Bold look of secret new

OPINION John Mcilroy “Those who test drove the current Micra realised refinement isn’t up to much”

NISSAN is preparing an all-new Micra for 2017 – and the supermini is set to be revealed at October’s Paris Motor Show. As seen here in our exclusive main image, the newcomer will have a sportier, more radical design than the current model.

Last year’s Geneva Motor Show saw the reveal of the Sway concept, a first hint at how the new Micra will look. As you can see, the finished model will share much with the distinctive show car.

The Micra will be longer, wider and lower than at present, with sleek headlights, a familiar V-shaped grille design and angular air vents on the bumper all giving it a much more purposeful look from the front. The long nose creates a distinctive snout, while the sharper creases down the side make the car look much sportier than before.

Our latest spy shots (right) confirm the new look, with the lower stance and sleeker roofline visible despite the heavy camouflage. At the back there’s a similar tailgate to that of the Sway concept, with stylish tail-lights and a roof spoiler helping to freshen up the look.

The model has been fast-tracked for production, after European buyers rejected the current car’s interior quality and refinement. While the present model is a ‘global car’, this new Micra has been conceived with Europe in mind.

Along with the upcoming Juke crossover (Issue 1,431), the new Nissan will use the Renault-nissan Alliance’s CMF-B small car platform. As with the Juke, the Micra’s younger target audience means it’s likely to come in a variety of colours, and could even be offered with some Mini-style customisation options, as well as a wide choice of exterior colours and interior trims.

Inside, the Nissan will get a host of upgrades to help it compete with cars such as the next VW Polo and Kia Rio, both of which will also arrive in 2017. More softtouch materials will be used, and top-spec cars are likely to get leather upholstery. A new infotainment system with smartphone connectivity is also key to helping it compete for supermini buyers’ attention.

A number of Nissan safety features are likely to appear on the car, too, including autonomous emergency braking, blindspot monitoring and traffic-sign recognition. The new shape means it could be more practical inside than before, with the longer wheelbase freeing up more cabin space.

The new CMF-B platform allows a similar engine line-up to the new Juke, with a range of small 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo petrols and a 1.5-litre diesel as the more frugal options in the powertrain line-up. A hotter 1.6 petrol turbo with around 190bhp could make its way into top-spec Micras, while even a hybrid version is on the cards.

After its reveal in Paris, the Nissan is set to launch in the UK at the start of 2017. We expect the price to rise over the current car, with the newcomer set to start from around £10,000 for an entry-level version.

Supermini will be here in 2017 Hopes to turn around slow sales

NISSAN dealers in the UK can’t wait for the new Micra to arrive – and with good reason, because the existing car has not been considered a success.

At the fourth-generation model’s launch in 2011, Nissan promised that even as a ‘global car’ – made in Thailand and Indonesia instead of Sunderland – it could have the sort of premium feel and build quality that had made previous Micras so popular with British buyers. This, we were told, was why Nissan had decided to keep the Micra name on the car – because it was capable of living up to it.

The reality has been different. The Micra’s traditionally older customers weren’t too worried about the styling, but they’ve found the hard, scratchy plastics less appealing. And those who’ve test driven it have realised that refinement isn’t up to much, either.

As a result, Nissan has lost valuable ground in the market. It sold nearly 18,700 previous-generation Micras in the UK in 2010; last year, it shifted only 13,700 examples of the current model. So the new car will need to be doubly good if it’s to claw back its badge’s reputation – and sales.

News

AS the next Micra takes shape (Page 12), Nissan has given a further hint that it could produce a radical electric sports car by unveiling a new development of its Bladeglider racer. A pair of new show cars are being displayed in two configurations at an event in Brazil to mark the start of the Rio Olympic Games.

They represent a clear evolution from the original Bladeglider, which made its debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2013, by including a fully electric powertrain and a more realistic cabin – although the distinctive three-seat layout remains. Nissan says the new Bladeglider is “an exciting, real-life study into the potential of advanced EV performance”. The car is fully electric, with a powertrain developed by Nissan’s partner for the project, Didcotbased Williams Advanced Engineering. It has a 220kw lithium-ion battery, supplying electricity to a pair of 130kw electric motors – one on each of the rear wheels.

The Bladeglider is not particularly light. At 1,300kg, it’s around the same as a pureelectric BMW i3. Williams Advanced Engineering is said to have recorded performance figures for the new Nissan, posting a top speed “in excess of 190km/h (118mph)” and a 0-62mph time of “less than five seconds”.

The new concept is likely to reignite speculation that the brand is considering building a production version of the Bladeglider, not least because in official correspondence about the new vehicles, Nissan refers to them as “working protoypes”, instead of pure concepts.

“A 220kw battery powers 130kw motor on each rear wheel”