Nissan Micra 2011 News

Sometimes the best cars don't win comparison tests. That was the case this week.

Nissan’s 2014 refresh for the European-market Micra has surfaced online, ahead of a likely local debut next year – although Nissan Australia would not confirm dates as yet. The latest details follow the Bangkok Motor Show preview of the Thai-spec Micra update earlier this year. The European model features similar front and rear fascia updates to the Thai model, with the exception of subtly reshaped headlights that link the Micra with the design of the Pulsar and upcoming Altima models. The redesigned LED tail-light internals appear to match the Thai model, along with the revised interior which scores a new centre stack and updated trim and materials in a bid to move the little Micra away from the ‘bargain box’ stigma. The current model starts at $13,490 and tops out at $18,990 for the Micra Ti. Europe also gains an updated optional satnav system, and USB connectivity joins the feature list for the first time. Australian-spec Micras are currently sourced from India, and which version will be adopted by India -- and therefore Australia -- is yet to be confirmed. Asked when either version of the Micra will appear locally, Nissan Australia spokesman Peter Fadeyev told Carsguide a firm “not yet.” Such a revision to the local Micra lineup is likely to be at least 12 months away though, considering the revised specs and shift to Indian supply occurred in January this year. This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn

Nissan has dropped the 1.5-litre engine from its, replacing it with the smaller three cylinder engine across the range. At the same time, it is switching production of the car from Indonesia to India where it is presumably cheaper to build. The punchline is that prices remain the same, but Nissan argues the Micra is a better deal because is it better equipped. The ST is priced from $12,990, ST-L from $14,990 and Ti from $16,990. An auto adds $2000 to the price. The 1.2-litre three cylinder engine previously powered only the entry level ST. The three pot produces 56kW of power and 100Nm of torque, compared with the outgoing 1.5's 75kW/136Nm. But buyers can take comfort in the fact that getting more for their money. The ST now gets head-lamp levellers and auto-off functions, along with new seats and rear arm rests. The mid-price Micra ST-L now gets 15 inch alloys, fog lights, rear spoiler, passenger seat bag holder and driver armrest. The top of the range Ti sees the addition of a rear spoiler not much of a trade? "The Nissan Micra is one of the most affordable cars on the Australian market and were pleased to offer an even more appealing proposition to customers," Nissan Australia boss William F Peffer Jr.  

Hundreds of new and updated cars arrive in Australia each year but only one is good enough to make the honour role for Carsguide COTY.This time around the prize fight is tougher than ever, with new arrivals for 2011 covering every size and price class, from the ordinary Chery J1 from China to the exotic Ferrari 458 Italia from Italy. Neither of them makes the COTY cut, but that's another story ...The reach for COTY 2011 contenders actually stretches back to the final months of last year, to include a couple of cars that just missed the 2011 cutoff, and this time around the newcomers must have hit showrooms by December 1.So, unfortunately, the all-new Toyota Camry is a non-starter. It's the same for the make-or-break four-cylinder Falcon.But the class of 2011 covers all the bases, from affordable mini cars through family and prestige cars to a hot new coupe. The hopefuls come from Europe, Asia and Japan, as well as right home in Australia.Setting the field for 2011 was not easy, particularly with the outgoing champion - the Volkswagen Polo - still casting a considerable shadow.But each of the COTY judges, who cover the Carsguide contenders and drive them in all conditions from coast to coast, has called up their personal favourites from Alfa Romeo through to Volkswagen to help guide the selection process.Then it is the final cull by the COTY veterans to produce the top 10 for a gruelling two-day shootout to consider everything from design and safety through to value and their driving ability on a wide range of roads from Ford's You Yangs proving ground to freeways, suburban streets and gravel roads on the outskirts of Melbourne.The field is set, the race is about to be run, but we cannot get ahead of ourselves.So here are the 10 COTY contenders ... now it's over to the judges: 

