Topic: Day-by-Day Review: 2015 Nissan Micra SR; Day 1

[Rupert]

   Well if you pull out to pass and it is only brute power that saves you...maybe a bicycle is in order. Actually farm tractors and slow moving trucks are pretty much all there is to pass since pretty well all B traffic is travelling at 80+ km/. These cars handle all of it just fine and merging has not been a problem for me at all in two of them now. With 110 hp. on tap and no power steering pump to drive I am pretty sure this little car is easily capable of 100MPH. Only Jaguars were capable of that in my day and even the TR6 here could barely get to that number.
  It's a pity about the bicycle quip.
   

[wing]

I can confirm it can go 160km/h but it takes a LONG time to get there and that's about max speed.

You are thinking too much the bicycle quip was just a way of saying the car is slow.  Glad you like slow cars, someone should.  But after driving a M235 then a WRX then an STI and having near 400hp on tap on my own vehicle, living with less is difficult.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

More Power gives you more options.  Less power limits your options.  Simple as that!

[Fobroader]

More Power gives you more options.  Less power limits your options.  Simple as that!

Agreed. In this case, more equals better.

[Rupert]

   As nearly as I can ascertain 0 to 60 mph takes about 9.5 seconds (I can only find one report) which puts it in the overall range of larger vehicles. Do the bicycle comments apply when they turn in 8.8 to 10.2 secs. I would surmise that it is well within the range of acceptability on this score. Few buy rocket ships.

[dirtyjeffer]

Looks like this little car is not as bad as everyone thought, after all.  I can see someone considering this as a second car for in-town trips.

i don't recall anyone thinking the Micra wasn't a good car...the only car people think is crap is the Mirage.

[Rupert]

More Power gives you more options.  Less power limits your options.  Simple as that!

Agreed. In this case, more equals better.

I'm sorry...beyond a certain point 'more is only more'. The better word has become 'battered'.

[johngenx]

But where do you stop?  The Highlander has more than 2x the power of the Micra and can easily climb any road that it comes across at the speed limit or well above.  Cargo space?  Way more.  Room for passengers?  The rear seat area probably feels as large as the entire Micra.  A new Highlander is even larger and more powerful.

But, then the price is much higher, and fuel consumption is also much higher.

I've driven a Micra, and it's a pretty decent car.  I wouldn't buy a top trim level of it, as I think the real value is in the $13K-ish model.  It is true that the compact sedans offer a lot more in many ways.  A Corolla or Civic offers more power, more room, comfort, etc, and at pretty much zero fuel economy penalty.  BUT, the prices of those cars are higher.

[stargazer68]

The SR version of this car comes with Bluetooth, steering wheel audio controls, cruise control, air conditioning, driver’s armrest, USB connectivity, back-up camera, fog lights, 16-inch aluminum alloy wheels, power windows and mirrors, keyless entry and more. It actually comes with more things than I’d ever expect from a car in this category

I dunno if that equipment should be surprising.  Save for the Bluetooth and back-up camera, I would consider all that kit to be basically mandatory on ANY top range car.  Hell, these days, save for the most very basic strippers, don't all cars have at the very least power windows, locks and keyless?

The Kia Rio can be equipped with all that and more, including start/stop, a feature few cars at any price point offer.

[dirtyjeffer]

The SR version of this car comes with Bluetooth, steering wheel audio controls, cruise control, air conditioning, driver’s armrest, USB connectivity, back-up camera, fog lights, 16-inch aluminum alloy wheels, power windows and mirrors, keyless entry and more. It actually comes with more things than I’d ever expect from a car in this category

I dunno if that equipment should be surprising.  Save for the Bluetooth and back-up camera, I would consider all that kit to be basically mandatory on ANY top range car.  Hell, these days, save for the most very basic strippers, don't all cars have at the very least power windows, locks and keyless?

The Kia Rio can be equipped with all that and more, including start/stop, a feature few cars at any price point offer.

as an owner of a Kia Rio5 SX, i can confirm you are correct...while mine doesn't have the start/stop feature, it does offer plenty of other goodies like SAT/NAV, heated steering wheel, smart key access and more...all while still keeping the price competitive.

[JohnM]

More Power gives you more options.  Less power limits your options.  Simple as that!

More power also means brain less likely to be engaged.  I have been short of power to merge exactly once in my driving life and that was a surprise situation in an unfamiliar car.

Cheers,
John M.

[johngenx]

I have been short of power to merge exactly once in my driving life

I've driven some pretty low powered cars in my life, and I too have never felt that I was unsafe.  Yeah, I enjoy the passing/merging power of high performance cars, but you just adjust your driving style accordingly.

[Oldsguy]

Any insight on why this car comes with a conventional 4-speed autobox instead of the CVT that Nissan uses most everywhere else? I would have thought the smaller car would surely get a CVT.

[Solstice2006]

Any insight on why this car comes with a conventional 4-speed autobox instead of the CVT that Nissan uses most everywhere else? I would have thought the smaller car would surely get a CVT.

I suspect cost, the Micra has been around for a long time (outside North America), and they are just keeping it low tech.   

[johngenx]

Yeah, wonder why a $10K car doesn't have NAV, leather, ninety speed AT, etc...

[Frontier1]

Jatco still makes 7 models of step AT.

[stargazer68]

   The reference to dragging a bicycle is regrettable considering the inference and times we live in. In fact the Micra has plenty of power and the top levels of acceleration capabilities will never be used by the vast majority of owners for the total time of ownership IMO. and I don't hang around. The same can be said of Yaris and Mazda 2. et.al. I am sure.
   What is the norm for acceleration requirements? I suspect that these vehicles exceed it.

At city speeds, sure.  However, I bet that merging n a busy highway, or worse, trying pass on a single lane undivided, and you'll need to be the master of timing.

I remember well trying to find room to pass when driving a VW beetle or an Austin/Morris Mini (non-Cooper) or even a Triumph Spitfire.  Today's weakest cars are fully capable of merging or passing safely.
Of course, some drivers couldn't merge safely with a 911 or a Shelby.
Autonomous cars could go a long way to improve traffic flow, but I'd bet the lawmakers would demand those cars to have a flagman leading it down the road, of course at night carrying a lantern to warn others.

[Oldsguy]

Any insight on why this car comes with a conventional 4-speed autobox instead of the CVT that Nissan uses most everywhere else? I would have thought the smaller car would surely get a CVT.

I suspect cost, the Micra has been around for a long time (outside North America), and they are just keeping it low tech.

But I understood the CVT was far less expensive to manufacture than a conventional planetary gearset transmission?

[dirtyjeffer]

But I understood the CVT was far less expensive to manufacture than a conventional planetary gearset transmission?

that is kind of what i thought as well...their CVT is used in the Versa Note and it uses the same engine, so i don't really know why the Micra doesn't use it...perhaps it is to give the Versa Note an advantage over the Micra and help Nissan upwell to it??

[Solstice2006]

Any insight on why this car comes with a conventional 4-speed autobox instead of the CVT that Nissan uses most everywhere else? I would have thought the smaller car would surely get a CVT.

I suspect cost, the Micra has been around for a long time (outside North America), and they are just keeping it low tech.

But I understood the CVT was far less expensive to manufacture than a conventional planetary gearset transmission?

CVTs are simpler in some respects than the traditional automatic, but they have their challenges, too.

 The cost of something boils down to:
 1) Material cost
 2) How difficult it is to design?
 3) How difficult it is to mfr?
 4) Service issues

Jatco makes the 4 speed for the Micra, but probably it is used in other cars as well, like some Renaults, Seats, and I think the Polo.