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By EWAN KENNEDY in Geneva
8 March 2010
Nissan has gone back to basics with the most important model in
its range – the Micra. During a series of technical briefings
surrounding Micra's world debut at the Geneva Motor Show we have
learnt a lot about Micra, though we have yet to drive one.
The Japanese giant set itself the extremely difficult task of
designing a car that's not only spacious, kind to the planet and
simple to drive, but also one that's affordable. A bonus is that
the styling is something out of the ordinary, but without going to
radical extremes.
At the front the little Nissan has a cute look, but the really
interesting feature is the shape of the roof. Carrying the
roofline a long way to the rear has been done principally to give
headroom – more about interior space in a moment – but it also
makes the 2010 Micra stand out from the crowd.
Inside there's ample space for four adults with plenty of headroom
and legroom for all. A fifth can be carried in the centre rear,
but that will create some shoulder rubbing between big Aussies,
though the kids will fit in with room to spare. Boot space is also
good, with easy access to the well-shaped space being offered by
way of a hatch that opens high.
The Micra's dash area is as striking in appearance as the
exterior, with a funky modern look achieved by using a bold
circular theme. Those in the know will realise the simplicity of
the design is there to minimise costs, others will simply enjoy
sitting in this car.
Vision out is good thanks to a slimmer windscreen than those in
current cars. This is not only a good safety feature, but will
also make it easier to drive the Micra in its natural habitat of
the city and suburbs.
The seats are large and comfortable and feel as though they will
provide good support during cornering. Nissan's engineers tell us
they have gone for the firmer European feel, rather than the
softer Japanese one, in this Micra, which should suit Australian
drivers nicely.
Extensive engineering throughout the Micra has resulted in
significant weight reduction. Nissan claims the car is about 30
per cent lighter than it would have been had the designers used
conventional methods. Yet this has been achieved without resorting
to aluminium or other expensive materials.
Less weight was part of the design program right from the start.
For example the shape of the roof means it gets its strength from
the boomerang shape rather than from additional strengthening
braces. The dashboard consists of far fewer components than normal
to significantly reduce the number of joins and the fasteners
required. This has also resulted in higher levels of quality. Then
there's an exhaust system with fewer mufflers, and many other mass
reducing techniques.
Though a four-cylinder 1.5-litre engine is likely to be the bigger
seller in Australia, again the engineers have gone back to basics
and have come up with a clever three-cylinder unit. Displacing 1.2
litres, this engine produces only 115 grams of carbon dioxide
(C02) in its standard format. But Nissan is working on a
supercharged version of the 1.2 engine that will bring the
emissions to as low as 95 grams per kilometre mark. This is a
remarkably low figure for a petrol engine.
Manual and automatic transmissions will be offered in Australia.
Initially all Micras will be five-door hatches, but other bodies
will follow, with a four-door sedan likely to lead them.
Australian imports of the Micra will come from Thailand, a country
that is building quite a few of our imports these days. Build
quality in other Japanese cars we see from that country is
virtually as good as in cars built in Japan. But we will have to
see the initial imports in Australian conditions before we can
fully comment on this matter.
We have mentioned affordability several times in this introductory
article on the Nissan Micra. It's still too early for the company
to publish numbers, but when we spoke to Nissan Australia CEO, Dan
Thompson he said local imports may not cost a lot more than the
current Micra. This could see the spacious Nissan on the market
with a starting price as low as $15,000 for the five-door hatch.
Thompson anticipates sales of around 12,000 to 15,000 per year.
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Marque Publishing Company
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