  Here the price is king, with everything else - from comfort to safety, style to audio system - falling in behind. Push the price too far and the domino effect upends all these other factors and as a finale, pours cold weater over buyer appeal. It's vital to get it right. Light cars have become an ominous pointer to the future of localised transport amidst dense traffic conditions and premium-priced parking. They are impossible to miss, existing on our current roadscape aside SUVs and utes, big sedans and even compact hatchbacks, darting into forgotten gaps in the freeway crawl and pinching the last parking bay in an impossible corner of the underground city carpark. Many adjectives have been thrown at the Micra and some smell as sweet as the cash savings promised on the car's fuel bill while others are derogatory slights at its amusing body style. This is the second of the new-wave Micras, replacing a 1990s boxy UK-built model and following - since 2007 - the almost frog-like curves of the new generation that is now built, at least formally, in Thailand. Formally because Australia is supposed to get the Micra from Thailand after importing the previous car from the UK became cripplingly expensive. And formally because the recent floods in Thailand have severely affected the supply of components so the car will comes, at least temporarily, from Japan. Sales since the remake of the model early this year have been brisk - at least in comparison to the previous model that was criticised for being too weird to park safely in a home driveway - at almost 8000 year-to-date, up 16.4 per cent on 2010. But the transition to the latest 2011 version comes with a lot of downsides. Referred to by one judge as being "the avocado" and "Kermit cute" - a reference to the test car's colour - the newest Micra loses points for its poor quality dashboard and associated cabin trim., The hard plastic is common in the Micra's sub-$15,000 bracket, but most do it with some level of pride. The Micra's dash panels were ill-fitting and competed with the cheap-looking and flimsy covering for the boot and the confidence-deflating tinny sound of the closing doors. On the road it's a trier. The 1.2-litre three-cylinder verson was optioned with a four-speed automatic and the pair didn't do each othr any favours. Performance was adequate and would be ideal for city and inner suburban commuting but on the open road tired with any incline, wheezed when more than one adult was aboard and laboured noisily when pushed hard in each gear. But, surprisingly, it held on well through the corners and there was adequate grip towards the limit. It's not something we expected and are unlikely to willingly repeat the test, but it shows that the chassis isn't too bad. But it's the price and the low running costs that win here, though the car also proves to rate reasonably high in the safety sakes with a four-star crash rating, six airbags and electronic stability control. There's even a full-size spare tyre beneath a thinly covered, yet quite cavernous, boot. It will seat four adults and has a decent audio system and would make an ideal first car or second car for the city commuter. Fun? Maybe. In this demanding Carsguide Car of the Year environment, it's placement in the Top 10 is worthy. It's relegatio n to the bottom of that list is - because price ultimately shouldn't be everything - is to be expected. Price: (as tested): $14,990 Engine: 1.2-litre, 3-cyl petrol, 56kW/100Nm Transmission: 4-speed auto; front drive Thirst: 6.5 L/100km; 154g/km CO2.

