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YES, it may be small by UK standards, but Nissan’s fifthgeneration Micra supermini is a mighty marvel, especially if you’re a music lover. I took one for a spin from bright and breezy Brighton around the Sussex countryside and found it a delight. It looks great, with fantastic kerb appeal. Lower and wider than its predecessor, too.
And it’s practical. There are five trim levels or grades. Prices from £11,995 for the one-litre 75 bhp Visia to £18,765 for the top-of-the-range 1.5-litre 90 bhp diesel Tekna.
There are more than 100 exterior and interior trim and colour combinations. The designer who put together this fine palette to boost personalisation is Sandra Boberg, at the firm’s design studios in Paddington, West London.
I particularly liked the Energy Orange paintwork.
I spent most of my time behind the wheel of a very smooth, but sufficiently sprightly, 900cc IG-T 90 linked to a slick five- speed manual gearbox. It was effort- lessly packed intuitivewith levels to of drive safety andkit you’d expect on a bigger car.
It’ll do 61 mpg and reach 109 mph with 0-60mph acceleration in 12.1 seconds. But it felt faster. As a £500 option on all but the highest-spec models (where it’s standard) it features a clever immersive 360- degree music system from Bose that includes loudspeakers in the driver’s headrest, allowing the driver to ‘share’ the music all round if there are passengers on board. Or, if driving solo, to concentrate the experience on the person behind the wheel.
A TIMELY reality check on the dream of driverless cars from the top British boss at BMW.
Their use will be restricted by law because governments are reluctant to allow the vehicles to make ‘life and death decisions’.
Technically, there is little obstacle. In around five years, developments could result in vehicles ‘full of passengers with no driver’, says Dr Ian Robertson, a Munich- based global board member for BMW.
But there will be a phased approach with different rules for motorways and local roads, he told a ‘connected cars’ conference in London organised by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).