, which cost a fairly steep £371 and £406 respectively. You can also add DAB for £179.

Driving 2.9/ 5

A 1.2-litre DIG-S supercharged petrol engine is available in the Note, but prices start at £14,885, so our naturally aspirated 1.2 three-cylinder petrol comes in at similar money to the Baleno, costing £14,285 in Acenta Style guise.

It’s the least powerful unit here, producing just 79bhp, and this was painfully apparent on test. Its relatively poor performance against the clock is backed up out on the road, where the Note feels sluggish and lethargic compared to the strong Suzuki and revvy Honda engines.

The car took a sluggish 12.1 seconds to cover 0-60mph, lagging behind its rivals by some margin. It’s not helped by a spongy-feeling gearchange, either; shift ratios quickly, and the engine bogs down, so it’s better to use the gearbox smoothly. However, doing so makes the lack of torque even more obvious. With 110Nm of torque, the Nissan couldn’t match the Baleno for in-gear acceleration, with the Suzuki’s tiny turbo giving it a big advantage.

As a result, you have to work the box harder in the Note to make progress, and unlike the Honda’s set-up, it’s not pleasant to use. Peak torque is also produced relatively high up in the rev range, at 4,000rpm, so the engine takes a fair amount of time to get into its stride. It turns over at 3,300rpm at 70mph, and coupled with the plasticky cabin, the car buzzes at motorway speeds and isn’t particularly relaxing to drive long distances.

The Nissan’s ride is on the softer side, though, and at low speeds the dampers ensure relative refinement for a budget-focused supermini. However, hit a pothole, and the car tends to crash hard, sending vibrations through the hard trim.

This can upset body control through corners, and make the car feel a lot less stable. Otherwise, with its light steering, the Note offers a safe and secure drive, although it doesn’t combine this with any of the more dynamic qualities of the Suzuki.

Ownership 3.0/ 5

NISSAN was the worst-performing manufacturer here in our Driver Power 2016 satisfaction survey. Out of 32 brands, it finished way down the table in 28th place. However, the Note’s simple cabin features technology that’s been rolled out across the line-up for years now, so the relatively simple user interface should hopefully prove trouble-free.

Higher-spec models get some impressive safety kit for a small car, such as an around-view monitor, blind spot and lane departure warning and moving object detection. Even so, this lowerspec Acenta Style doesn’t benefit from any of these. In terms of safety, the Nissan scored a four-star Euro NCAP rating and comes with six airbags.

Running costs 3.9/ 5

THERE’S no servicing pack available on the Note, but with three-year maintenance costs coming in at £557, it should be relatively affordable to keep on the road.

Honda’s servicing prices are usually higher than rivals’, and £695 for the Jazz’s fixed-price pack might seem expensive. Yet this covers the car for five years or 62,500 miles, so it actually works out cheaper per year than routine maintenance on the Note.

Suzuki hasn’t officially released servicing costs for the Baleno yet, but despite the new engine we’d expect prices to be similar to the smaller Swift’s, with Suzuki’s plan costing around £18 per month for a three-year, three-service deal.

Practicality 3.8/ 5

UNLIKE higher-spec versions of the Note, our Acenta Style test car doesn’t feature the clever sliding rear bench seat that allows you to either maximise passenger space in the back or add more luggage room. This means that in a crop of practical superminis, the car is hamstrung by losing one of its greatest strengths.

As a result, the rear bench is fixed in the frontmost position of Notes with the more flexible seating feature, so there’s 411 litres of boot space on offer. However, this rises to 1,495 litres if you fold the rear seatbacks down, so in actual fact, the Nissan is the most spacious car on test for lugging big loads.