Europe is back in business, celebrating the end of the global financial crisis that rocked the car world and drove the biggest of them all - General Motors - into bankruptcy.There were green shoots of happiness at the Frankfurt Motor Show in late 2009, but this week's Geneva Motor Show shows the same sort of excitement and promise of an early spring morning in Europe.Every carmaker has something new in Geneva, from full-blown production models to quirky concepts. The Swiss show is often dismissed as a sideshow but this time, with 25 new models as diverse as the Nissan Micra and Porsche Cayenne, there is serious action on every front.Carmakers are predictably focussed on green solutions to meet the challenges of fuel economy and CO2 emissions - with Fiat even showing a tiny two-cylinder engine for its funkoid 500 - but there is also room for fun.  How else do you describe a Honda city concept that looks like a 20th-century take on the unicycles used by Circe du Soleil acrobats?But even the green machines have turned mean as Ferrari shows its 599 Vettura Labratorio hybrid, although BYD from China balanced things with its fully-electric E6 hatch.Porsche also has its 918 supercar concept and both it and the Ferrari tap Formula One technology with KERS hybrid packs - that's Kinetic Energy Recovery System - to store energy for a quick, explosive boost of extra power.Porsche plans to put the 918 into production but, as yet, Ferrari is only using the super-special 599 - painted symbolically in green instead of the Italian brand's signature red - as a rolling labratory.  "We want to understand how to use this technology. We are not yet at the point to see it in a road going Ferrari," says Amedeo Felisa, Ferrari's CEO.The upbeat mood at Geneva is captured by the top man at Bentley, Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen, who says the reaction to his company's Mulsanne and Supersports models has filled him with confidence after a shocking 2009.  "There is a feeling that it is behind us," Paefgen says as super-wealthy Bentley buyers emerge from their GFC-proof bunkers.Walking the stands at Geneva I see green machines that are more than just concepts and plenty of choices for small-car buyers, from budget hatches to baby prestige cars like the Audi A1.  The little Audi gets a rousing reception, Volvo wins praise for the safety and styling of the new S60 sedan and the Alfa Giulietta - replacement for the 147 - raises more questions about the often-promised renaissance for the brand.Lexus shows a compact new CT200h hybrid that brings petrol-electric power to a new group of buyers, Mini has the Countryman with extra ground clearance and the basics for a World Rally Championship challenge in 2011, and the Mitsubishi ASX crossover - test driven this week by Peter Lyon near Tokyo - heads the Japanese contingent.For Alfa fans, the Giulietta is pitched at the Volkswagen Golf with a range of 1.4, 1.6 and 2.0-litre petrol and diesel engines.  BMW’s new 5 Series and a 4-litre six-cylinder X5 diesel creates a predictable buzz among SUV fans.Kia’s head of design, Peter Schreyer, lifts the wraps off the stylish new Sportage, which is due in Australia later this year, with the promise of both turbodiesel and petrol engines, as well as front and all-wheel drive.  The Sportage could be major hit for the Korean brand, matching the impact of the Hyundai ix35, when it goes on sale with an opener in the sub-$30,000 bracket.Ford leverages the first European appearance of its new Focus hatch in Geneva by unveiling the Focus wagon, which at this stage is a Europe-only car. Europeans are big wagon buyers and the wagon is expected to account for one-third of all Focus sales there.But the Focus wagon is only the halfway point - the fifth of 10 proposed models - using the same basic building blocks and the future includes a Focus electric car. Currently, the wagon, hatch, sedan and C-Max and Grand C-Max all share the same underpinnings.“We are now using our global resources to develop cars for all countries, including Australia,” says Ford's technical chief, Derrick Kuzak.  He also reveals the current Europe-only Kuga compact SUV and North American Escape will be replaced by a single global car, which could head to Australia, and hints that a hot performance Focus with a more-powerful version of Ford’s 2.0-litre Ecoboost turbo engine will also be available in Australia.Lexus uses Geneva to showcase its critically important CT 200h hybrid, which it hopes to become a volume player.  But the CT 200h is not the only car to push the green theme at the affordable end.Hyundai has the stylish turbocharged 1.7-litre i-flow concept sedan, which uses a lithium-ion battery pack with six-speed dual-clutch transmission, and it is joined by the ix35 FCEV hydrogen fuel-cell car and Opel’s Flextreme GT-E.Apart from Ferrari, Porsche shows off its GT3 R Hybrid - also with KERS - and 918 Spyder, both exploring the outer limits of hybrid drivetrains for race and road cars.  The Cayenne, along with the VW Touareg, share their hybrid debuts as Audi uses the first appearance of its baby A1 to reveal a full-electric E-tron concept that joins earlier R8-based plug-in supercars.Apart from the conventional petrol and diesel A1, Audi also adds the RS5 coupe to its A5 lineup and a hybrid A8 sedan. The RS5 gets a powerful 335kW/430Nm 4.2-litre V8, quattro all-wheel drive and seven-speed S-tronic dual clutch gearbox.Like the BMW-built Mini, Audi has several distinctly styled A1s on its stand. It says owners will have access to so much customisation that no two A1s will be exactly the same.Audi has the Mini firmly in its sights with an expected starting price around $33,000 for the A1, with a three-door car to kick of sales with a five-door and cabrio expected. The range-topper is expected to be an S version with a performance-tuned turbo four cylinder engine.Citroen springs one of the few real surprises of the show with its hot-pink Survolt sportscar while Giugiaro teams up with Proton to deliver a stylish hybrid city car.  The Survolt is a pure design fantasy with no likely production expected. The showcar did not even have an engine and Citroen says it has been designed to go electric.Apart from the sleek Citroen, two Italian styling houses - Pininfarina and Bertone - have show cars based on Alfa Romeo mechanical parts. Bertone returns to Geneva for the first time in two years with the Pandion 2+2 concept coupe and Pininfarina shows the two-seater 2uettottanta.Apart from the twin concepts, Citroen has the DS3 Racing as well as its DS High Rider three door, a pointer to the next-generation C4, which is due to be launched next year as a five-door.  The company will only build 1000 versions of the DS3 racing and the head of local importer Ateco Automotive, Neville Crichton, says he would like to bring a few to Australia but will initially focus on launching the DS range.“It certainly is a good looking thing,” Crichton says.  Mercedes-Benz continues to create a buzz at Geneva with its SLS Gullwing supercar but the F800 Style, a pointer to the next-generation CLS minus its cantilever rear doors, dominates the Mercedes stand and shares the limelight with the E-Class cabriolet.Fitting in the quirky category in Geneva is Aston Martin’s Cygnet hatch, a remake of Toyota’s iQ city car. The $50,000 makeover model will only be sold to existing Aston Martin customers.  Aston Martin boldly has the Cygnet right next to its four-door flagship sports car, the Rapide.

