Just take Note

Matt Joy checks out Nissan’s small MPVsupermini crossover and is impressed

It used to be that superminis just trundled to the shops on a weekly basis and not much else, but now we want them to slog up the motorway, be stuffed full of children and shopping, and still look smart parked on the driveway.

The first-generation Nissan Note took on all this and more, going down the route of a mini-mpv rather than a conventional small hatchback.

The second-generation Note is aimed even higher, though. It is designed to attract conventional supermini buyers as well as those looking for a small MPV.

From the outside there are clear visual similarities with the old model, but this is a much sharper-looking car; it still has the tall and spacious body, but the design is more eye-catching and appealing. It’s also more aerodynamic than before, which helps to cut fuel consumption.

With a high roofline along the length of the car, headroom is excellent for those in the front and the back, while legroom in the rear is even better than before.

Slide the seats all the way back and the boot space is still good and gives excellent legroom. Switch it around and there’s still sufficient legroom for shorter people, while the boot becomes truly vast.

It’s also clear that plenty of thought has gone into the Note’s cabin. The rear doors open much wider than in a conventional car, and the rear seats can be slid to adjust the amount of room available by convenient handles, placed in the boot and under the seats.

Out on the road the Note delivers an obtrusive and relaxing drive.

The 1.5-litre diesel offers up torque readily, so only a brief squeeze of the accelerator is required to stay in touch with the traffic.

The standard specification on this Tekna model is also very good, including Nissan Connect, 16in alloy wheels,