  Batman's new car is here, its the futuristic Nissan Mixim, which will be rolled into the spotlight at the Frankfurt Motor Show next week. The Mixim will show what the Japanese carmaker can do to lure youngsters to the world of electric cars, even though the wild gull-wing body is draped over the basics of the Micra baby car. Nissan says the three-seater Mixim is a one-off show car, but there is more to the edgy coupe than its design. It runs on compact lithium-ion batteries, uses a pair of 'Super Motor' electric motor-generators at each end to give it all-wheel-drive, and is claimed to run hard with a useful range between plug-in top-ups. It will not be stretched at the Frankfurt show, but Nissan will still prove it is more than just a dream machine. The heart of the Mixim program is development of greener cars to get young people to buy into the future of motoring. That is why the cockpit is more like a gaming console, with the driver sitting in the centre and operating a wheel and controls that are more like a computer interface. The two passengers, sitting on either side, are just like spectators in an arcade. The shape is based on a sharp wedge body, a wrap-around windscreen inspired by the visor of a crash helmet, and gull-wing doors. The nose is closed because there is no radiator to feed, but the body has a big back end with a hatchback luggage cover. Though the Mixim is just for show, the Micra is getting closer to local showrooms. At Frankfurt, it will also be tweaked with a Colour+Concept show car dripping with liquid metal gold paint over a base of pearlescent white. There will also be a mild facelift of the showroom Mica, which is the car coming to Australia, including a new look for the headlamps, more chrome on the body, blacked-out B pillars and a new Bluetooth-compatible sound system and an essential iPod plug-in.  

It might be getting a bit long in the tooth overseas, but Nissan Australia reckons it can put a new spin on the mini Micra. The wee hatch has been on sale in Europe for five years, but Nissan hopes its bug-eyed looks, cheeky rear end and compact dimensions will generate keen interest in the hotly contested light car segment. But it will need to be good. It must square up against the Honda Jazz, Hyundai Getz, Kia Rio, Toyota Yaris, Ford Fiesta and popular Suzuki Swift when it arrives in November. For Australia, Nissan plans to keep the Micra line-up simple, with a 1.4-litre, five-door, four-speed auto-only hatch. Though European Micras are available with a 1.2-litre petrol or 1.5-litre dCi diesel, Nissan Australia general manager of marketing Ross Booth says he plans to stick to one engine, the petrol 1.4-litre. It delivers 65kW at 5200rpm and 128Nm at 3200rpm. Though it does require premium unleaded, the auto Micra delivers 5.6litres/100km in the combined European cycle. Final pricing and specifications are yet to be confirmed, but Mr Booth is confident it will hit local showrooms for about $16,000. Nissan briefly flirted with the mini-Micra from 1995-1997, but exchange rates forced it from the market. The new one is just as funky and good-looking, and Nissan hopes will bring a quality feel to the entry segment. The five-door weighs 985kg, making it a perky city runabout. Despite its relatively light weight, it got a commendable four-star European crash test result in 2003. Inside, the cabin has a European flair, with high-quality trim.